If you’re looking for a lively spot to enjoy snacks, appetizers, a sports game and terrific service, there’s a new option for you in Redwood City. Just don’t expect a fine dining experience that will satisfy a real “foodie”.
Das Bierhauz recently opened a restaurant downtown, along with their other new location in San Francisco. They mimic authentic German cuisine and have moderate prices.
A reservation is recommended, as I reserved my visit for a Saturday night at 6:30 p.m so my table was already clean and set when I arrived. I went to Das Beirhauz with my grandparents and immediate family looking forward to enjoying an authentic German meal. Redwood City on a Saturday night is not ideal for parking. Fortunately, we were able to park our car in a pretty big parking garage under the Box buildings. Since we spent around two hours eating, the cost of parking was seemingly cheap at around $3. It was a clean garage, not loud and pretty easy to find parking in. My family and I then walked across the street to a sectioned-off area where cars cannot drive, and easily spotted the restaurant.
The restaurant’s exterior was nicely decorated, with benches, tables, umbrellas and heat lamps. The building was perfectly-sized, with a German and American flag waving on the front. It was a really nice design change from the old bakery, La Tartine, that it had replaced.
The hostess met us out front, and we waited for only one minute as she got menus for our table. We were then led to the table in the back of the restaurant, close to a window which provided a pleasant view of the downtown at night. The table was already set with silverware, glasses and comfy padded chairs. Sitting down I felt very content with the interior as the German restaurant had a comfy and slightly modern feel to it, with iron chandeliers, wooden furniture and five medium-sized televisions playing the Warriors vs. Lakers game. To my dismay, there was pop music playing quite loudly. I would have preferred some slow or peaceful songs to match the relaxing mood. The atmosphere and design of the building was very nice, but definitely felt like it would be better for lunch or a quick snack.
The menu had lots of appetizers, including pretzels, which was actually my highlight of the meal. They were hand-sized, slightly salty, and had a nice crispy outside with a tender interior. It also came with a cheesy dip with onions that exceeded my expectations for a cheese sauce. The pretzel came with a sweet and spicy mustard sauce that was phenomenal. Along with this, they only took around 5-8 minutes to bring it to our table. I ordered a Spezi ($4.50), which is a German cola soda with a thin orange flavor. It was very refreshing.
Aside from appetizers and drinks, the menu also included a lot of vegetarian options such as the gourmet schnitzel ($21.95), the caesar salad ($15.95) and a gourmet veggie burger ($17.95).
For my main course, I ordered the Doner Sandwich ($17.95), which came on a large plate with a side of fries and a lamb pita-like gyro. Similar to the appetizers, the fries were absolutely delicious and super addicting. They were not too crispy but not too soggy. However, the main part of this course let me down as the gyro was not as good as I had hoped. The lamb, though yummy, was too salty. Along with this the gyro was pretty plain as it was just filled to the brim with meat. There were a lot of tart red onions at the bottom of it, creating counter-balance. To my disappointment, I barely even got halfway through eating it when the whole thing fell apart. While the fries were scrumptious and the meat was tender, they should add more topping options such as lettuce, sour cream or tomato.
Looking around I was excited to try what my family had gotten for their main course, but when I tried my dads beef bratwurst ($17.95) I was disheartened by how plain it was. We agreed that it did not taste very German and was similar to my meal in that it could use a lot more flavor or dips. However, he really enjoyed his marzan oktoberfest ($7.95 per half liter) which is a German beer similar to an amber ale.
After our meal they brought us the dessert menu, which had a couple of desserts such as Apple strudel ($8.95) which is an apple pastry and a creme brulee cheesecake ($8.95), which is a chocolate cake filled with chocolate cream covered in chocolate ganache. Most of the desert options were non-German, so I was a little disappointed as nothing really stood out to me.
I decided to get the apple strudel, which was a crispy croissant with dried apples on the top and raisins and apples in the middle. It was saucy and had a good smooth consistency. It was also pretty sweet and not very addicting, so I would rate it a solid 6/10, as it was unfulfilling. I ended up getting a bubble waffle from a next door dessert shop as I was still hungry.
Though I was left disappointed by how basic the food was, the service was exceptional. Our waiter was very friendly and I felt very comfortable because of him. We were offered water every fifteen minutes, and we only had to wait for 20 minutes for six meals, which was amazing. They were also very patient and it was easy to get their attention if we needed anything.
The highlights of this visit are the pretzel and the beer. Some low points are my main course which tasted plain, and the music, which was unnecessarily upbeat. Though the portions were large and the food wasn’t half bad, I wouldn’t return again for dinner. However, I would like to try their caesar salad and other appetizers. I would also like to come back to try their breakfast.
Overall, I believe there are better places to visit instead of Das Bierhauz for a special dinner with your family.
