Johannes — Restaurant in Palm Springs

I really enjoyed my meal here the other night.

Came on a Wednesday night around 7:30pm with my parents. We were seated at a table inside near the windows so we could look out onto the street while we ate. We were seated with drink menus, and once we turned down drinks we received food menus and fresh bread. Each of us was given three small slices of bread, served with some kind of pesto spread. It wasn't actual pesto, as it wasn't oily or buttery in any way, it was drier.

My mom and I shared a mussels special for a starter. It was a 5-star dish: humongous mussels perfectly cooked and served in a sauce of thai chili, fish sauce, passionfruit, and maybe a few other tropical fruits. It was a great combination of spicy and sweet, and the fruits included created a unique taste I had never had before in a mussels dish.

Dad got the Mama's Schnitzel - 4-stars. It was piled high with arugula, which he wasn't thrilled about, and thought the arugula mentioned would just be a bit, not a TON. He also thought it came on potatoes, which it didn't, but he thought it was tasty, that it was a good sided portion, and there was lots of cheese and tomato.

Mom got the Lemon Caper Schnitzel - 4-stars. She said it wasn't as lemony as she expected, but the veal was tender and perfectly cooked. She liked the sweetness of the cucumber dill dish served on the side, but said her broccolini was oversalted.

I got a Veal Medallion special - 5-stars. Three generous chunks of veal served perfectly rare inside. The veal was accompanied with a mushroom sauce and crunchy asparagus that wasn't overcooked at all. It was served with cheesy lobster spätzle which was like a more delicious mac and cheese with huge chunks of lobster.

Overall, the place was really cute. Ambiance was on point, it was perfect for a cozy parents dinner and looked like a great date spot. Our server had all dozen specials memorized and was incredibly friendly. I'd definitely make this a regular stop when...

SERVICE SCAM ALERT! SERVICE SCAM ALERT! This is the worst restaurant review I have had to write in the three dozen I have authored of the topic of fine-dining establishments. Per Google, over 12,000 individuals have read my reviews.

My visit on February 18 was my third visit in as many years. This year I booked as an OpenTable VIP and our party of 2 arrived one minute early. We watched as three parties were told that Johannes was running "a few minutes behind and would they take a seat at the bar and order a drink." We did as we were told but found it odd that the other parties that were shuffled off to the bar were seated immediately after their drinks came. I sensed a hustle on the restaurant's part to sell drinks, so I asked the host if we could have out liquor comped, to which he replied, "I have no control over that, you'll have to talk to your wait person."

The wait person cut me off in mid-sentence asking for an accommodation and said in a grating New York accent, loudly, "NO WAY. YOU MUST NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT PALM SPRINGS IN THE WINTER! YOUR 15-MINUTE WAIT IS TO BE EXPECTED!" That was it, no "I'm sorry" or any version of contrition. Frankly, I have a mother so I don't need a wait person being my Jewish mother. Secondly, it is a scam to sell drinks. Thirdly, as acceptable as the Wiener Schnitzer was, the service was SO RUDE, PUSHY, AND OFFENSIVE that we recommend you not go either. For those of you who are thinking "she might have been having a bad day", you are mistaken as I've had this woman before and she is consistently rude...

Stunning! I have walked by, always saying "I'm going to go in there one day" whenever we are out on arenas and in the area. This week I finally made it, around 7:40, in time before I closed at 9:00.

We didn't have a reservation, luckily it was a not too busy night. The host was humorous and professional, suggesting he may be able to find us a table without reservation, (there were plenty. The restaurant is surprisingly large inside. Very well decorated, purse hooks, gourmet style plates, utensil service change in between courses, wine glasses and water goblets. Very European, very upscale, very traditional, but not pretentious.

Try the green stuff! It's delicious! I believe they called it a moose, but it was an herb blend: basil sprouts, mint etc... like an updated and delicious pesto. It went wonderful with the bread, and butter. Totally worth the cost of adding bread for the table. We also got the tuna avocado tartar. Good sized appetizer, great texture and taste. Loved the crispy chip that comes with it, the plate is dressed with sushi style sauces that work wonderfully.

My friend had the salmon entre, large portion, looked amazing. He devoured it, so I'm sure it was tasty.

I had the curry tiger shrimp plate. Omg, The spice of the curry, the sweet of the coconut milk, the fresh snap of the baby corn and green beans 🤌 generous, delicious and large shrimp.

Will definitely be back for friends dinner, special group event, or a upscale but chill...