The Bavarian Lodge

Reviews 4

A

A Private User

For what this place SHOULD be, the food is just ok... And the service is CRAP to be even remotely nice about it! They may be knowledgeable about beer, but they can be downright rude when the place gets busy! Weve been to this restaurant several times and we keep coming back desperately hoping that the service and food will get better, but it never does! Its unfortunate that this is the only place of this ilk in the area and that they know that they can get away with treating people this way without losing business! First, the Manager / Host - He started off nice the first couple of times we were in, but when we asked to speak to him the last couple of times due to a rude server on one occasion and a rude bartender on another occasion he refused to listen to what we said. He took the sides of the employees both times stating that they would have never acted the way they did if we hadnt provoked it. Seriously? So our parents and us are now provoking people to treat us poorly?! Next, the older female bartender - Seriously dont sit at the bar when shes having a bad day and dont ask her what types of ciders theyre carrying this month! My bff is allergic to beer so we drink cider. FYI... They are NOT the same! There are no barley or hops in ciders! Just apple cider and yeast! We know these things! We brew our own! Learn the difference if youre going to tend a bar and dont take your bad day out on us! A good portion of the wait staff - It seems that on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights this place can get REALLY busy and they have a small kitchen (there are rules, read them or dont come to this place... Ever!). We completely understand that if were going to eat there on these days that we plan for it to take anywhere from 2 - 3 hours. We are really nice to the wait staff and we even make jokes with them. We tell them not to worry about it taking time as long as they get things right because we have allergies and food restrictions to worry about. Its a huge pain though when the server wont write anything down and then they act as if its our fault that they cant get anything right. I mean if you take an order for 4 people and only bring out 3 salads, dont you see an issue here?! Then you finally bring out the 4th salad with the meal... Whats the point now? That is one of the lesser issues. I wont even go into some of the more tragic and ridiculous things that weve experienced from a service standpoint at this place...

MI

Mike Brennan

Unique, but I just dont like the traditional food as much as others I guess. Plus, theres lots of beers, but how do you choose one - they either need beer flights, a beer sommelier, or better descriptions, because the servers dont know anything (owner: perhaps require them to drink your selection so they can actually give advice). They dont accept reservations, and why? Weve been here often enough, and Im always disappointed, but my family likes it a lot. To be truthful, I feel like it has all to do with the staff and servers; theres no "family feel" here, the owners should be mingling with customers, there should be happy people at the front who wear smiles, and well, it just seems like theyre busy enough that they dont have to go the extra mile in service. I feel rushed every time Im here, its loud, and in my opinion the seating is a little cramped and uncomfortable. However, with a little improvement in customer service, I think this could be a real gem. Perhaps have some traditional music on in the background? Perhaps hire more servers or pay them better or get a larger location... Something is missing here. Again, I think the missing piece is that the owners are literally missing. I would like to see a head honcho roaming around and making the place seem more friendly rather than Im just a number and Cha Ching on the cash register. Theyre not bad, but if you read the owners comments to all the reviews, youll see that the owner is snooty, unapologetic with sarcasm toward the reviewers, inappropriately shares his dirty laundry greivences of his or her employees (see Rebecca review), and is generally rude to us reviewers and blames the customer for our bad experiences. Ive never been this harsh to a good restaurant before - Id just like to push the owners (assuming its not a chain) into calming down about our constructive criticism, and into making this a better place. Good luck; hope I wasnt too harsh with my opinions. Could be a 4 star someday, but no way is this place winning any Michelin stars anytime soon - dont be fooled by the 5 star reviews.

M

M Buchmann

If it would be possible to provide negative stars, I would. I have been visiting this establishment for years and have continued to see a steady decline in the overall experience here. I am not sure how this place gets such positive reviews but I can only surmise that it must be because it is the only German restaurant around. I have always been willing to forgo the mediocre food and ridiculously overpriced beer in light of an interesting ambiance however the last straw was the extremely poor and disrespectful service by the management of this restaurant. We arrived for a birthday celebration and while waiting for our entire party of 11 people to arrive, proceeded to have several drinks at the bar. We were notified that the eleventh person would be arriving momentarily so we proceed to the front of the restaurant to be seated at which time the manager informed us that they would not seat us until the last person had actually arrived !!! So all 10 of us stood in the foyer wondering what the problem was??? We requested some clarification as to why we could not be seated to at least order our drinks and begin reviewing the menu and we were informed that it was their "policy" not to seat incomplete parties. So, instead of enjoying a happy birthday celebration, all 11 of us got back into our cars and left. I can assure you it will be the last time I ever visit this establishment. If you feel the need to visit, do not expect too much, certainly not from the management. Clearly they make so much money that they do not need customers. I will be sure to add this post to Yelp as well as load my displeasure onto my Facebook account for further dissemination.

BI

Bill Allan

The last time I was at this restaurant was about 2005. It was fine, but it seemed dated at the time. My most recent experience was in March of 2017. It was a date with my wife (no kids!). We had dinner and drinks and a wonderful night. AMBIENCE: This place is about as legit as you can get if youre looking for an old-fashioned German restaurant (yes, I know, its specifically Bavarian...). The lodge has a great vibe, plenty of space, and appropriate lighting for a chill mood or celebrating with friends. Decorations are cool too - reminded me of my trip to Germany. FOOD: The menu was streamlined, providing enough options to cover plenty of appetites but not TOO overwhelming. Just right. The food itself was excellent; great quality with very fair pricing. SERVICE: The manager and hostess were very welcoming, right from the moment we entered. We were seated in a nice, private booth (perfect for date night). Our server, Joe, was fantastic. Great friendly attitude (really friendly in an authentic way, not that fake smile greeting you sometimes get from servers who are overworked and underpaid), and hustling the entire time. He provided us with several suggestions when we asked and even went to check on some specific information regarding the bourbon and whiskey that I had asked about. His recommendations ended up making for a perfect dinner - all of the food was great and our drinks paired well. We even took a risk with dessert and tried another of his suggestions, and it ended up being great. OVERALL: This place is worth the drive. Go there and try it for yourself, and prepare to appreciate a fun German/Bavarian dining experience!