Wertheim’s Restaurant

Great German food and kind service. In and out in 45 minutes. A good place to get food food.

Ordered the sampler app. Immediately questioned our choice of establishments and went to Unilocal to verify. Will never fail to check Unilocal first again. Struggling for a description other than horrible… Oh wait, there’s abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, disagreeable, disgusting, heinous, hideous, repellent, repulsive, revolting, shameful

I wish I would have checked out Unilocal before eating lunch here. I wondered why the place was empty at lunch time on a Friday. Sadly, I found out.
I ordered the bratwurst and waited an inordinate amount of time for what amounted to an imitation bratwurst-​flavored hotdog on a pedestrian bun. I cannot imagine what the other food there must taste like if they cannot get this most simple and iconic german lunch even close to correct.
My waitress seemed surprised that I was going to eat there and not just looking for a bathroom. There was only one other diner in the restaurant and I gathered by their interaction that he was a regular. Nobody else came or went in the time I was there.
The best word I can think of to describe this place is «sad». I will not be back.

Reading reviews from this place I was kind of sad knowing they got such bad reviews. I’m not sure how the place used to be to compare now on food wise but I will say it’s still very authentic. The old German people still work here are very friendly and kind and I’ve always been polite when I came. Growing up And a German family I see a lot of the dishes that I saw here and remind me of my aunt’s cooking. I understand why some people feel it needs to be updated, why the atmosphere isn’t as great but to me when it comes on the good food it’s still good food. I got the tuna salad and the German potato salad which I remember as a kid being exactly like this and had no complaints whatsoever. A place like this typically goes for more of an older crowd than it does for the younger generations like myself because most of my generation doesn’t eat the food that my parents generation, grandparents generation ate, which is kind of sad because if we forget our heritage the foods that came from our heritage we are nothing more than just boring people. To anyone who reads this I hope you at least give this place a try and give your own opinion on it instead of just reading other peoples reviews.

You’ve got to be kidding. We had a sub-​par dinner at least 10 years ago which was twice as good as this time and thought we’d try it again for a last minute dinner on Sunday. Staff lounging on front porch. No patrons inside. I’ll eat about anything and that’s what this food is like. The potato pancake was dry, hard, and salty. Fairly much the same for the wiener schnitzel. I can’t believe this place is still open. It is difficult to find any good German food in Cincinnati anymore.

Decided to go here for a late dinner on a Friday night. The place was empty which was a surprise considering it’s location. We had a couple of beers and they didn’t taste right what so ever, the beer had gone bad or it’s been in the keg for too long. I had a burger and it tasted alright, nothing too special. I feel like the place and the menu is outdated and could use a makeover.

This might be the shortest review I will ever write.
Great location… No crowd on a Friday.
Awards on the walls… From 1992
Skunked beer, actually took two sips and left the rest.
Food was below par. Much like the decorations, the menu needs to be refreshed. (Frozen chicken finger apps don’t cut it.)
Don’t waste your time. I’d rather eat a PB & J.

We’ve gone to Wertheim’s once a year over a decade. There’s been a steady decline in the quality of the food and this visit was the last straw. It’s a lovely old building and I hope they make some positive changes. I had the Sauerbraten which looked like two thin, overcooked pieces of roast beef from a delicatessen soaked in vinegar just before serving. My wife had the veal which was better but still disappointing. I wish I had just gotten the hot slaw and the chocolate cake… they were excellent. We had two guests with us who had wieners and only ate a few bites. Time for new management. Deano

Delicious food especially the sauerbraten and hot cole slaw with bacon dressing. We come here every year from Albuquerque. Place could use some updating.

This is the worst dining experience I have ever had, and it was free. I would sooner spend a night in jail than sit through another bite full of this place. I came here with my family. My dad spent several decades in Germany while my mom was born and raised there. We grew up eating homemade Bavarian food. I know what German food is, Wertheim’s doesn’t come close.
My parents ordered weinerschnitzel. How can you screw that up? Wertheim’s found a way. Not only did the meat taste bland and seasonless, it tasted RANCID. That’s right. ROTTEN. This place is UNSANITARY. My rouladen came out a little later, which was still insanely fast for rouladen given that a good rouladen should sit in a roasting pan for a few hours minimum — and this place didn’t have the traffic for that to be doable so quickly. It was not only cold, but also RANCID. ROTTEN. Rouladen is a simple dish, nearly impossible to screw up — a roulade of beef and pickle, mustard, sometimes bacon. This was not even close. The rouladen had the consistency of something we’d feed our cats. Why we don’t use this stuff in wartime, I’ve not a single clue. There’s no doubt it would have killed my entire family had we not spit it out and sent it back immediately. $ 60 for an alcohol free German dinner that isn’t fit for even a bad dog is absurd.
If I am ever happy to see a single business ever fail, it will be Wertheim’s. It has spit in the face of every German cook on Earth. If I could give it –5 stars, I would. Even the cruddy «German» chain across the Licking River can do magnitudes better.
This is just really, really bad, rotten food. Stay away. Please. Let this place fail as it deserves.
Did I mention it was empty? On Covington’s famous Maifest? There’s a reason for that. This place is TERRIBLE. They’re trying to kill people with rotten food.

Terrible, half the restaurant was empty and it took an hour to get small disgusting portions. I would not recommend this place to anyone for any reason…

If you want slow service (an hour and a half) for your main meal, raw chicken that will kill you, and cold food then eat here. I came with my family and never will be back. My girlfriends chicken was extremely raw that it was still clucking at the farm. My food looked like a dog took a dump on my plat and it had been sitting for a couple of days. If you would like to experience it then order the beef rolls, it’s their specialty. Luckily we brought our own wine or else I would have got up and left. Never again will I eat here or recommend it.

If I was asked a couple of years ago to review this place I’d say, one of the best 5 stars. Indeed when I had a chance to work in cincinnati I would purposely stay in Covington just so I could eat there. A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to dine there a couple of times, once because I thought it was simply an off night, and all I can say is well. it has slipped… a lot… First off the food, good, but not great, not even close to how good it used to be. The potato pancakes were greasy and had an off taste to them, and overall quality of the food just was not there. Second the service. The best I can say it was uninspired, like everyone knows that this places days are numbered and they are just treading water till it closes. The worst was the second night we were there and one of the employees kids were running helter skelter all over the place. I can empathise that sometimes it’s hard to find day care, but letting your kids run all over the place making a big disruption is really unprofessional. I really hope that this place turns itself around, but at this rate, I expect it to be gone next time my path take me to cincinnati.

If anything, this place has gotten worse since the last time I was here.
First, I made a reservation for 8 outside. Well, they can’t seat 8 outside because the 4 top tables are concrete and can’t be moved. Instead of mentioning that on the phone, they waited until we arrived to give us the news.
But I got past that because we all wanted German food and we were hungry. Big mistake!
Three of us ordered 3 different schnitzels. All were overdone (one burnt). The sauces were so starchy that they didn’t even melt.
The Bavarian dumplings were so overcooked that they stuck to the plate and fell apart when forked.
While I like my hot slaw a bit crunchy, this was barely cooked.
I can see why the place was so empty.
I won’t be going back.

We were greeted by a friendly server who directed us to a choose a table. She remained friendly and checked in on us periodically and kept the tea and coffee cups full. The meal was not warm (appetizer or main course). We had the sauerkraut balls, the german sausage sandwich and the reuben with sides of potato cakes. The potato chips that come with the sandwich were bland and to quote my fellow diner «It feels like I have a glob of grease on my tongue.» We had asked for these to be substituted for an upcharge with potato cakes. I suspect that our waitress forgot to order these since the potato cakes came after our meal. I have been to Wertheim’s before and enjoyed the cuisine but not this time. It was sustenance and not much more, unfortunately. To make a mediocre situation less enjoyable, they wouldn’t honor a
certificate purchased because «they hadn’t authorized the amount, a $ 15 certificate». I am unclear how this should have affected me but alas, I will be contacting the owner and
about the issue. It was quite disappointing for myself and my dinner companion. I am not sure that I would return especially since I can get authentic German cuisine elsewhere. Just like supporting the locals but the business needs to be willing to support it’s patrons.

I’m not sure what’s with all the negative reviews! I’ve been here a number of times and always had an enjoyable experience… Not extraordinary but still enjoyable.
Go when you can sit outside. Watch the world go by with sandwich in your hand. Great people watching from their front porch!

Just not happy.
came in tonight for a quick meal. I think I was the only one in our party of 7 looking for a meal, and I am not big on german cuisine. So, I was just looking for something to grab. I had the chicken breast sandwhich with bacon and cheese. Upgraded my side to fries.
$ 2.50 for a handful of oily over cooked crinkle fries. some generic pre-​cooked chicken breast. Beers on tap was very weak for a german restaurant… no wheat beer? Our table was literally overtaken by fruit flies too! (we ate inside). Waitress seemed to be new or oblivious to our questions. wow. Just not a good time.
two of our party had the sauerkraut balls and one was so over cooked, it shattered while trying to cut it with a fork.
I did get a good chuckle as we were leaving… an older couple came in around 730 pm and asked to be seated… and the person at the door asked if they had a reservation! … the inside was completely empty
I’m not trying to be mean. honestly, but this place has seen its day and either needs to step up in mainstrasse or step out. It would take a lot to get me to go back.

This place was absolutely awful and I am in no way a picky eater. The potato pancakes tasted like they had freezer burn and were very greasy. They definitely were not homemade! The wurst and mushrooms was the only good food we had. Our garden salad was nothing more than wilted iceberg lettuce, old tomatoes and very slimy carrots. The crackers tasted stale too. Our entrees were just gross so we dared not try desert.
I bought three $ 25 off coupons for this place on
and I will just be out of my money on the other two coupons I purchased because I would never eat here again! I couldn’t even recommend the one good item we had as everything else was awful!

This place has received some very bad reviews, so hopes were not very high for this place, but I went ahead anyway.
I have to say, it does not look very authentic in the restaurant itself. Especially where we were sitting, it was plastered with framed American posters.
When they have American top 40’s music playing in the bar, it kind of kills the German feel completely.
Not to mention the waiter did not wear any form of leaderhosen (or had a remotely German looking figure, you all know what I mean)
The food selection looked decent, so we started with the sampler platter.
Which was not bad, but the kraut balls, was definitely not made to order, but with some of the special mustard, it was OK…
I had the zigeuner schnitzel, which was not bad, BUT I think they deep fry instead of pan fry, which I had expected when paying $ 16 for a main course.
It just gives a very different taste to the meat and potato pancake.
I don’t think I will be coming back, because it did not have a very authentic German feel, nor was the food anything I could not make better myself at home (and I am not even German, which I can partial thank America for)
It is a shame though, because I really like German food, but it has to be authentic and freshly prepared!
My quest continues for great German eateries!

Ich leibe Deutsche Küche!
Ich kenne das Wurt «liebe» übersetzen «love» bei Mann und Frau, aber ich mag zu viel Küche!
Alright, I won’t write this review entirely in terrible German. Mostly because I’ll make a bunch of horrible jokes, and nobody wants that. However I am surprised that Unilocal let me do a U umlaut, but will not allow a greater/​less than symbol.
But I will say, I come from a very German family. My dad visits the fatherland on a regular occasion, both my sister and myself were taught German from a young age, and we both have bizarre senses of humor. I grew up on this stuff, and I dig Wertheim’s.
Honestly, it’s not too German. For one, the beers are measured in ounces instead of liters. They put ice in their drinks. You’re expected to tip. But at the end of the day they make a solid schnitzel, and one of the few places I can get red cabbage that is actually palatable to me. Seriously, I hate that stuff. They do okay though.
As someone else has mentioned, this place is eerily quiet. It’s kind of sad, because it really does seem like a mom and pop operation. However on a Saturday night, I think my group was the only party there. I’d like to fix this. For being such a German area, there aren’t that many traditional German restaurants around. You should go there. The food is good, and while it’s a few bucks more than Applebees, you’re not going to break the bank.
Now is the time on Sprokets where we dance!

This is a first for me – I won’t even give this place a second chance.
I made some reservations for Mother’s Day after reading a good review. This week I tried finding more info about the place and started digging up some negative reviews. Chalking them up to the pickiness of some people, I decided my husband and I should try it tonight to get a feel for if the rest of our group would like it.
We stood for a few minutes in the empty restaurant before someone noticed us. She asked if I wanted to sit inside or outside. It was nice outside so I chose the patio. At that point, she handed me two menus and told me to find a place. A little weird, but ok.
After about ten minutes we finally got a drink order and put in an appetizer – the German Sampler with sausage, sauerkraut, a potato pancake and sauerkraut balls. It came out fairly quickly and tasted ok, though it should have been warmer than it was. Still giving the benefit of the doubt at this point.
We sat for about twenty minutes after our appetizer without anyone taking our order – I checked the time. Finally my husband had to go inside to get the woman and she acted surprised, asking «Oh, are you ready to order?»
Our food came out after about twenty more minutes, during which nobody checked on us. It was, for lack of a better word, bland. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t good. It also had the same temperature problem – nothing was warm enough.
After we’d finished eating, it was another 15 before we got the check.
It was a miserable experience – with it being a local family joint I really want to like it – I just have to be honest!