Der Biergarten, Downtown Atlanta, Restaurant Review

Located in Downtown Atlanta, I had long written Der Biergarten off as nothing more than a tourist trap, masquerading as quality German fare. With its somewhat cheesy photo op cutouts and murals, they didn’t help their case in my eyes. But because I was writing the book, Food Lovers’ Atlanta (have you picked up your copy yet??), I paid them a visit. Disclosure: Der Biergarten provided the food I sampled for this review.

I was immediately impressed with their beer list. Whether you fancy pilsner, lager, wheat, they’ve got you covered. Beers come in the liter or half liter size. You can order some by the bottle, but trust me, with such a terrific beer list, you won’t need to look any further than the selections on draft. For the quality of beers and pours, they are a quite a deal at only $5-$6 for the half liter size.

Visiting with a group of four on a Saturday evening, we started things off with the giant Pretzel and the Wurstplate, featuring three different kinds of sausage and and house made mustards and sauces. The pretzel is indeed, on big ass pretzel.It was warm, gooey and probably what someone on a no-carb diet has wet dreams about. While it may have been a bit much for two people to share, it was perfect for our double date. The Wurstplate, made up of Bratwurst, Knackwurst, and Wiener Wurstchen (mixtures of pork, veal and beef) complimented the carby pretzel well.

I think it kind of goes without saying that Der Biergarten is not for vegetarians. Besides the Wurstplate, which can also be ordered as an entree, choices also include a pork shank, trout, chicken and breaded veal or pork cutlets (ie schnitzel). Our friends chose the trout and chicken, but the Jagerschnitzel was calling my name – breaded pork topped with a sauce of mushroom, bacon and onions served along spatzle? Sign me up. The Jagerschnitzle comes with with two pork cutlets so with that and ordering two sides it was plenty enough food for me and Mr. ARB to share. The sauce perfectly complimented the dish – and we made short work of mopping it up.