Cafe Bavaria – Wauwatosa
So this morning/early afternoon was my first visit to the new Café Bavaria in the downtown portion of the Village of Wauwatosa, and I can say it was a nice, if not an expensive visit. Now, before I get into the details of the restaurant, I need to inform everyone that I am a bit biased towards the group (The Lowlands Group) that owns Café Bavaria. They own several restaurants around the area – Café Hollander on the eastside of Milwaukee, Café Hollander next to Café Bavaria in ‘Tosa, Café Bennelux in the Third Ward of Milwaukee, Café Centraal in Bayview, and Trocadero near downtown Milwaukee, all of which I thoroughly enjoy. This new restaurant had me, when it was first announced, VERY intrigued, simply because it was a slight diversion from its other Dutch-centric places and the building it was going in was MADE FOR this style of restaurant. That, and it’s close to my house and Milwaukee is missing a good, comfortable, German restaurant families can come to and really enjoy.
So, now for the critique: as always, you have to start with the hostess, and how you are greeted. As I have experienced at every Lowland Group’s locations, the front of the house has always been warm, professional and inviting. Admittedly it was less than busy, but they were engaging when we arrived, conversed with my two younger sons (even jokingly offering them a kids menu, not because they were young, but to have something to “pass the time”), and seated us right away. Next thing I noticed was the ambience. As always, the Lowlands Group did not disappoint. The outside of the building, as I mentioned before, was tailor-made for this type of restaurant, and they did a fine job inside as well. From the sports paraphernalia (a futbol player painting), to the obligatory ‘Sound of Music’ posters (wonderfully in German), a knight suit, the exposed ceiling beams, the “old school” light fixtures, large family style table settings, and the warm and inviting fireplace with benches and table surrounding it. So far so good, right?!?
Next is the review of the menu. I’ve seen many a menu put forth by the Lowlands Group, and this menu has many of the styling’s of their other menus, with a German flair. It was a broader menu than other Lowland restaurants (a lot of which was because of the addition of the brunch menu), but the variety of appetizers, breakfast items, sandwiches, and lunch entrees was good. This menu could be considered a bit ‘large’, but I believe it gives the consumer a fantastic opportunity to try (over multiple visits) a myriad of different German dishes, and some American cuisine, with a German twist. It works well for the average American, and could make the German ‘tourist’ feel at home. For my visit, I ordered the Summit Breakfast, which included: Three eggs (your way), jalapeño cheddarwurst, thick cut bacon, Bavarian ham, smashed potatoes, 9 grain toast. Overall, it was a large amount of food (3 eggs, 3 pieces of meat, and a good portion of ‘smashed potatoes’), but considering the lack of customers, the quality of the plate (specifically the look, and temperature), was somewhat disappointing. My wife had the Black Forest Omelet, which included Bavarian ham, Wisconsin Weisslacker cheese, Wisconsin Butterkäse cheese, herbed cheese, smashed potatoes, 9 grain toast. Again, a tremendous amount of food and by all accounts no complaints. My boys split the Zwei (2 Sausage) portion of the Eins, Zwei, Drei sausage entrée which included: Your choice of 1, 2, or 3 of our house recipe wurst, smashed potatoes, Düsseldorf mustard, red cabbage, apple bacon slaw, Bavarian sauerkraut. Once delivered I realized the actual sausages were not nearly as close to what I, and other Wisconsinites, make at home. I know it’s difficult, but when you’re a German restaurant, in Wisconsin, you need to, at the very least, meet home expectations. The sausages were dry, and in my estimation, that is probably the easiest thing to combat for mass orders. The taste, I will admit, was OK, but not worth the $9.00/sausage (order). As for drinks, I ordered a freshly squeezed orange juice, a water, and a Wurst Bloody Mary. I don’t order freshly squeezed OJ very often, but thought I’d give Bavaria a chance, and for my like (little to no pulp), I was pleasantly surprised. Reasonable and tasty, I will probably order this drink again when we come back for brunch. The Wurst Bloody Mary was properly spiced, with a mass of toppings (pickle, bacon, sausage “chunk”, lemon, lime, olive, and a brussell sprout). Lastly, I did not try any of the items off this menu, but if you’re looking for a Gluten free menu, Bavaria has that as well.
All in all the brunch was enjoyable, but I would suggest a few improvements: 1) plates need to be a bit neater (ie: less oil on the eggs and cleaner presentation) 2) proper temperature of all meals and 3) being that it’s a German restaurant, I would figure out a way to keep the sausages moist. As for the flavors of the food, the waitstaff, and ambience, Café Bavaria just needs to keep doing what their group’s cousins are doing, and they’ll be fine. I will be back (many times) for lunch, dinner, and most certainly for a boot (or two), so I am sure I’ll be blogging about how good the Schnitzel was, and the multitude of good German biers on tap that I was able to enjoy. For those out there reading this, I highly suggest you visit Downtown Wauwatosa, or as I like to call it “Little Europe”, and stop in for a litre of great bier, or if you’re in “a mood”, a Shotski while watching a futbol game.
Prost!
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