Gustav’s Bargarten

Great third visit so gets an extra star. Had the speck and onion Flammkuchen and the fondue. That is definitely my usual but great as always. Sat right away it was more communal because I usually come for lunch not happy hour. That is not a problem for me, I hope my convos weren’t bothersome to others but where all there and paying to enjoy ourselves. My drinks were filled perfectly enough which is always a must have for me personally. The prices were also a pleasant surprise with happy hour.

The food was good, but plan to be there a while. We waited quite a bit for the check, and there were not a lot of people there.

OMG… so tasty. Service was great. Could be because of the size party we were in (16), but my experience had been crap service when gratuity is tacked on automatically. The food was great. Rosemary cheese bread, potato pancakes, fondue, pretzels… all really fresh and flavorful. Potato pancakes were light and not greasy like they can be. Rosemary cheese bread was my favorite. I got a chicken and mushroom dish that was very filling, cooked great, and very tasty. Chicken was still moist, which is hard for some places to get right with breast meat. Had a bite of a friend’s steak, that was heavenly. Great selection of wine and beer. Will definitely go back, but go in hungry. This is hearty food!

Terrible slow service. Second time in and I sat at the bar; no service from the bartender. I’m thinking, «This outta be interesting.» I ordered a flat iron steak, and the manager comes by, so I asked for utensils and a steak knife. He said my butter knife would work fine. I told him to get me a steak knife anyways. Who does or says something like that when you’ve ordered a steak? And the bartender, he’s checked out in some other world. How is this place going to survive when service is dismal? I wasn’t impressed with the food either. Ugh. Disappointing. Train your staff towards better service, or your business won’t survive.

This is a great place for date night or better yet a night with friends since its family style seating. The authentic food is fun to try new dishes each time we come in. Service is good most of the time and the wait is usually minimal. When I want comfort food I don’t have to make at home I come here to Gustav’s!

I love Gustavs for their beer selection and fondue! The staff is so nice and very upbeat. Can’t wait to go in on Saturday for my birthday!

Fantastic selection of beers, and if you want to sample different ones they do have flights. Went for lunch; had the lentil soup and the bread and sausage four plate. Gustav’s fondue is the gold standard. So fantastic! I’ve tried to make it myself but can’t quite get the authentic Gustav flavor. So many more things I’d love to try.

Good food. Friendly atmosphere. When busy it’s quite loud. I like coming here. Long shared tables, tall and short.

We have been here twice, and both times I was not highly impressed. Both times our water glasses have had lipstick on them. On our first visit, one person in our party was sick all night after eating the kale salad.
Upon returning a second time, (the person who got sick did not return with us, and never will go back) my dinner was served ice cold. The meat, potatoes, everything. Cold. I waited for the server to come back, but the only time she did was to ask if we wanted dessert and to drop the check. This to me was sad, as they were not slammed, and she only had three small tables. The two stars are for the good lentil soup and side salad my husband had. But even the soup was not that hot.
The huge glass windows that separate the inside/​outside seating have not been cleaned since it opened probably. It was so gross. You could see little kid’s handprints all over, smudges, smears, dirt from the patio, etc. As the afternoon light started to hit it, it made it even worse to look at, and the trouble is, the spot where we were seated pretty much made it to where we couldn’t look at anything BUT the windows. So, pretty hard to even try and just ignore.
I seriously doubt we will ever go back. I might try it again during happy hour, but definitely not ever going back for a nice dinner. Too bad, as Keizer Station could use another full service eating option.

We had a great experience here for dinner. There is no place like it in the Keizer area and I highly recommend that you try it at least once. The schnitzel was good and we had excellent service. I’m not a fan of the ice cream dessert and the couple next to us stopped eating their dessert midway. Remember too that this is a community seating experience, so if you’re not in the mood to get cozy with and meet new people, I would suggest that you try it on another day.

It’s Bargarten or Bust in Keizer… Maybe!
Down in Salem land for work, and in need of a late lunch stop, we decided to give Gustav’s latest incarnation a try. Despite a few missteps, this is a pretty great place.
First of all, it’s huge inside. There’s a ton of seating, and the focus is on a Happy Hour type experience with specialty cocktails, house made pineapple infused vodka, and enough beers on tap to put a lot of Portland pubs to shame. Beautifully designed to let a ton of natural light in, it gives you a really happy feeling when you get inside, and you are warmly greeted and taken care of, regardless of how busy it gets. We were knee deep in Happy Hour by the time we left and our waitress never lost track of us… big plus in my book.
The veggie options on the menu are limited, like a regular Gustav’s, but still it was hearty and rustic. I opted for the Bargarten omelette which seemed a little strange but let me explain. It’s a more European style with just a little cheese and filled with pan fried cremini mushrooms. I little on the buttery side, but very well done and chock full of flavor. On the side you get a very nicely done potato pancake that’s a far cry from the greasy style fair food you get at Oktoberfest, or any of the Eastern European festivals.
The boss and I also split the best thing we ate, which was an order of rosemary garlic fries with the best tasting aioily sauce I’ve had outside France and Belgium. Really nice appetizer or side dish and nicely presented in a funnel cup.
A few things need to be improved, so here’s where it loses a star from this reviewer. Glassware is really dirty looking, and has a real ‘ick’ vibe on it. We were told it’s because Keizer/​Salem area is on well water, but this is rather silly because there are modern automatic washer detergents that get around this. They’re just more expensive so perhaps that’s where the issue lies. We were also told they’ve been trying to get better glassware in, but for now you get plastic cups for water. Mine had a chunk missing and was scratched up. My iced tea glass had brown spots and fingerprints all over it!!! Really unappealing and totally silly for a local chain of this caliber. There are far more important things to be concerned about in dining… just get good stuff and you won’t have to worry about it. Focus on service and food quality!!!
Overall, a very nice place to grab a few beers, snack on some yummy appetizers, or grab a decent meal for lunch or dinner. It’s very clean, modern-​ista, and a friendly atmosphere. It’s not your Mom and Dad’s Gustav’s of old, but it’ll do!!!

Came here for lunch… it’s in an attractive new modern building with lots of metal and glass — which sadly is in the middle of the anodyne spaghetti mess of roads and parking lots that is Keizer Station shopping center.
Service was friendly, and reasonably quick. The menu unsurprisingly is mostly heavy on starch and meat (lots of sausages of course!), but they do have a few salads too. Most of the entrée-​type menu items are available as lunch or dinner sizes.
We ordered the lunch size of the chicken schnitzel (which came with mashed potatoes and cranberry) and also a lunch entrée sausage (which came with mashed potatoes and kraut). Everything tasted good and was cooked well. Presentation was simple but appealing and portion size was appropriate for the price.
Most of the seating is at long high tables (that you might be sharing) which resemble tall picnic benches, but with wide metal legs that my knee kept bumping into; there are also a few regular style (smaller, lower) tables. There’s also a large area of picnic-​type tables off the main dining area that can be opened to the outdoors in nice weather, but it’s next to the main road through the shopping center and a bunch of stores.
Everything inside looks very modern and slightly industrial with a lot of natural light. I thought it was appealing but some people might find it a bit cold.
Overall we were happy with the experience and the food, and will probably eat there again when we need to shop at Keizer Station.
P. S. Oddly the water and soda glasses were plastic, but not disposable.

This is a nice little addition to Gustav’s and near my friend’s house. We went here to have a light lunch before heading to Portland and stopped by.
We went before noon, so it wasn’t busy and were seated promptly. We decided to split a fondue and some fondue fritters. Both were really good and we finished every little bit of both. The dipping sauces with the fritters was quite good with one being spicy and the other sweet.
One disappointment I had here was that I was really looking forward to their Pesto fondue, which they do not offer at this location and had to settle for the regular one. It was like I was looking digging for goal and finding coal!
Also if you are into seeing men urinate, you might wanna sit at the bar because you have a straight line view of people taking a piss. I learned this the hard way when I was trying to relieve myself and the door opened. I was lucky and no one was at the bar, but if there was they would have had a full view of my junk in my hand. They might wanna fix this.

My husband and I love Gustavs! On a date night we decided to make the trip from south salem to Keizer station and try out Bargarten. The atmospher was deffinatly trendy and different than the Portland locations. They had family tables, enclosed patio seating and a small seating area. The restaurant is open with high ceilings so the noise level is a little loud. Service was great and they where happy to accommodate any requests! The glasses where plastic and had residue. Just a few nit picky things to mention but definitely will visit again! To sum it up…
Pro’s=
Good service
Accomidating
Good menu
Family friendly
Lively atmosphere
Nice bar
Great place to watch sports
Con’s=
Strange location
A little loud
Not intimate
Shared tables
Plastic glasses
No booth seating
Uneven seat heights

This place is seriously PHENOMENAL we were treated so amazing and didn’t have to wait for service from the moment we walked into the time we left. The bartender clay was SUPER helpful and very sweet! Very educated on drinks as well! The atmosphere is welcoming, open, bright, and they have an awesome bar as well as a «outside» patio style dining! The lighting at night I’m guessing is a low ambiance and a very warm cozy feeling! Very reasonable pricing on all the food! The blackberry cider is TO DIE FOR! I ate the hänchenschnitzel and it is seriously great! The gustavs Rueben is a huge hit and delish as well! I could go on but come down and try it for yourself

Not bad at all, pleasant surprise because you’re greeted first thing! Good recommendations on drinks, casual atmosphere, football. Food came, very good, managers cruising around to make sure you’re good (3X!). And the best waitress ever-​Ashely!
The bretzel with honey mustard & the Caesar salad w/​rye croutons was delish!

It is good to find a Beirgarten here, service is great food a bit mixed. First order while tasty was lukewarm at best. Never like to have to send food back. Second time around excellent, almost as good as being back in Frankfurt.
I would not recommend the strudel, kind of a bland end to a great meal when all was said and done.

Beaucoup trop long!
La direction tient une réunion avec les cuisiniers durant le
Service!
Quel désastre!!’

Gustav’s has been a family favorite for as long as I can remember. As a child we would visit the Clackamas location and I would watching the chickens swivel on the rotisserie spindle. It was a place where we spent many birthdays and special occasions through the years.
Hearing that a new concept restaurant from the Gustav’s chain was going to open so near to our home in Woodburn had me all sorts of excited. We watched and waited patently for them to open, and then for a night to come along with a babysitter available. This was going to be a date night at a favorite restaurant and so we were going all out.
With our steins of beer handy we started in on the hot fluffy decadent pretzels and fondue. Why would anyone want plain bread when they could have big old bavarian pretzels? They were perfection and the fondue itself was a little brighter and more flavorful than the other locations fondue. I suspect a splash of white wine or additional spices? Whatever they are doing, it’s working.
Entrees came next. I got the meatballs with a small salad and some german potato salad. The meatballs were perfect and came with a pepper cream sauce. The Potato salad was vinegary and contained cucumber and radishes. I wish all potato salad could be this way. My husband had the bratwurst (the menu had a fancier name) and he loved it. The waitress suggested some additional mustard pairings and although he was skeptical he ended up using and loving them both.
Finally we got to dessert. This was a go big or go home kind of night. I went with the hazelnut ice cream. All I can say is Yessssssss!!! It contained toffee bits, caramel and a little bit of whipped cream and nutmeg. It tasted like a fresh hazelnut should. I would go back just for this dessert.
Through our meal our waitress was attentive and just a real delight. The location itself offers some communal tables but I didn’t feel uncomfortable sitting next to strangers and we had plenty of space to ourselves. They also have a really lovely outdoor area if you want to sit in the sun while you enjoy your bavarian feast.

This is the third Gustav’s I’ve visited and I was sad to see the one at PDX is gone as of the end of 2014, boo. My favorites here are the pretzels and sausage appetizer with beer cheese fondue and mustard for dipping and the lentil soup. Their lentil soup is the best I’ve ever had (though it does contain meat so it’s not vegetarian). Savory and full of just enough little bites of bacon. This Gustav’s is large, open, full of windows and modern in décor. There are large patios wrapping around two sides of the restaurant and one side is open, the other has a roof and garage doors. Service was a little slow on a busy Friday lunch hour but very friendly. There are a ton of other things on the menu that always tempt me but it’s hard to break away from my favorites. Sometime I will try their chicken schnitzel sandwich…
The beer list is of course the other best part about Gustav’s. They have a huge German selection and plenty of local craft beers too, which you can order in a bunch of sizes from tasters all the way up to big steins and even growlers to go.

My first 5-​star in several years but it’s the only appropriate response. Gustav’s is a Portland classic that has migrated south to Keizer. Who knew? Thanks Unilocal.
I had the smoked bierwurst and my son had the Wiener schnitzel. Both were absolutely fabulous. We had a large group which the staff handled with cheerful excellence. You must must must start with the Swiss fondue. So rich and wonderful.
Gustav’s Bargarten is a quick off and on to I-​5 and so worth the time.