stammtisch

stammtisch is the best german restaurant and pub in the northwest.  it serves german beer in the correct glassware and from the actual brewery.  there are very few places in portland that serve lagers - stammtisch serves only the best of the best.  koster andechs helles is always a staple here.  the food is by far the most authentic in the area and the service is excellent.

restaurateurs dan hart and chris navarra know how to make people feel at home, feed us well, and give us good bier and cocktails.  i love their new place they named stammtisch. on this monday night, there was a good crowd of people ranging from 20s to middle age.  mostly younger.  i expected a wide array of biers, but the quality of food and cocktails surprised me.   i had the braised trout with vegetables and a wine butter reduction sauce.  it was perfectly moist, flavorful, and not one single bone.  my better half just had a pretzel, but she raved about that, too.  after my bier, i had a gin cocktail that exceeded the standard i'd expect from secret society.  only this german recipe i had not seen before:  gin, obstler, riesling syrup and lemon.  on top of it all was a very accommodating and friendly staff in the newly-redecorated, warm setting.  the policy of sharing tables "forced" us to have a great conversation with another couple.   stammtisch is a terrific new place.

i have been to this restaurant three times. the first time i was a little disappointed because it got a lot of hype and it replaced a german restaurant that i really loved and ate at all the time. but with rheinlander gone from this neighborhood, this is a great alternative. street parking can be challenging in this busy street.

we tried stammtisch for dinner tuesday night with a couple of friends. we arrived around 7:30. the ambiance was casual, lots of wood, relaxed, a good place to hang out with friends. we were seated immediately and ordered a round of beers. they have a pretty good selection of german beers to choose from. something to please every palate. we weren't quite ready to order food when she dropped off the drinks. about that same time, a couple of large groups also arrived. stammtisch must not have been prepared for that as it was about 30 minutes before our waitress returned to check on us.

for dinner we ordered the meat and cheese platter, the rabbit, the leek pasta, the sauerbraten, and the wienerschnitzel. the meat and cheese platter contained a variety of pickled items, cheeses and charcuterie. very tasty and i would order that again. the sauerbraten would have been better if the meat was a little less fatty and trimmed better. the wienerschnitzel was huge and tasty. the pasta was good but pretty salty.

i liked that there was a variety of german foods and drinks to choose from. our server was friendly but a bit scattered and i think the wait was pretty long. the food in general was interesting and tasty. i would go back to try additional dishes.

not quite what i expected, having spent quite a bit of time in germany and with a name like stammtisch (german: a table reserved for "regulars"). more of an american bar/pub look than a german gasthaus, they do have some larger community-style tables you would see in munich and other places in germany, but that was about it.

they have a nice selection of german beers on tap at fairly reasonable prices ($5-$7 for 0.5 liter). i usually order my go-to, warsteiner dunkel, but decided on the weltenburger barock dunkel instead, a dark, robust beer that was quite tasty.

the menu is not big, but that is usually a good thing because ingredients are normally fresher. their plates come in "kleine" (small - $4-$9), "mittel" (middle or medium - $10-$16) and "grosse" (big or large - $12-$23) with a nice selection of six or seven choices in each size class.

my wife would have gone with the bretzel (pretzel - $5) as a starter, but because i left her in kansas, i ordered the currywurst ($6), a sliced pork and veal sausage with fries and house curry ketchup in a small cardboard bowl (which i found a bit odd). what the dish lacked in presentation, it made up for in flavor and was quite tasty although not quite hot enough.

their entrees include the classics: sauerbraten ($19), wienerschnitzel ($15), and, of course, my favorite, jägerschnitzel ($16) which i ordered. the seared pork loin was medium in size (small by german standards) and the mushroom gravy (hunter's sauce) had all of two button mushrooms on top. the cutlet was served on top of the spätzle and red cabbage that accompanied it, not my preferred serving method. i love both spätzle and german red cabbage, but jägerschnitzel should never sit on top of such an acidic and colorful side dish as red cabbage in my opinion. spätzle? maybe. red cabbage? absolutely not! i have had all types of schnitzels in germany, austria, slovenia, hungary, and bosnia-herzogovina (as well as the u.s. and india believe it or not) and it was never served on top of anything. in fact, in many places the sides (spätzel, potatoes, vegetables) are routinely served family style in separate serving dishes, so the only thing on the plate is usually the schnitzel and it is normally massive.

the server was friendly and efficient although he never told me his name. i asked him about the size of the portions in order to determine whether or not i should order the currywurst and the jägerschnitzel and after telling me, i decided to order the currywurst. my beer had arrived in the meantime and i was in no hurry to go back to an empty house, so i savored the brew and starter, planning on ordering another beer when he took my entree order. next thing i knew, the jägerschnitzel arrived much to my surprise. he must have misunderstood my intentions, but fortunately i would have ordered it anyway and had not changed my mind in the interim. i did not need the second beer anyway.

parking is on the street only and a challenge to find a spot anywhere close, particularly for a disabled person/veteran. the currywurst could have been served in a proper dish or bowl, not something taquitos come in at a little league game. the jägerschnitzel should not have been "assumed" and absolutely not placed on top of the red cabbage. a small german salad and some pumpernickel would have also been a nice accompaniment to a $16-$23 dinner finally, a little german ambience would lend itself well to the surroundings, but overall it was a decent, pleasant dinner.

combatcritic gives stammtisch 6 bombs out of 10 ... more bombs are better!

six bombs equates to: g2g = "good to go"

ordered a sausage and some frites. really good! they have the best fries in portland hands down. also this would be a great bar to watch a timbers game. the servers were great! efficient and fun. will come back!

this is a terrific little german bierstoob--staff friendly but not cloying, great (great!) selection of tap-beers, depending on what the latest ship from hamburg has brought in (if they've got korbinian, drink it!) and the food is outstanding without being too, too...portlandy. try the rabbit (awww, go on--don't be sentimental); roast chicken, the usual sausages--great,across the board. be sure to join the stein club and get yer card punched (after you've filled out all 10 and gotten your lederhosen you might need a liver transplant).

wunderbar!!. i grew up in germany and have yet to find a restaurant that provides authentic german cuisine. i will search no longer. stammtisch is absolutely wonderful. i enjoyed currywurst mit pommes frites and a side of spaetzle. i was immediately transported back to an imbiss in berlin, it was spot on, down the the little fry fork! i will definitely be returning.

they have awesome german food and it's a fun atmosphere. (their list of german beers looks great as well, but i can't comment on that...) so far, everything i've had there has been excellent and i'd highly recommend it if you're looking for good german food in portland!