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.  thefoodis 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 offoodand 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.

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 orderfoodwhen 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. thefoodin general was interesting and tasty. i would go back to try additional dishes.

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 thefoodis 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).

they have awesome germanfoodand 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 germanfoodin portland!