Anny Chih

The Old Bavaria Haus: 233 6th St, New Westminster BC

Morten had the honour of choosing this month’s Dinner Club destination and he wanted to go with something authentically Scandinavian for the Christmas holidays. But alas, there is no such establishment in the lower mainland. So, The Old Bavaria Haus it was! A cottage-like restaurant adorned with Christmas pine cones, trees and wreaths… the place was too cute for words! We had a full judging panel tonight including Ang, Morten, Phil, Kenny, Ann, and me.

I was horrifically late so everyone was starving by the time I arrived. Terrible, I know. But it did make for a great first bite! They brought out buttered toasted bread soon after we ordered (which Phil somehow completely missed), and I must mention how attentive the servers were. They didn’t nag or spend too much time at our table, but our glasses were also never empty and we didn’t have to wait very long for our dishes to arrive (contrary to some reviews circulating on the “internets”).

Unlike our previous Dinner Club choices, The Old Bavaria Haus is not a platter-sharing restaurant. It’s also a big pricier than the previous two places at approximately $30 per person (main and shared desserts). Our table ordered two Combination Dinners, one Bavarian Bratwurst Dinner, one Schnitzel Cordon Bleu Champignon, one Wiener Schnitzel, and one Special of the Day (a Schnitzel with an artichoke sun-dried tomato shrimp wine sauce) for our main courses.

Combination Dinner: schnitzel, beef rouladen, and bratwurst served with spatzle

Phil and I had both ordered the Combination Dinner. He inhaled the schnitzel, bratwurst, and beef rouladen but left nearly all of the spatzle (it looks like noodle but tastes like unsweetened pancake). Both Ang and I thought the bratwurst was by far the best thing in the Combination Dinner, but while I was eating it I remember thinking that it wasn’t profoundly different from any other bratwurst.

The beef rouladen wasn’t a hit with either of us, but I didn’t mind it as much as Ang did. She thought it was dry (which I’ll agree with), but I thought it was also very tender and appreciated the idea behind hiding a piece of vegetable in a slice of beef. Phil noted that the rouladen on his plate wasn’t dry at all.

The entire dish was really difficult to rate since it was technically what I thought German food would be, but I also didn’t enjoy it. When it came to the schnitzel, I had a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of choosing to eat less-than-flavourful pounded down meat served in a katsu-don style breadcrumb shell and drowned in uber-salty gravy. So, I guess on a rating based solely on expectation I’d give it a thumbs up. But based on the food itself and what I thought of it, I’d give it a thumbs down. Ann did enjoy her schnitzel though as did Kenny who thought it and the bratwurst were great but felt his side of potatoes “left something to be desired”. LOL In the end I decided to give it half a thumb. As you can see, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t make a decision.

Overall Group Food Rating: 4.5 out of 6

Ang was also on the cusp with her order of the Special. A schnitzel with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and mini shrimp is definitely special… In Phil’s words “it’s like the California Roll of Schnitzel”. It just ain’t right. Her dish was sour, odd, and also very much a pounded-meat schnitzel like the one described in my last paragraph minus the gravy. She didn’t like the mini shrimp that scattered her schnitzel like maggots on a dead piece of meat (my description, not hers — she’s not that harsh), and I didn’t like the dish as a whole. If it wasn’t for dessert, The Old Bavaria Haus would only have gotten half a thumb from her.

But ah the dessert! In addition to our mains we also ordered Black Forest Cake, Amaretto Mousse, and a Creme Caramel. It was all good! The Black Forest Cake had a different texture that was neither wet nor dry, but somewhere in between — very tasty. The Amaretto Mousse had a very strong taste of liqueur but was light in texture and enjoyable.

Ann about to indulge in Black Forest Cake

And the Creme Caramel looked just like an Asian caramel flan, but was heavy and comforting without being too sweet.

In the end, I probably won’t go back to The Old Bavaria Haus in search of a meal. But, I might venture that way for a night cap and an order of dessert (some of which are made in house).

Overall Group Food Rating: 4.5 out of 6

The Good: Desserts — all of them were worth trying!

The Bad: The schnitzel — all of the variations we tried. Although, to be fair I must say that I might just not be a schnitzel fan.

The Ugly: I can’t use the word “ugly” to describe anything in a place that was just so darn cute. Yes, I realize I compared a dish to maggots, but that’s because it was a schnitzel dish. Although, it would help if they didn’t put pine cone decorations on the back of the bench seats — they prevented Morten from being able to sit back comfortably and kept catching on my hair. Ouch.

Sidenote: Ang would like you to know that if you’re interested in the schnitzel even after my horrendous description of the stuff, The Old Bavaria Haus has a schnitzel special on Wednesdays.