Sima’s Restaurant

Unfortunately Sima’s is now closed and the owner has retired. Too bad because the food was great!

They don’t make places like this anymore. Quality meal prepared by a chef who loves to see his customers enjoy his work! Alfred and Sima are super sweet too and we always look forward to great conversations with them!
I recommend chicken schnitzel or steak burgundy and definitely order fritters. Call ahead for the fritters because Alfred makes them fresh and it takes time. Also the crêpe appetizer is to die for! And dessert the best crème brûlée I’ve ever had! We’ve ate at 5 star fancy restaurants and they can’t come close to their food or desert.

My family and I come here on special occasions but we want to make it here more often. I definitely believe in supporting local businesses and Alfred definitely deserves the money more than the fast food places around here. I’ve tried their pasta dishes, their steaks, their salads, and have never been disappointed. My favorite item that has my mouth watering even right now is Alfred’s crème brûlée. I’ve had crème brûlée from so many different places and even in different countries and his is the best!

I have been going here for about 6 years thanks to my uncle, who has been a regular for around 20 years. Even though my family lives across So Cal, we opted to make this our typical meeting spot for birthdays. The owners are so kind and we have never been disappointed in the food or service. Their chicken madras (mild, I’m a wimp) and chicken south seas are wonderful. Or the steak metropole if you want beef.
Chicken and avocado waldorf salad is huge and yummy, and the honey mustard is amazing! They make their own marinara sauce for the pasta. Don’t miss the garlic bread to go with your meal. The fried banana and crème brûlée are wonderful choices for desert. I’m making myself hungry just thinking about their food! Guess I know where I’ll be going this weekend, haha.

I’m not German, so I’m not sure about the authenticity of this food. I ordered something from Spain.
I totally recommend this place! Food is great in all senses: delicious.

This restaurant has great food. I always come
to this area for my dental appointments and discovered this place randomly. I really like their bratwurst and potato salad. Their house made vinaigrette is also delicious, so I recommend trying their salad! Make sure to save room for their crème brûlée and banana dessert!

Well this was just a delight — very much enjoyed finally eating at this undiscovered treasure! Sima’s Restaurant has been in business for 22 years and I am so sorry we waited so long to give it a whirl. We will definitely be back.
The cuisine is fine dining, the ambiance is a bit dated, but, hey, 22 years — in a business building that has seen better days. Do NOT judge the book by the cover by any means with Sima’s. Let your Taste Buds do the judging.
Alfred, the owner, was a jack of all trades and gave us excellent service, respectfully checked on us throughout the meal without being overbearing and cooked up some of the best food I’ve had in quite a while.
My Mom had the German meatloaf served with an onion sauce, which was moist and full of flavor. Mom asked to substitute roasted potatoes and vegetables rather than pasta. Alfred was eager to please and had no problem with the substitutions. The potatoes were perfectly roasted and the vegetables seemed farm fresh and cooked perfectly!
I had the Chicken Marsala — and it was fantastic — seasoned just right, the Marsala sauce was stunning — smooth and rich — the perfect complement to, the perfectly prepared chicken that came cut into bite-​sized morsels– just the right ratio of sauce to chicken! Heaven! Alfred was eager to accommodate my food allergies, serving up sweet fresh carrots and broccoli — tender not soggy, could be cut with a fork — in place of pasta. The salad was crisp and fresh with a very tasty vinaigrette, cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes and some green peppers. The ice tea was fresh brewed.
I’ve heard great things about Sima’s over the years, and the raves are well deserved! Forgive the neighborhood, overlook the location — go for the food. Has a nice selection of beer and wine. We’ll try a dessert next time — the crème brûlée will be on our radar… but I’ve got my eye on the «Kaiser Shmarrn Tirol,» an Austrian Pancake dessert with almonds, raisins and pineapple.
Specializes in German food, but has a great variety of steaks, chicken and pastas. I asked Alfred what he recommended and he quaintly replied, «If I don’t like it it’s not on the menu.»
We will definitely be back… hoping to see more customers the next time we go… Sima’s deserves the business. Your palate deserves the experience.
Sima’s goes on our «most favorite» list.

Okay so we really wanted to like this place. We waited a week to come here. We managed to find time on a Saturday evening. Nobody was there when we arrived at 720. The lights were dim and the air conditioning was not on, even as we dined. Not even a fan. The décor is very dated to 80s I would say. Besides that the food. We all had 3 different steak dishes all of which were supposedly New York Steaks. Now, I am not a huge fan of the cut but the quality of the meat was so poor I could have sworn it was sirloin or chuck. The owner and cook were nice, not incredibly warm but nice. I want to give this place another shot but 4.5 stars is really misleading. Perhaps the quality is better for lunch? If so then I shouldn’t have to pay dinner prices for sub standard steak and no air conditioning.

A friend of mine took me to a business lunch here. They raved about the historical and culinary connections to her family, but I hadn’t really ever heard of it. Well, I’m a fan. The menu offers many options for a continental palate, and I wanted to try so many items. I decided on house salad, and spaghetti with alfredo sauce. The honey mustard homemade dressing complimented the freshly grated carrots, greens, and cucumbers. I could actually taste the mustard! And, the spaghettie with alfredo sauce possessed a special element– it was hand crafted with delicious bits of ham. The combination of cheesy scrumptious sauce and spices with bits of ham was precisely what I wanted in a salty sweet combination. My friend encouraged me to try the crème brûlée. I agreed… AMAZING. With every bite, the serotonin levels in my brain altered my chemistry and caused me to smile ridiculously as I consumed the ramekin of chilled joy. I will go back for many business lunches in this quaint, darling, and delicious kitchen of Sima and Alfred.

First time I went there it was delicious I had the schnitzel and my husband has the saur brauten. And red cabbage. It was very fresh made to order will be back.
Very nice staff

First time coming here, I had the chicken south sea and it was amazing. The rest of my family loved all the other dishes they had. We also had the «seals impression» desert and it was soo good!!! I loved everything and the gentleman that was serving us was soo nice and polite.

Had been meaning to try this place for years. Finally got an opportunity. Another disappointment. The staff (of 2) seemed bothered that I was there from the start, and the long awkward periods of time that my server was absent from the room made us feel like we were in a closed restaurant.
My Son and I ordered the Sauerbraten, and it was about as good as Hamburger Helper. I dont relish paying that much money for something I could have myself slapped together in 5-​minutes using canned goods.
Too bad. I really was hoping that this would be better.

Stopped by for lunch based on the reviews. We tried the bratwurst with sauerkraut and potatoes. I will give it an A+ good food and food service. I will have to come back and try the schnitzels. Great job!

We’ve been spending a lot of time in the Loma Linda area recently, and, thanks to fellow Unilocalers, found this little gem. I won’t bother with the «mom ‘n pop» praise — that has already been overdone. And, yes, the décor is dated… but, if you want well cooked continental style food, all freshly prepared, this is your place. I am giving it my rare, first visit, five stars.
Had lunch there yesterday. She had their breaded chicken breast with potatoes, I had a small dinner salad and the «Coquille St. Jacques». While the chicken was very good — lightly breaded, moist, perfectly cooked, and while the dinner salad — lettuce, shredded carrot & tomatoes, with honey-​mustard dressing — outstanding, the scallops and their sauce were fantastic.
I guess that you need to be a scallops fan… but if you’re not, that’s ok — leaves more for the rest of us. There used to be a restaurant in Woodland Hills called The Seashell. This was in the late 70’s and it lasted until the early 90’s, when the owner closed it and moved back to Switzerland. My regular meal there was the Coquille St. Jacques. This is probably the first time that I have seen Coquille St. Jacques in a restaurant in almost twenty years! Alfred’s (Sima’s) is a bit different. First of all, the cream sauce tastes very similar, but it also has some finely chopped veggies in it — a nice addition. The other big difference is that The Seashell used to put grated cheese on the dish and bake it just before serving — wish that Alfred would do this…
I am also grateful that they only gave us six pieces of the wonderful French Bread — gotta try to control the carbohydrate input… But then they also have a delicious sounding list of desserts… I can see the problem already.
We are looking forward to returning and trying many other items. The fact that they offer a plethora of various sauces, all freshly homemade, is a huge plus. I am not, generally, a purist, I like really, really like sauces. And I like it when somebody else makes them.
This place would be a big problem if it were much closer to Canyon Lake.
(I just realized that this is my 100^th review on Unilocal… how appropriate! Edit: I was expecting balloons, confetti, fireworks, etc., when I hit the «Post» button, but nothing happened :()

Can’t say enough about this little hidden gem. The chicken Marsala is the best I’ve had and when I order it anywhere else, I always compare it to Sima’s. The chicken florentine is good too. It is clear that he (owner/​chef) has so much passion and love for cooking. He makes all the sauces and salad dressings from scratch.
Yes the décor is outdated but I would much rather he put his money towards all the fresh ingredients he uses to make the food simply delicious than an expensive renovation.

2 star — my visit was a big disappointment overall.
Had this restaurant bookmarked for some time and this past Friday finally came my chance. I have a big customer down the road, the major corperation in the area. They have heard me mentioning this place repeatedly and me wanting to schedule the next appointment with them, so i could have lunch or dinner at Sima’s…and i finally did.
I really really wanted to like this place. The cook/​owner being German, me being German, them serving some German food — how could i not? Because:
1) Lentilsoup — Obviously no bacon/​ham/​ham bone etc. were used. ¹⁄₃ consisting of lentils/​a few slices of carrots sunk to the bottom, ²⁄₃ clear water and a hint of curry powder. My eyes popped when it came and i hoped this was not a sign of things to come. Unfortunately it was.
2) My entry: Sauerbraten (sauerbraten is marinated beef, then marinate is used to create a gravy), $ 14.95, served with fried potatoes and red cabbage.
My serving consisted of 2 half slices of thin beef with at most 1 teaspoon of gravy spread across the top. The whole plate reeked of cloves when it came. Obviously the red cabbage was home-​made and somebody had a very heavy hand with the cloves.
The restaurant itself
Dated but clean. Odd:. Folded cloth napkins but even less then cafeteria-​style quality silverware. Service okay, nothing special.
Customers on 3 tables incl. me. While i was there, 1 couple left, another one came.
Comments:
For the price, i would get 2 x the amount of meat at Alpine Village Restaurant in Torrance or German Deli in Upland, served with a slice of bread on the side and better quality food.
The table next to me had pasta dishes — servings also mediocre-​size.
I am so glad i was running late that day, so ending up going to dinner by myself rather then inviting some people along for lunch, before we got started with inspections at the customer.
I don’t know where all these 4 & 5 star ratings come from on Unilocal etc.
Out of curiosity i did some checking. Could not find any reviews anywhere from any legit food critic/​newspaper — i would have at least expected 1 or 2 from a local food critic, considering how long this place has been around.

First time dining here and definitely not our last! We came in for lunch and were warmly greeted and answered all of our questions about the items on their menu. I had the Frikadelle which is a German Meat Loaf with onions and tri-​colored pasta. Excellent dish! My Girlfriend had the German Bratwurst which came with the best Potato Salad! Both dishes were tasty and looked appetizing too! We did share and we very much enjoyed both of our selections.
Comfortable dining, excellent service, reasonable prices and awesome food. What more can you ask for?

Exceptional continental cuisine.
Small place that you could easily pass by without noticing, but the food is amazing. I can grill a good steak at home, so I never waste my money on a steak at a restaurant, except at Sima’s. Nobody around prepares a steak like Alfred, with the wide variety of sauces and toppings.
The staff is just the two owners: Alfred and his wife Sima, who prepare and serve everything and will take time to chat.
The food is 5 star, but I gave Sima’s 4 stars because the décor inside really needs a make-​over.

This is one of my sisters favorite restaurants so we all went out with the family. We had a party of 6 and they were very patient, friendly and accommodating. Sima and Alfred are Wonderful! They had great suggestions but I think everything on the menu is probably great. I had a meal from the German part of their menu. The scallops appetizer was yummy and the crème brûlée is FABULOUS :)
It is difficult to find great food in this area and I think this is a little hidden gem. The chain restaurants are fine but I like to try new places.
I suggest calling ahead to make sure they are open since they do have limited hours.
ENJOY!

Take a step back in time in a good way. The chef Alfred is from Frankfurt and his food is great. The German food is excellent good pasta. The little hole in the wall does not look like much but the food will convince you to stay and come back. Keep the local places in business, try them.