Schnitzel Platz

The German food is awesome. I love the beer I love the shnitzel and I love it all!

Food was terrible, we didn’t even finish our meals. Instead we went home and scrounged out of the fridge. Everything was soooo bland! The bread and rolls that came before the meal were dry and tough and the butter that came with it was ice cold, so good luck spreading that. My husband did like his soup, that was about it. The lighting was insanely bright, unusual ambience for dinner crowd. We were overcharged for our beer, but once pointed out the waitress fixed the mistake. One positive, I thought the live music was nice and a little quirky. However, the family sitting next to us kept standing up and dancing with their kids practically right on top of our table. I know this isn’t the restaurant’s fault, but I guess these people never heard of personal space. I think this place may be more suited towards a family crowd with no taste buds. I really tried to like this experience, but it just didn’t work for us. I can’t see myself ever going back.

Das stimmt! Ich mochte das Essen :) For those who don’t speak German, this is good lol. I have been coming here for about 7 years and have always had a good experience. I’m not a beer and bratwurst fan and I don’t eat pork so I can’t comment on that. I usually get the sauerbraten. Some people just serve roast beef and throw gravy on it, calling it sauerbraten. Not here. This sauerbraten is for real. My daughter gets the chicken schnitzel with spätzle and kartoffln with a Sprecher root beer.
The pretzel rolls are great and I enjoyed the soup. I usually get the German salad plate. I always get the sauerbraten and it is always tender. I love the gravy. The rotkraut and dumpling were delicious. I took my apple strudel home (way too full to eat it there) and enjoyed every fattening moment. I can tell that a lot of work goes into the food prep.
Our service has always been prompt. Maybe it’s the time we go? This isn’t McDonald’s or TGI Fridays — they take time to cook your food so it takes time. And yes, there is a lot of it. And yes, German food is a bit more expensive than Olive Garden, but it’s better quality. You’ll feel like you’re at your German grandma’s house due to all of the cuckoo clocks, cute dishes, and other décor. The only real complaint I have is that parking can be a pain. Otherwise, viel spass at Schnitzelplatz!

Obviously I am not German, but here everyone is German. We typically Come here for Oktoberfest but I personally think there non Oktoberfest menu is better. Excellent beer choices and great atmosphere. Been coming here for a while with friends and my hubby. This is the only German restaurant I visit and we love our German fair. Now we live a bit closer so I see many good times ahead here. The lentil soup made my hubby and my bff’s hubby love lentil soup. Be sure to get a boot of beer!!! I can’t even say what my fav dish is, but if u love sausages be sure to visit. Many of great times we have had here and we hope there are many more.

I was impressed by the food and entertainment, but I was disappointed when the bill came. This is a simple ‘café’ style, early closing, bright lights type of restaurant and I was shocked when they charged my husband and I with a plate-​splitting fee. The meal wasn’t very big, we ordered an extra soup that we paid for, and the bread basket came after we were done. What was the splitting fee for? The extra plate? The waitress was short with us when I asked why it was charged. She said ’ It states it on the menu.’ But with all the reading you do on your first visit, who notices the splitting fee. Could she have mentioned it when we ordered? I hate to say it, but feeling overcharged will keep me from returning. The bill was over $ 60 (after tip) for basically one meal and two drinks. Too much for this type of restaurant.

My wife and I ate dinner one night at Schnitzel Platz. We found the food was very salty and greasy. The service was very bad (slow, lackadaisical). When we mildly complained to the waitress about the service, she became incensed. We will never go back.

Excellent German food. The liver and dumpling soup is one of the best around. Don’t be fooled by the name, they have a wide selection of traditional German foods. Their sausage selection is quite good as are the house favorites. None of this is to mean that the schnitzel isn’t very good, it is, it’s just that there is much more. And of course, it wouldn’t be a German restaurant if it didn’t have a good beer selection as well as a vast desert menu. The place is an the small side, so if you want a weekend dinner, reservations are a must.

Came in for Oktoberfest & to celebrate a special occasion. See previous review. They did it again!!! The servers are so knowledgeable talented & helpful. I defy any to do better than this!
THANK YOU for making our day perfect.

This place is great. We take our Mom their every year on Mothersday, I me and my wife stop in randomly. The food is sooooo good. I think the purple cabage and spatzels are my fav. We have never been disappointed. The also have this apple desert that is blow your mind good! I don’t drink, but my friends say their beer selection is great! You will definitely be gong back!

We went on the second night of their Oktoberfest and the place was dead. We all ordered beers and they were wonderful. Our dinner on the other hand was a huge disappointment. It tasted like they made everything in advance and just heated it up when we ordered. The spaetzl were hard as if they were frozen before and then just tossed in some butter. $ 5 for a side of them and it was a very small portion. My schnitzel was good but the dumplings were odd tasting. I’ve been to Okotberfest in Munich and this was a far cry from the real thing.
We had a
gift certificate that we purchased back in March to use. When we turned it in to our waitress she said they are not accepting them during Oktoberfest. No where on the coupon does it state that. The first manager came over and basically did nothing. He said no and left when I was in the middle of speaking to him. The the owner came over (I am assuming it was the owner). Old guy, white hair and beard. He was equally as terrible as the first guy. He was rude, loud, unwilling to budge. He said there was a sign on the front door stating we couldn’t use it. It took about ten minutes of arguing and him making me feel like the cheapest ass in the world before he finally threw his hands in the air and said fine. It was the worst experience with customer service I have ever dealt with. The place was way too expensive for the quality of the food and with managers and owners who treat their FIRST TIME CUSTOMERS like that, I don’t want to go back. I have another gift certificate to use and I will give it away before I go back.

I have been coming here for years and the food is always great. If you like good German food then this is the place for you.

A friend and I were actually headed to a different restaurant to eat. When we got there we discovered it was closed at 6 PM on a Saturday night. Which baffled us. As we were driving to it I noticed the Schnitzel Platz. I had never eaten there before but I tossed it out there as a suggestion, and was a short drive away. Which she was down for trying.
When we walked in the place was packed, but there wasn’t anyone waiting in line. The hostess asked if we had reservations, and we told her we were walk in’s. I asked if we could sit at their bar and eat and she immediately sat us there. The place has a lot of showmanship about it in my opinion. It seems to be decorated as a German beer hall, at least that was my impression of it. It’s a large open space with huge ceilings. There are tons of cuckoo clocks and huge beer steins decorating a shelf along the walls. The wait staff were also carrying beers out on these long paddle things, which seemed harder than it looked. It was a little loud but that came off more as it being a festive place where everyone was having a good time to me, and something easily overlooked.
I ordered something called Thuringer Sausage that came with sauerkraut, and warm German potato salad and my friend ordered the Veal Loaf which came with the potato salad as well. The horseradish and mustard that came with our meal was very good and I suspect was made in-​house. We both thought our meals were very good. The way the menu said it, I think both our meals were smaller compared to the others. Which was good because it was so much food I barely finished mine. With tip our meal came out to be a little over $ 50. Which was certainly worth it for the meal and experience we had.
At one point while we were eating our meal, I happened to notice some of the conversations going on with the employees and later between the wait staff and some of the customers at the bar. Which were in German. Now I’ve never been to Germany, and I’ve only eaten at a handful of German restaurants but it left a good impression about our foods authenticity.
Towards the end of our meal I was looking around and checking the place out. I noticed two older gentlemen sitting on a bench near the front door. They were drinking a beer and wearing lederhosen (A traditional German men’s outfit). I spent a minute or two trying to figure out why they were dressed up when I decided to just ask the bartender about them. He said they were musicians that played there but were taking a break at the moment. The aspect of them having live polka music really perked up my interest in the place.
Just as we were finishing up, the gentlemen came off their break and started playing. From where we were we couldn’t see what they were doing, but we could see everyone watching them and recording them with their phones. As we were leaving we could see they had pulled 6 – 7 people away from their tables and one of the waiters was leading them in some sort of polka dance. It was all quite silly but in an awesome fun g-​rated sort of way.
I would definitely give the place two thumbs up. It looks like it would be great for birthday parties or anniversaries.

Good old fashioned German food. I ordered the Wiener schnitzel with potato pancakes. The food was very good and the service was excellent. It’s like being on vacation in Germany. The night we went they had live music I could see a large party having a great time singing along.

We love Schnitzel Platz! We make a night out of it when we need to drop off both cars for oil changes as everything is in close proximity.
This time we tried the appetizer sampler and each got a bowl of soup. The sampler was so good and had a nice variety (potato pancakes, mini burgers with sautéed onions, sauerkraut balls and stuffed mushrooms). My husband is a fan of liver dumping soup so he ordered that and I got the goulash which had a nice spice to it.
We ordered their apple strudel to go for dessert. Delish!
It seems they have raised their prices somewhat which I understand but I think they need to rethink their pricing structure (ie $ 5.99 for a cup of soup is a little too high in my opinion).
Other than that it’s a great place for German food!
5÷4÷15 update: Wolfgang, we first learned about your restaurant when we were on North Ave. and drove past it. We were intrigued. That was about 8 years ago :).

Very good schnitzel, sides, and ambiance. Portions are generous and service very good. Really enjoyed the music… the two gentlemen playing were interacting with the guests and keeping it fun.
I’ve been here a few times now, and each time I hear from my guests how much they enjoyed the meal and how they wished they’d have come here sooner.
It isn’t the cheapest option, but it is one of the better German restaurants around.

This place saved my valentines day. On a whim my wife and I decided to go here. We were pleasantly surprised with a fun atmosphere and flowing beer. The live music was fun and hearing a lot of favorite love songs remixed for polka is always an interesting twist.
The food took a while to come out but it was busy and their kitchen was small. When it got to our table we were delighted with fresh authentic German cuisine.
This is a family environment but drinking is more than encouraged. Come here and have a great time. Have a designated drive folks.

I came here on the Friday night after Christmas with a group of 8. We had a reservation and were seated without issue, but that’s where the good service ended.
We all ordered a drink plus a water, as our waiter was very knowledgeable about the beer and wine options. A separate server came back with the water tray. As he was handing the waters out, he spilled half a glass of ice water on one of my friends– stared awkwardly at her for a second and then walked away. Ummm… really??? We were all shocked at that.
When the waiter came back with our adult beverages, we were ready to order. A few people got an app with a meal, a few just got a meal, and two of us (me included) just got the German pretzels with bier cheese dip. The couple who ordered apps and a meal got their app within 15 minutes. The person who got a soup with his meal got that about 10 minutes after that. The rest of us sat and waited for AN HOUR or more for our food. Yes, the place was busy, but seriously?! The place was emptying out at that point too. Some of us were considering another drink and dessert but the wait for food scared us into thinking we might be trapped there all night if we ordered anything else! They lost some good business that way.
My pretzel was «holy hell» salty… I scraped off a ton of the salt and had a decent pile on the edge of my plate. The bier cheese sauce had no flavor besides also salt, and probably came from a can. I wouldn’t order it again. I was totally unimpressed with my experience and wouldn’t hesitate to go elsewhere for German food.

Wow. That’s just my reaction to the music. I can’t really get past the music to get to anything else in the restaurant. But I’l certainly try.
It was a quiet (business-​wise) night at Schnitzel Platz on a Friday night when we showed up for our reservation. Our server was mostly attentive and answered our questions (when we could hear her). Between the three of us we had very different choices. All were good. Only problem (food-​wise) was that our entrees took 30 minutes. That’s not 30 minutes of catching up and chatting, that’s 30 minutes of brain-​scrambling accordion music and the chicken dance. When the food did arrive, mine was good, but so hot I couldn’t eat it. Although I didn’t try anything else I believe they enjoyed it.
Honestly, had I not been there with my brother and sis in law who kinda made a big deal about going there I’m really not sure how I would’ve handled the noise. Something makes me think there would have been napkins in my ears though. Or maybe just a very harsh «we must leave now!» to my date.
The leftovers (most of my food) that I had today for lunch was great though. The food is good, the music is horrifyingly loud.
Please, turn down the music. It made me sad; on the inside.

I’ve been to this restaurant three times, and each time it was excellent. The service is always timely and friendly, and although I haven’t had a reservation, I was always sat within five minutes. The food is authentic, delicious German food, and the two-​man band sings festive music throughout your meal. It is a fun place to relax, eat good food, and have a German beer.
Try the family platters. You will not be disappointed and have plenty of leftovers to take home.

Oktoberfest lasts two month long at Schnitzel Platz!
My husband and I had the pleasure of dining here during their Oktoberfest celebration. Friday night and the place was packed. They accept reservations and with a group of 10 of us, reservations was certainly the way to go.
The atmosphere was quite lively, there was live music, beer games and everyone was in a friendly mood. For Oktoberfest, they set up and indoor tent and line the tables up beer hall style. You’re packed in elbow to elbow in seating but it’s worth it. Pretty soon strangers become friends and are offering you some samples from their meals or hot peppers someone brought in. True story. Ask Osi V or Angela P, they were there and may or may not have been part of that pepper action.
Anyway, we ordered a lot of appetizers to share around the table – soft pretzels, potato pancakes, bratwurst and other sausages and spatzle. The menu is traditional German and everything is hearty and large portioned. Everything we ordered was delicious. I can eat a whole stack of their potato pancakes – those were definitely my fave. Crispy soft, just perfect.
Of course tons of German beer options but they also offer a full bar. I haven’t tried a lot of German beer so I appreciated the beer sampler – 5 different small pours to sample. Lots of Das Boots (2 litre boots) of beer at our table and around the restaurant. Lively atmosphere indeed!
As mentioned earlier, it was quite packed the evening we visited. Our food order got lost in the shuffle so we waited a LONG time to finally eat more than the complimentary bread. Our waiter had no idea our food wasn’t brought out to us (he was the emcee for one of the games) so he quickly amended that error. They brought out sauerkraut balls on the house and provided dessert on the house too. I think they comped a bit of our meal as well. I know errors can happen in restaurants, especially when they are busy, but it’s how they react to those mistakes that is important. And Schnitzel Platz was a class act about everything. This won’t deter me from visiting in the future.

Good german restaurants are sadly a dying genre in and around the Chicago area. (Zum Deutschen Eck, Golden Ox, Heidelberger Fass, Metro Club [technically Austrian] have all left us.)
Schnitzel Platz DOES offer a fun German style experience, especially on the weekends. The décor is great and entertainment on the weekends is top-​notch. They have a great German beer selection. The food is authentic but just average. I think they are a bit pricey as well. I may be overly critical because I grew up on German cooking.