Pfeifer House Restaurant

Overall I really like the place and would go back. My two main complaints are it is definitely expensive for what it is, and the beer selection is a bit limited (the list is decent length, but they are all pretty light, a few dopplebocks or dunkelweizens would be great — I think they had one dark beer on the menu).
Otherwise the food was solid (I’m not german, so I can’t speak to its authenticity) and the service was good.
Will go again.

Pfeifer House is a good German restaurant, but rather basic. The schnitzel is really good, but the side dishes leave something to be desired. Ambiance and service are great, but food is just okay. Prices are high. They do have a good selection of menu items and beers.

We ate here last night for the first time and were impressed. For little Tahoe City (not known for great restaurants), it was pretty good.
We ordered the kids chicken (yum, enough for our kids to split, came with rolls, soup), the Vienna Schnitzel (perfect!), and the Cordon Blue Schnitzel. The tomato soup was amazing (really some of the best we’ve ever had). We also had the potato pancakes, which needed salt and pepper but were perfectly cooked.
The beer was icy cold. The ambiance is truly 5 star — very authentic. It’s an old place, but clean.
The only reason we didn’t give it 5 stars was because the service is a little slow. It took us a little over 1.5 hours. So not horrible, but there were several times we wondered where our waitress was. I think she just had too many tables, I’m not sure. All the staff was terribly nice and polite though, it’s a thoroughly charming place.
We will be back, but likely for a date night and it’s a little better for adults than hungry kids fresh off the slopes.

We had 5 for dinner. The food was good and the service excellent. We did not have a reservation but we’re able to get in. As in all resort towns, it’s a bit expensive as are all of the places in Tahoe. After dinner the chef brought our grandson a nice cream Sunday. We would go back.

Four of us had dinner on Friday the day after Thanksgiving.
Ambience: Old world German — very pleasant.
Service: Perfect and pleasant.
Food: Excellent, well presented, and very tasty. Menu was very expansive.
I don’t rate price. If you don’t know the price going in from the Internet, you shouldn’t be there.

My group of 8 (who had traveled over 400 miles) got turned away for service cause they decided to close early at 8:38 PM on a Thursday (closing time was 9PM). Poor management decision, guess revenue doesn’t mean much to them.

To begin i’d like to start with positives. The service was great and our waitress was adorable in her german outfit. The food on the other hand is overpriced and bland. I’ve spent time in Germany and Austria and have always loved Schnitzel. My husband and I were ready for an authentic German meal. The schnitzel that i’ve had in the past was plate sized, crispy, buttery and just plain delicious. The meal that I received was three breaded pork cutlets that had zero flavor. The salad was a three bite joke, and rolls while warm were obviously from save mart. This meal priced at $ 10 a plate would have been acceptable, but at $ 27 you have got to be kidding! The beer (Hofbrau) was flat and not very good. In short, there are plenty of other places near by that have much better food for a more reasonable price.

My wife and I took our neighbors here a few months ago and we all left impressed with the food. Won’t hesitate to return or recommend to others. Nice atmosphere too!

We had the most excellent evening tonight. Susan is delicious the food was excellent. The service was outstanding. The ambience was relax yet elegant. Very clean.
I had the peppered beef tips which was incredible perfect. My wife had the pork tenderloin was equally as impressed. The potato soup was also delicious. Will we will be back.

My Franziskaner Dunkel (imported German beer) came in the form of a bottle next to a glass. The menu did not mention it was bottled beer (leading me to assume it was on tap… well, there’s that as far as assumptions go.) Not that the beer was unsatisfactory; yet still expectations of particular freshness were dashed.
The bread rolls are unmistakably American: nothing like a typical selection of German-​style breads usually served in authentic German restaurants. Served with plain (American-​style) butter.
Potato pancakes with apple sauce were big thick lumpy slightly over-​fried creations, missing something in the flavor of perhaps the pancakes, the sauce, or I suspect both. Left the impression of eating typical American diner-​style hash browns with apple sauce out of a can.
Tomato soup came in a tiny cup, was a bit too salty, and I was hard pressed to taste any of the alleged basil in it (it was somewhat like eating warm spaghetti sauce.)
Main dish (Koenigsberger Klopse) was actually decent, in terms of size, presentation, and taste.
«Bavarian apple strudel», was not bad — as far as a crusted apple pie can be.
In terms of service: seated promptly, served quickly and courteously — practically hounded by waiters. So, generally quite satisfactory.
Overall impression: this place lacks authenticity in its food, and is overpriced for the quality of the food (creating high expectations, then deftly dashing them.) In short, this place is an overly expensive, German-​themed American diner with a nice shalet-​like ambiance.

Over 20 years of coming up to Tahoe, and always talking about coming here, we finally had dinner at the Pfeifer House this past weekend. There were 4 of us, and we arrived on a Saturday night around 6pm. We were seated right away in the main dining room, which included many authentic German decorations. Felt like we were in a little chalet in the Swiss Alps, the atmosphere was cozy and full of German culture.
We all ordered delicious German beers, and enjoyed the fresh rolls. The wait staff were all super friendly, from ordering our drinks, to seating us at the table, to our waiter taking our order.
The Schnitzel was amazing, especially the special of the day. Quality German food, followed by a apple strudel for dessert.
Highly recommend if you are in the mood for a lovely German evening after a long day on the slopes.

Great bar and great food. Comfortable and cozy fireside seating with schnitzels & beer.
We’ll be back!

It should really be a negative 5 star. Absolutely the worst I’ve ever had. Should not be advertised as a German or European restaurant and they really don’t care what you think about their food either. I am a chef and German and this place is a disgrace.

You might really enjoy the german atmosphere, the costumed wait staff and the different ways they have to serve people. Its cosy with curtains and wood beamed low ceilings. I would not go back to this pace.
I did not like the wine (only $ 8 but it tasted like it came from a gallon sized drug store jug) but I did like the beer. My vienna schnitzel for $ 28 looked like three pork potato chips, so thin with such a paper thin portion of fried breaded pork. The rolls were soft and sweet. They don’t use any kind of spices. I’m told the saurbraten is also very sweet.
If you want more than 2 or 3 ounces of protein for $ 28 you will want to dine elsewhere. Also the service is slow and if you are not happy with anything no one will check in on you.

We got a reservation here because we had quite a large group. The person on the phone made sure we arrived on time and we did.
Our group asked the waiter for suggestions and he was very good in making them, I think we ordered every appetizer and almost the entire menu. The escargot was good and so was the herring.
I ordered the Sauerbraten and the portion was very large. It came with three thick cutlets and a bunch of gravy and if I remember correctly, potatoes. There was so much, it had to take the rest to go.
The service was really good and receptive; the whole restaurant was so German themed!

Minus one star because we were scolded for not making reservations. True, we should have been polite and called ahead (and usually do), but that does not mean the scolding gets to continue on past the door. Especially when it is Saturday night and your restaurant is less than half-​filled.
As we were bad children without reservations we were offered a table in the bar area which did not have the punishing effect is should have because the bar area is awesome! And the bartender was kind enough to offer to serve us. From there our experience improved greatly.
The bartender is a great server, should you find yourself in his capable care. He did not even limit our ordering options just because we were poor planners that evening.
I had the Cordon Bleu Schnitzel which was divine. Good sized portions of food. The famous potato leek soup is also very tasty. I love German food and there are few places to get it, so this was a nice surprise while on vacation.
The décor is a super fun time capsule blast from the past all the way down to the logo’d highball glasses and embossed menu covers. If you are a fan of modern décor and newness, this is not the place for you. If you want to experience a true Tahoe institution — definitely come here and get cosy.
And be sure to make reservations ahead of time or you might not hear the end of it. ;)

Just had dinner at the Pfeifer House. First of all let me say, the food and service was all good! Food was hot and delicious, the bread was nice and warm and fresh. We ate until we were full, plenty of food. I was a little disappointed that the food was not really ‘authentic’ as would have expected it to be. The noodles were from a box, and the hungarian goulash must have been their own version, not like any I have had before.
The draft beer was amazing!
We will be back for sure.

Very unpleasant experience!
Everything is too expensive (I’m not snobbish at all and I’m ready to pay for a good cuisine) and awful! For $ 30 per dish my boyfriend had a piece of meat (I can hardly call it Schnietzel) overcooked macaroni and badly cooked veggies.
I’m not describing my veggie plate, I’d rather to stay hungry than eat it again.
The service is not friendly and it took ages for us to get our meal. Moreover, they didn’t have half of the items we’d ordered and told us about that after a while.

Read some pretty great reviews from Unilocalers, but once we were inside and seated, my boyfriend and I (he being German) were well aware this restaurant was a mistake.
First: Service. There was no one there. We were a party of 7 and had made reservations. Over the phone they made it sound like the place was going to be packed. We were with parents and the whole walkway to the door was covered in black ice. Since it was still early for Tahoe time we told a guy who worked there to put salt on it so people did not break their necks, when we left, it was untouched. Overall, probably the weirdest service we have ever seen.
Food: I was so excited about schnitzel! And then disappointed by the schnitzel. It was not quite right. You can tell they are cutting corners EVERYWHERE in their food service. Each dish ranges between $ 25 – 40, and you are not getting that type of effort.
I am fully aware that North Tahoe has a limited number of places to eat, and that even the grocery store is pilled high with worn out skiers by 5pm, but there are many, quality and delicious places. Pfeifer House is not one of them.

Woo-​hoo!!! This is a lovely restaurant with retro-​style European décor. I was referred by my ex-​b/​f who actually used to work there when he was in high school. He would tell me stories when he used to work there, how the «older» ladies would ask him out and all, LOL. Since I’ve already heard so many good things from him in the past, I told myself to keep an objective and unbiased mind so I could decide for myself if I really liked the restaurant or not.
One thing that is worth mentioning is their corkage fee is ONLY $ 12.50 and prices of their wine list are nothing but reasonable! Just as an example: they charge $ 180 for a bottle of Opus One, who is rather inexpensive considering you pay $ 160 at the winery. We ordered escargots (TOO GOOD!!), and each entrée came with a choice of salad or potato leek soup. I ordered the «St. Moritz» schnitzel ($ 28; schnitzel = veal sliced in very thin pieces) and it was nothing but delicious! My brother had the garlic steak ($ 40; a bit pricey but it was a big piece of meat) and my friend ordered their lightly-​breaded original schnitzel ($ 25) with brown sauce.
The dessert that we ordered, Kahlua Mousse, was good but a bit too sweet for my taste/​liking. Overall, this is a GREAT restaurant and we are so glad that we made to Pfeifer House after all. I did keep an objective mind and I ended up liking it A LOT (décor, atmosphere, food, service). This restaurant is probably one of the oldest in Tahoe City, and with the economy and seasonal traffic, I am honestly glad that this restaurant is still around after all these years. Felt great for sure to have this dining experience in one of the most beautiful places on earth, Lake Tahoe. :D