Rudi Lechner's
This longstanding German restaurant in downtown Houston is a local favorite for quality, authentic German fare. It is super casual, with live music on Wednesday through Saturday evenings, Wednesday night family buffets and a friendly, outgoing staff. The house-made wiener schnitzel is well-known and well-regarded. There is a decent variety of sausages, including bratwurst, knackwurst and Polish sausage, along with goulash soup, stuffed cabbage rolls, potato dumplings, and the not-to-be-missed roasted pork shank, served with red cabbage sauerkraut and potatoes. Can't decide? Diners might want to order the Heritage Sampler Plate, with pork loin, weiner schnitzel, sausages, sauerbraten, roasted chicken, Austrian potatoes, red cabbage, sauerkraut and dumplings.
Rudi Lechner's
2503 S. Gessner
Houston, TX 77063
(713) 782-1180
Old Heidelberg
The down-home, come-as-you-are atmosphere and friendly staff (dressed in traditional dirndl and lederhosen) make this mainstay restaurant the go-to place for families and locals craving German food and good times. Diners should not let the strip mall location deter them. Once inside, it is cozy and dark; the music plays, and the beer flows. There is live German music in the evenings and daily specials. The fare is typical, but tasty: sausages, goulash soup, weiner schnitzel, but there is also a handful of American dishes, like steaks, chicken and seafood.
Old Heidelberg
1810 Fountainview
Houston, TX 77057
(713) 781-3581
Charivari Restaurant
The old-fashioned dining room looks like grandma's house, but the Old World food is fabulous. The chef was schooled at the Culinary Institute of Hermanstadt and opened his first restaurant in Germany's Black Forest area. In 1999, he opened Charivari in Houston, dubbed "The House of European Cuisine." Yes, the name is French and diners will find a wide selection of European dishes on the menu. But, they will also find a melt-in-your-mouth dish of Black Forest escargot and arguably the best weiner schnitzel in Houston. This is great place to go if the taste buds are salivating for German weiner schnitzel and your companion wants scampi provencale.
Charivari Restaurant
2521 Bagby
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 521-7231
About The Author
Pamela Wright is a freelance writer, author of more than two dozen guidebooks, and hundreds of articles. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including "National Geographic Traveler," "Family Circle," "Family Fun," "Backpacker," "Hemispheres," "Cooking Light," "Yankee" and more. An active member of the Society of American Travel Writers, she holds a Bachelor's from Michigan State University
