Old Europe — Restaurant in Washington

We visited Old Europe on a Friday evening, around 5pm. It wasn’t very busy, and I was a little concerned walking in due to the small size, but quickly felt right at home. It’s a small place, being in business since I think she said 1948, although run by different people, whom I might add, had been working there. So, it’s been kind of passed down, if that makes sense. The atmosphere is very warm, cozy, and friendly. There are a lot of decorations consisting of model ships hanging from the ceiling, portraits of persons from long ago, coats of arms placed around the restaurant, plenty of hunting trophies mounted on the walls, along with a super large hunter’s cuckoo clock watching over everyone. Our server, I can’t remember her name, took our orders for some beer and potato pancakes. My wife got a half liter of Paulaner and I got the Weizenbier. The wait was not quick, but like at a friend’s house, arrived just in time. Different types of bread and butter came out to the table along with different types of mustard. My wife ordered the Ungarisches gulasch mit spätzle and I ordered the old Europe’s sausage combo. Now what’s really cool is, the owner actually walks out to deliver the food. He came out, dropped off our food, checked on us, along with others that were eating, answered questions for us, then went back into the kitchen. I got a really good feeling eating here. It is like eating at your German grandmother’s house. The food was delicious. As we sat, the owner walked by again and I asked him if he ever served hasenpfeffer, to which he replied, no. Most of the customers weren’t fans of rabbit I suppose. He did say he had something and would be right back. We ordered some after dinner digestif. My wife had a Wild Cherry Schnapps (Berentzen) and I had a Kirschwasser (Schladerer), a Black Forrest cherry brandy. The owner returned with a taste of Venison stew. Wow. It was great. I barely got a bite, before my grandson ate the rest and slurped up all the juices. Our server came out with a desert tray with cakes, mousse, cheesecake, black forest cake, among others. We got the black forest cake to share. This place is our new favorite German restaurant. It was as if we were in their home and being served a great, family dinner. Highly recommend you visit, take your time, and enjoy the atmosphere, food, drinks and company. Loved it and...

My boyfriend and I stumbled upon Old Europe accidentally on a September Saturday afternoon. We were exhausted and hungry. I saw Spaten (excellent beer) flags outside and a German flag, since I used to live in Germany as a child, the fond memories of excellent food and hospitality are still lingering. When we walked inside, the restaurant was not yet open for dinner. It was half an hour before their opening time, however, the kind host did not turn us away. The lights came on, we were welcomed to stay and he seated us at the table immediately. The atmosphere was pleasant and family-like. Spaten Oktoberfest Bier is out of this world and Old Europe is one of the only places that serves it! The staff were very friendly and they all work well together. Now let's move on to the food: rye bread and butter were quite good and go very well with Spaten Optimator. I had the pork sausages with potato salad and saurkraut for the main course and it was very good! The sausages were juicy and cooked to perfection. Three types of mustards were served with dinner and they were all tasty. One in particular stood out (the pale yellow one with a chunky consistency), it has a nice and robust kick of flavor and it is undoubtedly the best mustard I have ever tasted. I wish they sold this mustard in a little jar to the guests. This mustard complemented every type of sausage exceptionally well and I believe it is made by the house! The portions are hearty and the food is great! The German chocolate cake was an ecstatic way to wrap up a wonderful dinner. We did not feel rushed during any part of the meal and the decor is fabulous. This was an outstanding dining experience and is well worth the trip into DC. We will definitely be back to Old Europe and are glad to have discovered such a gem in the...

Legitimately the worst meal I’ve had in a long time. First of all, the place is poorly laid out in a way that guarantees you’re going to be continuously disrupted by people entering/leaving. The tables need to be arranged better to allow people space to move around.

Second, the food is way overpriced and misleading to say the least. Nothing seems even close to how a true german restaurant would present it. Currywurst here is so obviously just a store bought sausage that’s smothered in some cheap imitation sauce. A medium rare prime rib somehow comes out almost burnt. Not only that, how is it that a place is out of 1/5th of their dinner menu’s options at 5 PM? Isn’t this kind of thing that you’d see on a Gordon Ramsey tv show?

Third, the service is disorganized. Sure, our waiter was nice, but we had another waitress coming by to fill our waters and bring dishes. And the place wasn’t busy. Who’s doing what? Is the main waiter incapable of doing more than a couple things?

I don’t understand how this place stays in business. Sure, Americans don’t really understand German cuisine, but at least make an attempt to do the basic things right.

You’re better off going to Alexandria Bier Garden for something slightly closer to a good German meal (it’s still nothing close to authentic, but at least it feels like...