Siegfried's Delicatessen — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

Despite being someone of German ancestry, I never had much of an opportunity to enjoy some German dishes outside of maybe a few dishes my folks made or perhaps a place like Oberle's in Ste. Gen, MO who sell bockwurst and other German sausages. So when I moved out to the Wasatch Front, I was surprised to find a German delicatessen right in the heart of Salt Lake City that also had some good opinions from my coworkers. So, I have made my way to Siegfried's and checked out their fare. All three times I have been there, I have not been disappointed. They don't have an exhaustive menu, but what they have are some of the heavy-hitters for German fare. German sausages? Check. Weinerschnitzel? Check. Cold cuts? Definitely - also very well priced too if you can make your way here or happen to work in Downtown SLC. The first time I was there, I had the weinerschnitzel, my second time I had Bavarian Leberkaese (basically a type of meatloaf) and my most recent visit I had the sausage plate (knackwurst and weisswurst). Most of their plates have a choice of two sides; hot and cold potato salad, fried potatoes, spätzle, and sauerkraut to name a few. They also do deli sandwiches as well with a choice of the normal suspects. All three of the entrees I have were very enjoyable. All are nice and fresh when you are served from the counter, the sides are just right and the sauerkraut (which can be a very acquired taste) isn't that overpowering and has a good flavor to it. The weinerschintzel is nice and crispy and the gravy from the spätzle goes pretty good with the cutlet as well. They also have some beer available with their lunch as well as goulash and a little crossover from other areas of Central Europe as well. Definitely don't forget to order dessert as they have some really good cakes and pies and strudel. The Black Forest cake is really good; nice and moist and worth the $5 a slice. Even with that dessert, the best thing about Siegfried's is it's price. You can have an entree, sides, fountain drink and dessert right around $20 ($15 if you don't order dessert). I don't think you can beat the price for what I consider as really good food. The atmosphere is very much like a German delicatessen and during lunch, Siegfried's does see a lot of foot traffic but the wait isn't long. There's also plenty of seating as well. That isn't the entire story of Siegfried's though. They are also a German market alongside their delicatessen. They have a nice mix of specialties from Deutschland and Central Europe. Those sausages you ate? You can buy some to take home with you from the meat counter. They also have German chocolates and other sweets in their market and mixes such as currywurst and goulash and spätzle. My only nitpick though...no bockwurst. I don't expect an exhaustive list of all the goodies from overseas that you could get. When I ask, they asked if I wanted knackwurst. But that's just a nitpick rather than a hard criticism. One nice thing for a business in Downtown SLC...free parking in the garage next door to Siegfried's. This makes it a breeze to visit for lunch and a few quick grabs at their market and it's within the first hour. If you want a taste of the German delicatessen atmosphere, Siegfried's is definitely a...

You know what ruins a restaurant? Workers who are inexcusably rude to customers. I don't understand why the lady with the dark hair tied back in a bun had to be so condescending and treat us like complete idiots when we were waiting to order food, but she was.

The background story: I had come here months ago with my side of the family, and thought the food was good! So last night i wanted to take my husband's side of the family who were visiting from out of town.

After paying for parking and walking over, we arrived at 5pm. Shop closes at 6pm. We got settled, went to order from the counter at 5:15pm. We waited... and waited... And soon a few more people joined the line. Suddenly, this aforementioned lady glares at us, angrily motions to the food counter, and says, "We are done cooking for tonight. No more!" She then rolls her eyes and walks away, as all of us feel, well, awkward. Even the boy behind the counter who was helping clean, (who by the way never said a word to us about being done cooking), looked scared. Not to mention there wasn't any warning online, the door, at the counter, anywhere that they close food service early. Then when my MIL went to pay for some grocery items, she asked if she could have a slice of cake from the separate dessert counter. Again, the lady rolled her eyes and with a very annoyed tone asked, "Fine. Which one?" Maintaining her disgruntled attitude.

So here I am, excited to show my family this restaurant after driving over an hour into SLC, now stuck with not only no food, but feeling very uncomfortable. The restaurant was also dirtier than I've seen it, and the woman working the counter kept rushing around looking beyond done with the day, adding to an unpleasant ambiance as we tried to browse the grocery section.

Overall, I would not return. We also weren't the only ones who caught her wrath in the short time we were there. I understand being done with the day and customers. I've worked the field. But if you're in that bad of an mood, leave. Let someone else do your job. No fairly good food from any establishment is worth being treated like trash.

To end this, if you are still wanting German/Northern European fare, go to The Old Dutch Store. It's smaller, but the people there are 100x friendlier. I'll support the local business that wants me there instead of this unfortunately...

I am not German nor will I ever claim to be any sort of knowledgeable expert. However, I appreciate the people, the culture, and have learned a bit of language. This is, hands down, the absolute best German restaurant/shop I've visited outside of Germany (I've been 3 times). They even carry marmalade from East Germany!

I came here for a lunch honestly not knowing what to expect. I find it's best to start the experience without expectations so you can really appreciate what the owners are trying to present. These owners are from Germany and actually import everything I posted and if not they create the rest!

For lunch, I decided upon the "spicy" Hungarian goulash. I know - call a foul. It's not traditional German food we Americans would think of. Well that's where you are mistaken. German food is also highly influenced by their neighbors, and this ancient dish is no exception! Honestly though, outside of Germany, this is the best I've found this far. Here they serve it over Spätzle (because yes!) with a roll. Wow! No complaints and I love it! And too be quite frank... For the price compared to the rest of the SLC eateries, there is no better deal you could find in terms of quality and even quantity.

Now, the lunch was only part of the experience. The rest is an amazing little shop they've created alongside it. So many great items! Wurst? Check. Brötchen? Check. Senf? You got it. Just look at the photos. If you are a German expat looking for a little slice of home, then you just might...