Heidelberg Restaurant

Been here twice. Both times the service was not so good. So sloooooow. The place wasn't packed, but we had to wait... and wait... and wait. The food is pretty good. Try the sausage platters. The outfits are bizarre and a bit disturbing.

I felt like I was stepping into Heidi's grandfather's house circa 1935, meanwhile the sweet sounds of yodeling filled the air! The beer was served in a mug as big as my head (no joke, I measured) and the Sauerbraten and potato pancakes were almost more than I could handle (that's a good thing). Yodel-ay-he-hoooooo!

Heidelberg is my most favorite German restaurant in NYC! Located in a neigborhood once called "Little Germany" it is sadly one of the last remaining. My grandfather hailed from Heidelberg and was in the food business. I know he would approve of everything about this place, considering it is a three star venue. After all home cooking is not Haut Cuisine! Yet the best thing about the menu is the beer. Heidelberg has the best German beer menu in all of Manhattan and there are lots of locals that live there to convince you of it. Be sure to tell the waitress how you like your food cooked before they cook it, to get the best service and be sure to try at least 2 or 3 different beers on tap!

The best German Food I ever had.

Who cares? This restaurant wins. It wins the prize. Go there during Christmas for a Christmas surprise. You may get a special egg, or perhaps a tree toy. Everything is great. Take a date. Thanks Heidleberg, for the best German meal I've ever had.

Further on, to add to the Schnitzel madness, you can make something called a Schnitzel 'Wiener Art' (Viennese Style') and that would then be a pork cutlet, prepared like a Wiener Schnitzel... Frohe Weihnachten und ein frohes neues Jahr

Dear friends. Here the final wisdom on how to survive in the German Schnitzel Jungle. A Schnitzel is a pork cutlet. Period. If you want to make a 'Wiener Schnitzel', then you will have to use veal instead. It's a breaded veal cutlet, pan-fried to golden perfection. Otherwise pork is used. You add a creamy sauce to your pork cutlet ('Natur' just plain with pepper and salt or 'paniert' lightly breaded) and get 'Rahmschnitzel', if there are onions in the cream sauce it s a 'Zwiebelschnitzel', you make the sauce with bellpeppers you get a 'Paprika-' or 'Zigeunerschnitzel'. If you add capers to a Schnitzel and put a fried egg on top, you get a Schnitzel 'Holstein'. There you have it. Otherwise, I do believe that the Heidelberg is a great insitution. The food tastes good. Not as good as in my grandmothers kitchen back in Germany, but ask a chinese person what they think of chinese food in Germany... You can clearly see an effort is being made to satisfy both, german people trying to overcome homesickness and New Yorkers looking to experience a little german atmosphere. The beers taste great, the staff is friendly and the huge old painting of Heidelberg (the city, not the Restaurant) gives me a shiver every time I see it. The interior could use some changes, the Sauerbraten was a little dry last time I had it and the prices are on the high side, but the overall experience gets my thumbs up and I am looking forward to many, many next times...