Schmidt’s

Came here on a Friday night. Was able to find parking relatively close by and get a seat at the bar right away. The pea pancakes with cured salmon and sour cream was delicious. The three sausage platter (kielbasa, bratwurst, chicken apple sausage) was pretty tasty as well. Combined with a decent beer list and chill atmosphere, this was a great place to grab a casual dinner and a few drinks.

Disappointed. Been to the others and tried out many dishes; also recently returned from a trip to Berlin. The veal schnitzel was a joke. It was thin and crusty. Not authentic at all. The other restaurants in the city all did better schnitzel. Berliner Woodruff on the menu was an imitation to Berlinerweisse, not bad. Service was nonexistent. We waited 30 minutes for the schnitzel, no apologizing for taken so long. Waitress was scary looking.

Came here to celebrate a friend’s birthday and it was really neat. They have a great assortment of beers that come in cools mugs.
We got a number of appetizers. The pretzel is soft fluffy and tasty unlike most pretzels I eat.
I split the spätzle and the sausage plate with 5 sausages and it was really good! The sausages were on point. Would definitely come again!
Heads up though if you drive here it might be some trouble finding some parking as you will have to park near some apartments/​houses.
I would recommend just lyfting/​ubering here.

I’m so happy that we discovered this place. Food was so delicious, great portions and such a reasonable price for it’s quality! Relaxed, casual but yet very beautiful atmosphere in it’s simplicity.
Service was excellent, our server was very attentive, personable and helpful.
The beer/​wine and drink menu us especially fun to look through, so many choices but helpful staff to guide you through choosing!
Will be back!

Great place for brunch in the area. The chicken schnitzel with waffles & egg was delish!

We decided to drop in because a Unilocaler admitted that he had to deep throat the blutwurst (blood sausage) from here because it was THAT GOOD. I felt like we had been on an endless quest for the best blood sausage, so this dude’s shameless claim provided the solace we needed. We were convinced we had to visit!
For dinner, in addition to an order of the fresh blutwurst (2 blood sausages served ‘berlin-​style’, with stewed apples and onions and potato salad), we ordered the leberkase (pork and veal loaf with a fried egg, roasted onions, potato salad).
My husband and I are pretty fckn bloody hardcore when it comes to blood sausage. We’re seeking rich, complex flavor – bring on the blood fest. The blood sausage here simply didn’t deliver – the flavor was as dull as dishwater. At this point, we’re not even quite certain if what we’re seeking even exists.
The leberkase wasn’t horrible, but I wasn’t exactly dazzled by its flavor. The flavor was reminiscent of a good ol’ thick slice of Oscar Mayer bologna – nothing remarkable.
We really enjoyed the beers we ordered: Oktoberfest for him, and an Edel-​Weisse for her. Highly recommend both.
Nothing negative to say about the attentive service. I’d like to come back to try some of the other dishes!
+ Family style dinner is served to parties of 8 or more. vegetarian, vegan and gluten-​free substitutions are available

Came back for dinner, really solid. A friend and I split 3 appetizers and he got a beer. Under $ 30 per person which was pretty good for the quality and amount of food. Service was genial and fairly quick.
Deviled Eggs — ³⁄₅. Fresh and good light texture, albeit a bit bland. Tiny bacon crumbles.
Celery Root Soup — ⁴⁄₅. Light, not creamy or heavy but a little salty. Mushrooms gave it more umami and texture.
Brussel Sprouts — ³⁄₅. Slightly oily but pretty good. A little more on the mushy or softer side than I’d like
Five Sausage Plate — ⁴⁄₅.
Chicken Apple — soft spot for this one, juicy and slightly sweet
Wild Boar Brat — my least favorite, a little too tough and dry, spicy with strong clove flavor
Kielbasa — fatty, spicy with just enough kick
Nurnberger — mild, leaner than the others, with a sweet herby spiciness
Duck Brat — juicy and flavorful, spices similar to the Boar Brat but with a much more pleasant texture

Loved it! We visited with another couple this weekend, and were able to try a great variety of foods. The pickled appetizer plate, spatzle, sausage, and DESSERTS were delicious! Not to mention, we were able to sample a different variety of beers.
Our server took a while to warm up to us, but it was pretty busy and she really did a great job.

Small, quaint, neighborhood German restaurant in the Mission. I feel like it’s on the slightly pricier side for German, but the food was delicious. Came here on a Saturday night around 8pm and there was no wait for a party of 2! They have several individual tables, a large communal table in the center, and bar seating.
They have a pretty large selection of German (I think?) beers, a few on tap and many in bottles. I’m not much of a beer person so I opted for a glass of cabernet, which was decent.
Breaded veal tenderloin (+ mushroom sauce) — The breading was crispy and salted, encasing some good veal. The mushroom sauce (which is an additional $ 2) is worth getting; it’s basically a thick mushroom gravy and goes really well on the veal or the spatzle actually. And plus, everything is better with a fried egg on top!
Smoked pork chop — The pork chop was huge. I thought this would have been better if it were more smokey actually, but otherwise the pork was cooked well, tender and not dry. There wasn’t a ton of flavor in the pork itself, but the balsamic glaze and slightly sour apple sauce complemented the smoked peppery seasoning on the pork.
Spatzle — We substituted spatzle for the starch in both of the entrees, and it was a great decision. I’ve been a big fan of these egg-​y, dough-​y noodles since the boyfriend introduced them to me a year ago.
Pretzel bread pudding — MUST GET! This was absolutely amazing. We sat at the bar area in front of the kitchen, so we saw the guy prepare this. The bread pudding is premade in pans, so he cuts off a generous slice and heats it up. Then, he sprinkles some powdered sugar on top, drizzles the rum caramel sauce, and adds a small mountain of fresh-​made whipped cream on the side. The bread pudding was just the right texture, with layers of soaked soft pretzel, and was fantastic with a bit of caramel and whipped cream on each bite.

This place is great. I don’t often organize plans to get together but I was once successful and me and about 10 friends came her for beer and sausages.
The vibe of the restaurant is the type I like. It’s not too quiet and it’s not very loud. I don’t need to yell at my friends for them to hear me. The lighting is a bit dim like most nice restaurants now and its very comforting to sit inside.
The Beer Selection: I’m a huge beer drinker. When I come to a German place, I don’t how to pronounce half the names and always forget what I had last time that I liked. Well, the staff is very helpful. They helped all of us select a beer and I’d say we were mostly all pretty satisfied w/​their suggestions.
The food is great too. There isn’t a lot aside from sausage for main courses but the appetizers are great. Boar sausage is amazing too. Def worth trying out.

What keeps me coming here ?!
Simple answer-​great food and beer selection to have my always favorite Blutwurst!!!

Needed a German food fix! Came here for brunch on a Sunday. Surprisingly not too busy around noon which was good. Got seated immediately at a communal table. My party started with the assorted breads which was great! You get a nice basket of roughly 3 different kinds of bread along with butter, a marmalade, and Nutella. I really enjoyed how hot and freshly baked the bread came. For my entrée, I had the bratwurst and curry-​wurst with some sauerkraut and potato salad. I really enjoyed both sausages, but the curry-​wurst was a little gamy despite having a decent amount of curry on top. The sauerkraut wasn’t the best I’ve had, but it was good. The potato salad was great though, and I really enjoyed that. They really pile on the food here btw. The service is great here too, really friendly and hospitable servers. A really cool spot that satisfied my German food fix!

amazeballs.
SUPER friendly fellows work here.
it’s also one of the most satisfying meals i’ve had recently.
highlights were: nice beer selection, and appelweisse is really good if you’re going for something less alcohol-​y and sweeter
the best schnitzel, like, in north america. flavorful, tender, very well seasoned, evenly coated, crisp… perfect. perfect perfect. served atop a humongous plate of spaetzel or potatoes, depending on which animal you chose for your cutlet.
the pea pancake things: so tasty. didn’t miss the traditional potato pancakes at all. the combo of their really good smoked salmon (not fishy, not too smokey and wild) + crème fraîche atop these sweet and tender mashed pea patties were heavenly
they do these very thinly sliced cucumber + radish salad, barely seasoned but still full of flavor in lieu of the traditional german cucumber salad. It’s a great take on the classic which can be executed horribly too often)
open late, too.

Schmidt’s has been our on list to try for quite some time. I’m glad we finally we able to cross if off our list. Everything we had was really good. My wife and I started with beers. How can you not in a German place? I got the Schlachner Bock and she had the Radeberger. Both we great with lots of flavor. We got a chicken apple brat and pretzel for our kids and they love them. My wife had the veal schnitzel and I had the herb spatzle. Mine was outstanding and my wife liked the flavor of hers but it was a bit dry and needed more mustard which luckily we had.
German food and beer is great and Schmidt’s does it right.

This place has not changed much, since my last review. The food is still very good. The customer service on my last visit was excellent. The Wiener Schnitzel I had was very good. It was well made and tender. I enjoyed my apple strudel and mulled apple cider. I also enjoyed the pea pancakes and pretzel roll. I would definitely come here again.

We came for Sunday brunch and enjoyed all the dishes we shared! Prost for German food!
— The fish plate (fischplatte) has some fresh fish– salmon and smoked trout w/​sides of red onions, marinated cucumbers, and bread. YUM! $ 16
— The chicken schnitzel + waffle + fried egg combo is on point. Good combo of flavors. $ 17 for that hähnchenschnitzel und waffel.
— We tried 2 sausages that came with sauerkraut & potato salad. All good.
— Apple strudel dessert is unique– has a cream-​based texture inside which I’m not use to. Still inhaled it!
— Mimosa pitcher for $ 20.
I first came here in 2010, and I’m glad I came back. I like the wooden tables and open atmosphere. We left happy and stuffed.

We sat down and T promptly announced that this reminded him his grandma’s kitchen. I ought to know him more, the entire time I’ve known him, which had been quite a long time, I thought he was fully Irish, where did the German Grandma come from? T corrected me by saying, «no, I’m quarter German all along.» She made dumplings and all sort of stuff that he could not name, but the smell brought him back to her kitchen, when he was a little kid in the Midwest. So now I had this Ratatouille image stuck in my head, where the stuck-​up food critic took a bite of Ratatouille made by that little rat named Remy, and it instantly brought him back to his childhood, happy, and skipping, and ever since then he gained perspective, and the rest, as we say, was history. Critic was no longer jaded, the restaurant became an instant success, it all started something simple, peasant like, yet, entirely wonderful.
Schmidt’s, just like the movie, evoked my friend’s fond memory of his German grandma’s kitchen. On a raining weekend afternoon, he sat, and felt all of sudden nostalgic.
«Good choice. Glad we made it out here.» He said to me without even looking at the menu. I imagine he’d be happy just sitting there drinking his bier and eat nothing at all, just the smell will do. Meanwhile, I had my eyes on the two blood sausage with potato salad combo. I had been craving for German potato salad, and this could be my very first opportunity to enjoy blood sausage on the State side. He wanted venison sausage, and I feared to double up, but… there is nothing else I wanted more.
Schmidt’s, as my German girlfriend Christine told me, is not Bavarian, nor Swabian. It serves East Germany food, as in food that you’d find in Berlin. There are subtle regional variations, for instance, the Bavarian potato salad is more sour, because they use more vinegar, there are different types of regional sausages, and the stewed apple rendition in the blood sausage, it’s Berlin style.
My Stuttgart roommate in my early twenties, who was like a mother to me, often made her sauerkraut with stewed apple and onion, pork and shredded potato. No real German food should be without sauerkraut, apple, onion and potato. This restaurant makes food with these key ingredients, and then you get your pick of wursts. I love that they have house made wursts, you can do a combo of two, for a very reasonable price of $ 19, that comes with potato salads and cabbage. This is very authentic, if you ask me.
Then there is their Alsatian flat bread. Ask yourself, when is the last time you had Alsatian food? I have been looking for Alsatian specialties in America for nearly a decade to no avail. Absolutely none. Alsace is a region that was ruled by the German Empire, or Prussia, as they were known back during the Franco-​Prussian war era, and the French. Not the same time, just that it’s been ruled by both. Alsace is a region that boarders Germany and France, and they make a regional cuisine that is essentially a mix between German and French. Those who know me know that I travel between Germany and France on an annual basis, or thereabout, and I often stop by Alsace from one country to another. Mulhouse and Strasbourg are the two well known cities in that region, and they combine this wonderful mix of ingredients that basically take the best parts of German and French cuisines to create a harmonious regional cuisine that’s like no other. (Google Alsatian food and look at the images, you’ll know what I mean). Alsatian flatbread is done superbly well at Schmidt’s. The combination of Gruyère cheese, thick bites of bacon and caramelize onion on thin bread is exactly what you’d expect. Incidentally, they are often called Tarte Flambee by their French neighbors. Germans are so down to earth, but when the flat bread is called a tart, and all of sudden it’s fancy. Take your pick on the name of the food. It’s the same thing, really. You must order it.
By now you know that I’m quite enthusiastic about this restaurant. There are a number of other entrees that are absolutely worth exploring further. Alas, my eyes are way better than my stomach.
Then there is the extensive bier offerings. I’m adding this to my rotation of Mission neighborhood eateries. Prost!

Always a great, simple, hearty meal here.
THE WAIT: None for 3 of us at 9pm on a Saturday. We did sit at one of those communal tables, but there was an empty chair buffer on either side of us.
THE SERVICE: Our server was funny. A little slow to check up on us sometimes, but I liked him. I’d as him a question and he’d just really take his time with his answer, and give you his honest opinion, like he was chatting with a friend.
THE COST: About $ 110 all in all for 2 beers, 1 cocktail, 1 starter, and 3 appetizers.
MUST-​HAVES: Chicken liver mousse. Salmon.
See my photos for additional information!
SCHMIDT’S COCKTAILS
* Hugo (sparkling white wine w/​elderflower syrup, lemon and mint. Served over ice. $ 12) — 4 stars
Nicely done, a sweet and sparkling drink.
APPETIZERS/​VORSPEISEN
* Geflügelleber (house-​made chicken liver mousse w/​onion, pickle & toast. $ 8) — 5 stars
Yummm. Ohhh yum. This was so good. The liver is also topped with a layer of BACON FAT that you can mix in to give it a richer texture (of COURSE we all did!). It’s there to prevent the liver mousse from reacting with the air. The toast was just perfection. We got extra it was so amazing (it did cost $ 1.50). Even the thinly sliced onions! My boyfriend and my dad enjoyed the pickles — not my thing.
ENTRÉE/​HAUPTGANG
* Lachs (salmon w/​mustard cream sauce, served w/​braised lentils & mizuna & apple-​fennel coleslaw w/​tangerine. $ 20) — 4.5 stars
The lentils were a bit undercooked, a little bland. I’m not a fan of coleslaw, though the tangerine was an interesting addition. But all that aside, the REAL star of this dish was the salmon. We all commented that this salmon was perfectly cooked. It was lightly crisped on the outside and ever so slightly raw on the inside. A perfect silky yet firm texture.
* Hausgemachtes Kassler (smoked pork chop w/​balsamic glaze, served w/​potato-​sauerkraut gratin & apple sauce. $ 22) — 4 stars
This was a really great pork chop. There are big chunks of fat around the edge, but they are easy to cut off and of course give the meat a wonderful savory flavor. It was sweet from the glaze. The apple sauce was amazing! I’ve never had such great homemade apple sauce — it was thick but not too grainy, and heavily spiced.
TAGESKARTE/​DAILY
* Schützenteller (hunter’s plate w/​wild boar, duck & venison sausages, served w/​red cabbage & mashed potato. $ 25) — 4 stars
Each sausage was filled with a lot of hearty chunks of meat. They definitely seem homemade, the meat being loose inside compared to processed sausage, and this definitely made them much more delicious to eat. The mashed potatoes had chunks, which I liked as well.

My favorite thing about San Francisco German restaurants is that despite German food’s reputation for being really meat-​based, there is usually a delicious variety of vegetarian options.
My go-​to is the käsespätzle with seasonal vegetables. It’s delicious, but a bit heavy and oily, so I’d suggest splitting it with a friend. I typically split an order of käsespätzle and a side order of potato salad with someone, and might have a pretzel or two depending on how hungry I am.
It was so good, that after we first came here, we were hooked and came here for special occasions. The only reason we stopped was that we wanted to branch out and try other places.
We still stop by semi-​regularly to try a new beer (I usually ask the servers for beer recommendations) and eat a pretzel or two.
I still love coming back here for beers and pretzels, because:
— We save money
— So we can visit Schmidt’s more frequently
— So we get to consume more Schmidt’s beer and pretzels
Yay!
It’s moderately noisy earlier in the evening, but as it fills up, it gets super loud. At the busier times, it’s hard to have regular conversations without yelling.
I’ve also had brunch there once. It’s much lighter and calm during the day. The eggs with vegetarian sausage was very good, but not enough to keep me coming back for brunch.

German food! Yes! I’ve recently befriended a coworker of mine, who now helps me in both relearning German and letting me know if a schnitzel tastes authentic to her. Our party consisted of me, the boyfriend, and my German friend and her husband. I recently discovered that I’m really fond of German breads, and I remembered that this place was owned by the same people who own Walzwerk. I will say that I enjoyed the schnitzel at Walzwerk more, though. In general, I liked Walzwerk better because it was more intimate and the food was prepared better there. But Schmidt’s was also quite lovely!
If I could redo my order there, I’d order two baskets of bread instead of the schnitzel and waffle. I love, love, love the bread basket they brought. It was warm and had all sorts of breads that I loved, and I had a kasestrudel (I think that’s what it was). They also included this assortment with jam, nutella, and butter, all of which went remarkably well with that dark bread. Otherwise, the schnitzel and waffle was still pretty good, and I was jealous of everyone’s hefezopf French toast (which I couldn’t have due to my stupid allergy to custard). But the thing I think about is that bread. I wonder if they’d let me just buy a loaf?
I’ll probably come back, if only for that bread basket.

wunderbare Essen, aber nicht an der Bar sitzen.
«Wonderful food, but don’t sit at the bar.»
I went in as a single diner and thought I would be treated as if I was a traveler visiting a foreign country, sharing stories with the bartender and learning about this beautiful city called San Francisco. I was wrong. I walked in and the place was packed (as always) and no one greeted me. As I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes I found a server and asked how long the wait was for 1 person. They told me I could sit at the bar and luckily there was an open seat. I sat quietly to myself for a good 6mins while I watched the bartender run around busily. He approached me and told me that he’d be right with me. Another 8mins pass by and I’m still waiting. No drink. No menu. Finally he stops and apologizes with full attention and so I order a drink off there chalkboard menu and ask to see a dinner menu. I ordered the pretzel, grilled strawberry salad, and a sausage of his recommendation — the pork shoulder I believe. I continued to wait for my food and I have to say that the view from the bar isn’t that spectacular.
I starred into the glass doors of the walk in fridge and although the first doors on the left were fun and presentable with German beers and a decent wine selection, the doors on the right weren’t so pleasant. I’ve worked in restaurants before and displaying anything in the walk-​in freezer/​fridge is usually a no-​no no matter how clean it is kept. I didn’t want to see the random tubs of Tupperware containing mixers for the bar although I’m sure this was the only location for the bartenders to grab from. Also displayed in the case were wrapped and unwrapped pieces of meat — I didn’t like the fact that I felt as if I was dinning in a supermarket isle. I’ve dined here before and sitting at a table is a much different experience.
That being said the food was good. I would skip the grilled strawberry salad (strawberries were great, but the weeds presented on my plate felt as if I was a horse eating leftovers from a trough). The Pretzel was good but mine was a bit burnt on the outside. The sausage however made up for the rest of everything else at this restaurant. The server did me well with his recommendation and everything on that plate was great.
I would dine again, but not on a bar stool.

Ich liebe Bratwurst und Bier hierfür Ich liee Schmidt’s