Der Rathskeller

Great! Good service, very clean. Awesome food. Check it out. Very authentic German food. I will come back again.

Nice old fashion German food! Great beer selections and service was great.

Great place to eat!!! Even though I’ve never been to Germany, I’ve had many German authentic dishes and this place was on POINT! The Biergarten was relaxing and of course you can’t pass up having Das BOOT! The beer selection consisted mostly of Spaten Beers. Our server was fantastic and was very knowledgable on the dishes. Slightly pricey, yet it was worth every dollar.

Terrible!!! Being of German decent and having grown up for more than a decade in Germany I may be a bit particular. It seems that their claim to fame is their sausage, but we were thinking Schnitzel… it was pretty bad. The jäger schnitzel was ground pork pressed into patties with cream of mushroom soup poured over the top. The Schweine Schnitzel was over cooked, a lot and most of the food came out cool. Red cabbage, sourkraut, German potato salad were all bad at best. The slogan on their shirts is, «we don’t speak German but we do drink it.» That sums up this restraint; they don’t serve real German food, just great German beer.

Combination of Rueben and lyonnaise potatoes Is hard to beat. Combine with a nice German beer and some great wait staff and you are in for a special Sunday afternoon retreat in the outdoor beer garden! Very consistent food from one visit to the next.

Dined here for the first time in my 38 years living in Rockford with wife and 5 year old. I can see why there is a wide range of reviews.
We were happy to see that there was ample parking.
It was a nice evening so we sat on the patio/​beer garden. Very casual, but nice. There is a large covered bar area with a couple of large flat screens as well outside.
Reading others reviews on service, I can’t argue against the «casual» nature. If you’re looking for a quick dining experience or energetic service… You may be disappointed. I wouldn’t suggest going here if you’re in a time crunch. You may also spend quite some time without seeing your server. I think this is a «European» thing.
As suggested by others we had the rueben rolls. They were great. We saved a couple for later.
We also ordered Das Deutsch Feast– customers say «Best Meal on the Menu» $ 26.95. Sample famous German foods: Thuringer bratwurst, ribs and Schweine Schnitzel. Served Family Style. We also tried the 2 soups offered. All was good.
I would recommend dining here if you want a no stress, chilled, dining experience. If you want fast food, you’ll see the billboard right above the patio will suggest that you dine at McDonalds. We found that to be amusing.

Great place to go for a drink with friends. The patio is very spacious.
The food on the other hand was very disappointing. We started off with the fried cheese plate: 2 jalapeño poppers, 2 cheese sticks, and about 6 cheese curds — $ 9.95. My husband ordered the Jaeger Shnitzel. $ 22.95 for something that fit on an appetizer plate. The sauerkraut was way too vinagery. I had the Schweine Shnitzel sandwich. It was supposed to be on Rye bread — it was served on white bread. Everything tasted kinda bland. Our bill was over $ 60.
I don’t see us heading back anytime soon.

Just had a great brunch at Rockford-​famous Der Rathskellar!
Grace was our server and she’s top notch. A real asset. Knowledgeable about the menu, friendly and efficient!
The breakfast was great too. The Bloody Mary’s were also wonderful.
The outdoor seating is a hit. On a beautiful spring day, we over stayed our welcome. It’s a beautiful beer garden. We went in for one last drink a few minutes after 1 and were met with a bit of rudeness. If it weren’t for that, this would have been a 5 star review.

A satisfying stop! Seven German drafts, a fine beer garden and a warm basement dining room at the Rathskeller.
Fresh & crisp garden salad, three bread selections (preferred the sweet & dense wheat) and a cup of beef spaetzle soup. The pleasant servers knew we were first time guests and brought the soup with their compliments; a hearty broth and plenty of spaetzle.
Sauerbraten was very tender and finished with a mild clove flavor. Traveling teammate enjoyed a home wrecking bratwurst which paired up well with the house mustard & kraut. The red cabbage had more tanginess than the kraut and Lyonaissed potatoes hit the spot!
A mug of Spaten Optimator complimented the meal.

The Rueben was one of the best I’ve ever had. Delicious and served with French dressing as opposed to 1000 islands.
Loved the lyonnaise potatoes as well. Will be returning here when I visit Rockford again.

Horrible service. Waited to be seated and the waitress said she would check for seating, but then just went to talk to another waitress and did not come back. We ended up leaving. Will never go back.