Schwaben House

I was on my own for dinner tonight, so I decided to try the only German restaurant in town, Schwaben House.

Background

Annette Heilmann-Ferro and Karl Heilmann, a brother and sister team, opened Schwaben House a year ago in February of 2009.  It’s located on Pelham Road in what used to be the Kabob House.

Schwabia is a region of Southern Germany that includes Bavaria.  As its name implies, the restaurant features cuisine from this area.

Atmosphere

So many German restaurants have rich wood finishes and paneling for that “Bavarian” feel.  That’s just not the case here.  The walls are light with a aqua green wainscot.  There are bits of Bavarian decor, but these don’t dominate the place.

The restaurant isn’t large.  There are about fifteen tables, from what I could see.  A bar dominates one half of the place.

There weren’t that many patrons, but it was a Wednesday evening.  The clientele seemed to be mostly regulars. I heard lots of German coming from the table next to me, which I took to be a good sign.

Menu

If you’re used to the menu at the former Haus Edelweiss, the menu might catch you off guard.  In fact, you won’t find any wurst, and sauerkraut is an optional side item.

There are several soups and salads, some of them substantial enough for a full meal.  These range from $4 to $14.

One special feature of the house is Maultaschen.  This is a large pasta stuffed with savory fillings such as German potato salad.  There are several varieties, ranging from about $11 to about $14.

The rest of the menu features more recognizable German dishes.  These include pork entree’s such as jägerschnitzel and Wiener schnitzel, several beef dishes such as sauerbraten and rostbraten, and one chicken dish. These run from $13.50 to $20.50

Several desserts round out the menu, including apple strudel and Schwabian pancakes.

Food

I ordered a Warsteiner beer, and was brought a little square piece of onion bread.  I was told that they serve a larger piece of this as part of the meal at lunch.  It was excellent, without the onion flavor overpowering everything.

For my main course I ordered jägerschnitzel with spätzle and a salad.  I was disappointed that I couldn’t find something with my favorite sauerkraut and German potato salad, but that disappointment was short-lived.  The house salad dressing provided the tangy taste I missed from the sauerkraut.   The schnitzel was in a mushroom gravy, and it went perfectly with the spätzle.  I ordered the single version of the dish for $13.50.   A larger portion was available for $18.50.

Of course, I had to finish up with apple strudel.  Instead of ice cream it came with a light vanilla sauce and LOTS of whipped cream.  It was fantastic.

Service

I’m not sure, but I think one of the owners himself was my server for the evening.  He was certainly knowledgeable about everything on the menu, and came by to check on me regularly.  Needless to say, service was superb.  That seemed to be the case throughout the place.

Conclusions

Don’t expect this to be a replacement for Haus Edelweiss.  Do expect it to have authentic Southern German cuisine .  The food is excellent, but the prices are a bit steep, especially for any side items and the desserts.  The entree prices are probably about right, but still on the high end.   If you go in with those expectations, it can be a great place to get some interesting German food for a special occasion.