4. Restaurants

The Bavarian Chef

200 Lafayette Blvd, Fredericksburg, VA, 22401
  • (540) 656-2101
  • Store is closed

The Bavarian Chef Menu

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  • Erika F.

    Want good, authentic tasting German food? EAT HERE! My mom is German, born and raised, and it's quite hard to find a good German place in the States. Well, my look is OVER!! I've found it! The Bavarian Chef is definitely one of the best German places I've ever found in this country. For starters, the decor is quite nice - not authentic German decor, but beautiful none the less. The servers are all wearing German styled clothing which is a nice touch and everyone is very nice. The prices are high (about $30/pp), but absolutely, 100% worth every penny. The beer selection is good - they have German beers on the menu and they're quite tasty but, on to the good stuff... THE FOOOOOOD!!! For starters, we all shared an order of the German sausage sample appetizer and the pretzel. The pretzel was good... what really made it amazing was the mustered! I know that writing a review and complimenting the mustered is odd, but, in order for it to be a really good German restaurant, they had to get the German mustered right and they absolutely did. I asked the waitress where they got it from and she told me they made it in house - I was VERY impressed. The sausage sampler was amazing as well. They had a bratwurst, weisswurst, and knockwurst on the plate. All three were done exceptionally well and the sauerkraut that it was served on was phenomenal. For entrees, we all had a version of the schnitzel. All three were SO good. The Jager schnitzel is the one I got and the mushroom sauce they made to put on top of it was to die for. The meat was tender and juicy, the breading was crispy, and best of all, they had the perfect proportion of sauce to meat (I hate when there is too much sauce because then your meat gets all soggy). I was definitely in love with this dish.. the best part? I have enough food for breakfast and lunch leftover!!! All the dishes were like that - SO much food. I was in foodie heaven. The other two dishes I got to try and both were just as tasty and made just as well. Honestly, I'd recommend EVERYTHING on that menu. The side dishes were done family style. We ordered red cabbage, potato dumplings, spatzle, and potato salad. The red cabbage had some honey in it which absolutely made the cabbage amazing. The dumplings and spatzle were good - these two things are kind of hard to mess up. But, the potato salad took the win! The salad was tasty and served warm - just like my mom serves it. I loved it. It was SO tasty. I could gush on and on about this place but I think my review is sufficient. Would I go back? A hundred times, YES!

    (5)

  • Ted W.

    I'm not big on German food however my wife wanted to try it. The food was just ok and the atmosphere could use some work, ceilings and walls in the back room with the fireplace have water damage and the place is a little musty. The beer selection was good (probably my favorite part)

    (3)

  • Marissa J.

    The volume of food and the friendly atmosphere has made me a BIG fan of the Bavarian Chef! I've never left there on an empty stomach (and trust me, I eat A LOT!). The food is great, the people are friendly and the wine is divine! LOVE IT!

    (3)

  • Wile W.

    Excellent German food with surprising seasonal options. To make things even more authentic they have a good selection of German beers. One of my favorites in Fredericksburg.

    (5)

  • Cliff M.

    It's sad that German food is hard to find in America, let alone good German food. I've been to the Bavarian Chef twice and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. The jaeger schnitzel and saurbraten are both great. The red cabbage and potato salad are pure heaven. The sausage sampler is also excellent. Beer selection is good although availability can be a little spotty. The service is good and attentive but this does seem to be a bit more of a leisurely dining establishment, so probably not great if you're in a rush.

    (4)

  • Connie B.

    The food is underwhelming. The mushrooms that were served on our entrees were canned, a $30. entree with canned mushrooms and tough steak is ridiculous. My husbands filet was so chewy that the piece that I tried I had to spit out. The manager replaced it and apologized. Despite the new steak being better it certainly was not restaurant quality. One of the side dish vegetables looked canned as well. Throw out the canned food! The mushroom soup and escargot appetizer were good. However, the main courses left us disappointed.The staff was extremely friendly and accommodating, as was the manager, but let's be honest we came to enjoy the food.

    (1)

  • Jo R.

    I love all kinds of food except German food, why did I go to this restaurant? Well, hubby loves German food, he did enjoy his but I was about to fall asleep on mine, nothing special, sorry!

    (3)

  • Jenny P.

    I recommend taking a few family members or friends here with you so you can get the sides family style. We often take out of town guests here as the atmosphere is excellent as is the food. The bavarian chef has never disappointed.

    (5)

  • Chad E.

    We went mid-afternoon and practically had the place to ourselves. Service was very friendly, very fast and pretty much perfect. Food was spectacular. Absolutely had one of the best dining experiences ever.

    (5)

  • William P.

    Have been going here for a few years. My son's German teacher, who is actually from Germany, recommended this place to me about 3 years ago. I have been to Germany and this is definitely authentic German cuisine. Everything is always delicious and the family style side dishes are great.

    (5)

  • Matthew S.

    Very fun and good. Be prepared to pay a hefty price but well worth it. If you want German food with some twist this is the place to go.

    (4)

  • Preston H.

    Outstanding food. Went for lunch over Thanksgiving with my in laws and two small children. The service was great and the food and beer were awesome. I'd come back in a heart beat.

    (4)

  • Collin N.

    I had been wanting to go here for some time, and I wasn't disappointed when I finally made it. While I felt the waitresses' traditional dirndl outfits were a bit on the nose (no one in Germany wears dirndls or lederhosen anymore- it would be like an "American" restaurant in Munich dressing the staff as pilgrims), the decor and the music set a nice Oktoberfest mood. They're located in Fredericksburg's old train depot, and trains were still passing through. The architecture was perfect for a turn of the century depot, which made for a nice change of pace from contemporary design. As an appetizer, I had the decidedly non-German snails Provencal, which were beer battered and served in a lemon garlic sauce. The snails themselves were cooked perfectly, and the beer batter was spot-on, but the sauce was aggressively lemony, which completely overpowered the garlic. My entree was definitely Deutsch- the jagerschnitzel, which is veal medallions in an awesomely rich mushroom cream sauce with bacon. The veal was lightly breaded, and cooked to just the right degree of tenderness. When your group orders four or more entrees, you get five small sides served "family-style". We got the spaetzle, whipped potatoes, red cabbage, green beans, and potato dumplings. Two members of my party had never had spaetzle before, so it was fun to share with them a German staple that I grew up eating. I finished with the German chocolate cake, which was huge and dense, just the way I like it. Overall, I was very pleased. With the exception of the over-lemoning of my snails, the food was great, and the decor and friendliness of the staff were commendable.

    (4)

  • Camey S.

    For living in Germany for a few years ... I guess you could say when I saw the reviews and heard the hype I was expecting so much more and was left still craving some good German food! The pros: the beer selection is pretty good, the ambience is charming and there's plenty of parking. The cons: I had the jäger schnitzel with potato dumplings and spatzle on the side. My entree was drowning in sauce, you couldn't even see the veal underneath which made everything taste muddled.. The awkward watermelon slices on the plate were confusing and the sides were under seasoned. My husbands Chesapeake steak was just ok, and his side mashed potatoes were the best thing we had there... On top of that, we made a reservation for an early dinner and in the whole train station restaurant there must have been 8 people dining in total including us.. Yet service was incredibly slow... We won't be coming back anytime soon.

    (2)

  • Michael M.

    The food here is ok, but I've had better. I would recommend that you not order the steak, as mine had very little flavor and no sear. The main course comes with a lot of additions that are placed center table, family style, so everyone can help themselves. The costs are a little high. I recommend that you try it once and then move on.

    (2)

  • Christina J.

    I'm a little torn on writing this review: I really wanted to love this place, but while it has many redeeming qualities, I can't quite give it 4 stars. A little bit of background on me: my family is northern German, and I've been lucky enough to have home-cooked German food my entire life and cook it well myself. Have had a couple of trips to Germany as well, and came to this restaurant on a date wanting authentic German food. Caveat: If you're just looking for a restaurant with decent food and a nice ambiance, then please give this place a try. If you're really looking for "German" and not "American German", then there are probably still a few things on the menu that will appeal, but probably not as good as you were hoping. The good: The beer selection, as most have noted, is fantastic. They have beer flights and you should definitely take advantage if you're not very familiar with German beers. Also fabulous is the goulash soup. It's smoky, and has a good deal of meat in it - if I were to come back I would 100% get that again. Really very good. The "ok": The jager schnitzel I had was not exactly spiced well, and it had a bit too much cream sauce on it. It's good to have gravy, but not so much that you can't see the meat underneath. However, the flavor of the sauce was nice and bacon-y and the meat was nice and thin and tender. The sauerbraten came out very tender as well. The sides were pretty good - the dumplings are worth getting (they're nice and springy, like they should be), and the red cabbage (while sweeter than I like) has almost a jam-type consistency and has a nice kick of spice/pepper to it. The not-quite-so-good: Unfortunately, the trend for global cuisines looking to gain a foothold in American society is to just ply their sauces and sides with sugar to cater to the American palate at the lowest common denominator. This is unfortunately some of what I tasted here. The sauerbraten sauce definitely tasted that way and was far too sweet, and the red cabbage was a bit on the sweeter side as well (though I'll admit I do make mine with a little more vinegar and no sugar anyways). The one very disappointing thing, however, was that for some reason my jager schnitzel came out topped with watermelon slices and a lemon slice with whipped cream on top. Yep, you heard me. Whipped cream. Huh? Overall: the ambiance is lovely, and were it not quite so chilly, it would have been great to enjoy the outside patio. The food - depending on your familiarity with German cuisine - is okay probably for most things, but I would always caution folks to not get the "token Americanized" things on the menu at a place like this. Also, as noted before, the portions are massive and it gets a bit crowded and loud on weekend evenings. If we go back to Fredericksburg, I wouldn't be opposed to eating here again (here's looking at you, goulash!) but I don't know that it'd be my first choice.

    (3)

  • Gabriela M.

    The food is great, a little pricy but is worth it Some traditional music inside the restaurant would be super

    (4)

  • Jon L.

    If you like German food and German draught beer, you will really like this place. What a great find in old town Fredericksburg. I had the good fortune to spend a week in Munich & can tell you this is authentic. The service is superior, the food quality is excpetional and the dining experience is unmatched in Fredericksburg. This is a special occasion restaurant, not overly expensive and a great value. They have all of the traditional dishes you would expect to find on a German menu plus some exceptional dinner specials This Sunday evening they had Zweible which is thinly sliced beef with a variety of ground sausages in a rich and tasty gravy. We also had the Steak Au Poive which was quite good as well. For a change of pace; Seafood New Orleans which was a pie like crust stuffed with shrimp, crab & fish. You have a choice of several traditional sides, we had potato salad, spaten and potato dumplings which were all well prepared and delicious. German potato salad is out of this world! I especially like the dark wood atmosphere and low light environment. The waitstaff wear the traditional dirndl dress and blouse which makes for an authentic experience. The dining room is in the old train station which is just beside the new train station. There are several small private dining rooms and a very large group dining room. Very classy with traditional German furnishings. You can even see the old Roman numeral clock that still hangs on the wall in the main dining room. There were several go boxes and a great meal after the meal. The also have a small bar and serve up on tap Hofbrau, the Royal brew along with Bitburg and Spaten. This was a special occasion so I brought a bottlle of wine; there's a $10 corking fee which is a reasonable charge.

    (5)

  • Jackie K.

    Food was just ok. Restaurant itself is beautiful. Waiter and personnel couldn't have been nicer. Portions of food were much too large. We are probably spoiled as we have an excellent German restaurant in our area.

    (2)

  • Thomas M.

    Great place with great food. Came for lunch with my family and we all enjoyed. The server was nice and kept our drinks full and recommended beers that were very good. Their pretzel appetizer was MASSIVE and delicious. I got their ruben and the amount of meat on the sandwich was awesome. You using dont get a lot meat and i was impressed. The other meals were all good as well as i sampled all of them. I will be back and look forward to trying something new.

    (5)

  • Frank S.

    First Fridays half priced beer, the god stuff, and incredible food selection. Had the crab stuffed crab mushroom exceptional. You always get great service here. They have a couple staple German beers and some rotating German taps. Also offer Devils Backbone today it was the 8 point IPA sweet especially @ half price!!! Though the food is not cheap it has exceptional flavor place offers a wonderful ambiance. Score serious points on a date if you dine here. For the wine lover they have you covered no worries. Come hungry leave happy & full.

    (5)

  • Kelly B.

    Great building and cute decor but parking was spotty at best. They have a very limited parking lot. I loved the uniforms and the menu is fairly authentic. The food, also, was mostly good. I loved the pretzel with cheesy beer dip, but my dining partner felt the pretzel was too salty. The potato pancake was more like fast food hashbrown coins and I felt my egg was undercooked on top and crusty on the bottom. It really needed to be turned once lightly. The sausages were authentically German. The server was very nice but seemed to be the only server available for the entire dining room. It seemed severely understaffed. The desserts were an amazing treat. Mostly a positive experience. I would visit again.

    (3)

  • Maria S.

    Really friendly staff and great service, cool building that used to be a train station (nice and roomy with good spaces for large groups), a big selection of German beers and some local brews, and terrific pretzels. Their beers are sold by the half and full liter--the full liters are about two pints and run around ten dollars, which is a good deal. The pretzels are huge, come with beer cheese and spicy mustard, and perfect for sharing with the table. The same goes for everything else here--the portions are massive and perfect for sharing. The German sausage sampler is a nice choice if you are like me and don't know much about German food and want to try different things. Our server and the hostess were both super-friendly and helpful, explaining the dishes and the history of the restaurant. Overall, an enjoyable experience--I learned a lot, tried some tasty new things, and enjoyed a cold, delicious, beer in a great environment. Another cool thing: They have vegetarian versions of some German dishes, for those vegetarians who are worried that German food is all meats! For example, they make schnitzel with Portabella mushrooms. One caveat: There is not a lot of parking for this restaurant, but it isn't too hard to grab street parking nearby.

    (4)

  • Mark K.

    Great Bavarian food. Upon being seated, they bring over a basket of bread and soft butter. While the bread and butter are good, try to avoid it so you have room for the entree. We had the Wiener Schnitzel and the sausage platter for dinner. Both were killer. The schnitzel was perfectly crunchy and moist. The sausages were amazing in both flavor and texture. The sausages came with homemade sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. Get a big forkful of that and dip it in the sauce that comes with it and you are in heaven. The meals came with 4 sides, all perfectly cooked. We got the cabbage, green beans, spaetzle and zucchini. I'm not a huge veg fan, but all were stellar. The zucchini comes in a ultra tasty red sauce. The portions are HUGE. Everyone left with leftovers. We didn't have any room for dessert, (they looked awesome and fresh) but from what the people around us said, they were worth every calorie. The service started off slow, but our server came through and we had a great experience.

    (5)

  • Jason Y.

    First time here. Friend and I went on a Saturday afternoon. First thing I noticed was all the cute girls with low cut tops. I told my friend he picked the right place for us to have dinner. After ogling the girls, we got a male server. Dammit. Well he was on most of his game. He was new but was familiar with the menu for the most part. He did have some trouble with enunciating some of the menu items. But we liked him. He was very attentive throughout the meal. We started with a cucumber salad. It was delicious. My friend ordered a sausage of some sort as another appetizer and he shared it. I don't recall what it was. I wasn't looking forward to it as I figured having a sausage alone would be boring. WRONG! It was awesome. Then our entrees came. We both had steaks. I know it's not very German but I got the grilled N.Y. Strip that came with krauterbutter. The krauterbutter was on top of the steak in a big slab. I thought it was OK but I wanted more of a steak flavor than a weird butter on it. My steak was cooked medium rare and the cook made it perfect. Funny thing, it came with three huge onion rings which were not mentioned on the menu. These were the most delicious onion rings I ever had. Ever. My friend got a steak that came in two different pieces with this gravy all over it. I didn't try it but he loved it. We also ordered a bunch of side veggies. They were fresh and perfect. The Bavarian Chef is expensive but it has every right to be. My steak was the cheapest of their steaks at $28. I will go back again. I didn't try any of the beer or dessert. Great service. Great food. Everyone said "yum."

    (4)

  • Josh S.

    Service is top knotch! The food is great here as well, i love eating here when i can.

    (5)

  • Ian F.

    Ein Prosit, ein Prosit! After two delicious separate occasions to eat here, I realized I was due to give my two marks on this gem of a restaurant. If you stick to the traditional items such as the platter of Barvarian sausages or the Austrian Wiener Schnitzel, you will do well. Pick the more progressive non-Germanic dishes and you are rolling the dice. Beer on tap is so good. Especially the Hoffbräu dünkel. Served in traditional mugs. Staff dressed up in traditional German clothes and played along with my dad's German lessons. Portions are very nice and the sides are proportioned to number of dishes ordered. Spatzel was really good as were the apple sautéed carrots and German potato salad. Red sauerkraut was so delicious with the sausages and mustard. $200 for 4 adults and 1 kid. I loved the ambiance of being in a repurposed train waiting room next to the VRE line. I'll be baack! :D

    (4)

  • Anna P.

    The restaurant has white tablecloths and the servers are wearing ties but I felt that the atmosphere was still more casual. Definitely not a fine dining experience. The restaurant is pricey for what it is. The portions are enormous. I had the pork on bone with sausage stuffing. It was delicious. However the family style vegetables left something to be desired. Not very flavorful and most of them were cold when they arrived at our table. Others had the swordfish, sausage plate, and pork chops. We tried three desserts and the apple streusel was by far the best. Our server was on point-- very attentive and informative with presenting the specials. He even put up with all of our bad jokes! The food is okay but I won't be back. I recommend you go for the experience and embrace the schnitzel and keep the beers coming while dining here.

    (3)

  • Watrbb W.

    Friend and I spent a wonderful day walking Old Town Fredericksburg and wanted to find a great place to eat. We inquired at the visitors desk and asked some people on the street and the Bavarian Chef was highly recommended. Since we both wanted something besides food you can find every day, we were excited to visit this restaurant. That excitment faded very quickly due to the SLOOOOOOW service. The excitement went into the basement when we got our food. My friends veal dish was AWFUL - NO flavor and had a weird taste. My sauerbraten was fair at best; I've had better. Best part of the meal was the chive butter for the bread. For the expensive prices they charge it is totally not worth going! Even the beer was not what it was supposed to be. My friend spent years in Germany and definitely knows the beers and the Bavarian Chef - or at least the waitress - do not know their stuff. We will never visit this place again!

    (1)

  • Jeff Y.

    My date brought me here! It's really easy to find because it is right in front of the Amtrak station. One of the most memorable parts about my dining experience was the fact that so many different people waited on us. Each employee seems to have a very specific job. I'm used to a host(ess) seating you and a waiter/waitress serving you, but we had BOTH a waiter AND a waitress tonight! Also, a different person refilled our water, distinct from the person who brought out our side dishes. Another person brought out our entrees from the kitchen. Finally, a totally different person cleared our dishes/table when we were done eating before we got the bill! Oh, and all the women were dressed in Bavarian attire, which was fun! I haven't had much German food before, so dinner here was really exciting for me. (There were three different types of complimentary bread!) I ordered the cucumber salad (which was nice and light) and ordered one of the specials of the night (Black Forest) as my main meal. I chose potato dumplings and zucchini as my two sides. My main course consisted of pork medallions with mushrooms, black forest ham (no surprise there), and melted gouda. I also really liked that the plate was garnished with fruit (orange, cantaloupe, and watermelon), which I gladly devoured at the end of my meal. One thing to be aware of is that the portions are HUGE! I eat a lot and yet I could not believe my eyes when the large oval plate arrived with my equally humongous serving of food. Remember, the two sides were literally served on the side (in their own small dishes), so the plate was ALL entree! The zucchini was good, but more tart than I expected because it came in a tomato sauce. The potato dumplings were a lot of fun and reminded me of Chinese rice balls or Japanese mochi. I thought all of the food was delicious, and was actually unable to finish all of it. I asked for the second of my two slabs of pork to be boxed up, but the server forgot to do this (and unfortunately, I did not realize [probably because I was so incredibly full] that they had forgotten until I was already driving home). Service was exceptional and everyone was really friendly! The restaurant was also nice and warm inside and had a nice atmosphere. Bavarian Chef was well decorated and kept filling up with more patrons as my meal progressed. I thought the tiny lamp on each table was cute too. Just one thing to bear in mind: most entrees are at least $20. I ordered a salad too, so after tax and tip my meal ended up costing $41...but all in all, I think it was worth it! :) Dessert looked tasty (and I appreciated that it was a very "visual menu" since they brought out a tray with samples), but I was already stuffed!

    (4)

  • Bj L.

    4.5 solid stars! Situated in an old train station, this elegant fine dining establishment offers huuuuuge portions of German comfort foods. A little pricy, but very tasty. Servers dressed in traditional German costumes offered great service.. The schnitzels were huge portioned, hot,, fresh, tasty. Schnitzels seem to be a specialty. The side are served family style. Creamed corn and spatzle seemed to have a strong hint of nutmeg, and were incredibly good. The homemade applesauce is a little upcharge, but was well well worth it! It looks as if they had a good selection of beer, though I didn't try any, and the wine list was comprehensive and touched on various price points. Desserts looked great but I was too stuffed to take advantage. This is a fair hike from home, but I'll be back!

    (4)

  • Joseph W.

    This is a very nice looking restaurant. It is a great location for a proper date or a business location. As with most german restaurants, the greatness is in the sauce. This place is no exception. Great sauces, decent meats and good beers. These guys do a lot of the most difficult things right!

    (4)

  • Angela N.

    Let me preface my review by saying that I went for lunch and had almost no traditional German food. I like the atmosphere of this restaurant, which is housed in the old Fredericksburg railroad station. Amtrak still stops here, so you can see the trains coming and going along the platform, which is elevated as compared to the restaurant. The Bavarian Chef is a quiet restaurant with traditional interior design. It's in a nice looking building and looks fairly well maintained inside. Regarding the food and service: There were only two servers on duty when we visited on November 24. Once we were seated, this didn't seem to be a big problem, and the food came out fast and efficiently. I had the crab cake salad, which was good, although with more breading than I like in my crab cake. Other members of my party also the crab cake salad and the salmon fish of the day special, which came with potato pancakes (good) and red cabbage (also good). We had the Black Forest cake for dessert which was good, although not overly sweet---I was expecting a heavier cake. Nice experience, and lunch was only about $10/person. I'm not a giant fan of German food, so I might not go for dinner when the menu tilts that way, but I did like the lunch options and pricing (German schnitzel is available around the same price if you like).

    (4)

  • Ken E.

    Germans aren't known for their food, but they make a mean strudel. I would not go out of my way to eat here but if you're in F'burg for the day, or riding Amtrak/VRE and want a quick dinner break, this place can't be beat. Used to be THE train station, now converted to a restaurant. Good beer selection.

    (3)

  • Sal B.

    In the DC area is very difficult to find good, novo German/Austrian food. Well the search is over. The Bavaria Chef is the best of this type in the area. Prior to opening their Fredericksburg location I used to drive for two hours to their Madison (Near Charlottesville) location. The food is really good. During this visit I had the Mandel Schnitzel, pork tenderloin medallions crusted with almonds served in honey strawberry gin sauce. When I ordered it I was apprehensive with the combination of strawberry, gin and almonds over pork. WOW! What a pleasant surprise. This is a good place to take your grand kids (if they know how to behave in a restaurant). Their "kiddie menu" is fantastic. The Hansel and Gretel chicken looked delicious and my grandson agreed. If you have never been to a restaurant were you share the sides you are going for a trip. You order your main course and depending on the number of people in your party is the number of different sides you can order. In other words, the more you people in your party the more sides you can try, specially since refills on the sides are free. Their drought beer was excellent. At least that what I remember. :-) The only down side to this place is the noise level. Because it is inside an old train station, the acoustics are terrible and the normal restaurant noise is amplified. *** I strongly recommend making reservations ****

    (4)

  • James A.

    Came here the first time for a valentines day dinner. I'm not a huge German Food fan so I wasn't exactly sure what we were getting in too. Most of the people I had talked to liked it. So we gave it a shot...and we were both very happy with our choice...the service was good, atmosphere was good....a good vibe all around....I got the veal cordon bleu, which was very good and my date got a beef dish that was their special and she was happy as well...we got the German chocolate cake which was good as well...we will be back!

    (4)

  • Ray S.

    This food is soooo good. Its hand made in house and you can tell. The portions are big and if you go with 5 people you get all the sides delivered to your table family style with all the refills you want ( not that you will order them because you'll be too full) trust me PLEASE go and then show some love to my page!!!!! GO!

    (5)

  • David C.

    The Bavarian Chef is located in Fredericksburg's old train station. It is a very attractive restoration. For lunch (for two) we had salmon almondine, and Black Forest schnitzel, with a side of potato pancakes. Lunch with tip was $35.00.

    (4)

  • Galinda L.

    Hated it!!!!!! I have spent time in Germany and I can taste evry short cut they make!!!!! it was horrible!!!!!! wow I wanted to take my pork and throw it against the wall and scream!!!!!!! i was sooooo dissapointed with this meal...... I have eaten better german food i n the frozen food ilse!!!! If I just microwaved a potato...... it would have been better german food then what is served at this place!!!!! its about as german as thai food!!!!!!!! I am not fooled by the menu....... its just basic blan food with german subtitles!!!!!!!!

    (1)

  • Corinna S.

    I was HIGHLY disappointed tonight. And no, for the most part this was NOT authentic German food. The pre-meal bread was not authentic in the least bit and no self-respecting German potato salad would include liquid smoke (and if the restaurant reads this post and wishes to disclaim you use liquid smoke, lets hear it). The schnitzel meat with its breading was flavorless. We had both the Zigeuner and Mandeln schnitzel. The sauces provided no authentic Bavarian flavor bursts and were just gloppy, overly spicy and overly sweet when they cooled - which didn't take long. The Blaukraut was over the top sweet, the spaetzle was cold and flavorless (the table next to us sent theirs back to the kitchen because it was cold) and the knodel were...meh. I will say the portions are extraordinary, but I would gladly take 1/2 the portion, 1/2 the price and actually be served authentic, fresh, made to order food. Because at these prices, combined with lackluster food, this meal was an expensive epic fail. And Oktoberfest started yesterday...how does a German restaurant - a German restaurant that markets itself as a BAVARIAN restaurant - not even run a limited Oktoberfest inspired menu?! Or hang a traditional banner, or anything acknowledging this culturally relevant event to Bavaria? Come on. How disappointing. And get those waiters in culturally appropriate attire. Because besides the few pictures on the walls, the polka music looping and a few waitresses in dirndls - there is nothing else German about this place. Do NOT come here and think you are getting an authentic experience because you are not. This restaurant could learn from Georgetown's Old Europe. After this disappointing experience, I will never stray again. So disappointing.

    (1)

  • Chris L.

    Absolutely terrible food. I lived in Germany for several years and I was never served food like this place. I saw another table sending food back as well. The place looks authentic, but the food is not good.

    (1)

  • Nicole J.

    NO NO NO! NO! THIS IS NOT REAL GERMAN GOOD. I grew up in Germany. I lived there from 1979-1997. This is a bad imitation. My husband thought it was ok but I wasn't happy at all. I had the schnitzel. It would have been ok if it wasn't billed as German food.

    (1)

  • Diane S.

    Authentic & delicious! We loved it. What a find after touring Historical Fredericksberg we had a fabulous dinner. We had the brisket special and pork shank special along with their red cabbage, spatzel and German potato salad, very yummy. The only con was that it is a large restaurant, it was not crowded, and that sat table s right next to us. Would have preferred some privacy since it was pretty empty. Nice wine selection too.

    (5)

  • BJ L.

    Everything here is delicious. It is all made in house, and it is obvious these people know what they are doing. If there are at least 5 of you, you get to experience all of the side dishes and they will continue to refill them. For some reason, I wanted to eat gravy boats full of the cream corn. The variety bread basket is nice, and really everything on the menu is worth ordering. I long for the day that I go here and they have pork shanks with sausage stuffing.

    (5)

  • Bil G.

    Went to this place today, July 11th 2013 and thought it reasonably easy to park. Was there for lunch, about 12:20. The service was a little on the slow side but my waitress seemed to be really busy and doing her best, not goofing off. I started with the red pepper soup and it was wonderful. I came with cold crab meat and had there been less crab meat and the crab meat been warm I think it would have been better. My waitress kept saying no problem, no problem until I finally had to say something and when I finally mentioned it she of course said no problem and was a little embarrassed to admit what a habit it was. She would also say "How are WE doing?" "Do WE want dessert". Of course when I asked her "How are WE going to pay the check she laughed and said sorry but in that case it is you, not we. I ordered the steak au poivre and unfortunately I was too full from the red pepper soup so could not do justice to the steak au poivre which was very good. I was impressed too by the sides of green beans and the mashed potatoes. I ordered Dr. Pepper for my drink and ended up ordering the Black Forest cake for dessert. Unfortunately the Black Forest cake was not as good as the rest of the meal being as how the cake was rather heavy and dry, the whipped cream rather dry and stiff. The fruit with the service was nice, strawberries and some blackberries. The menu says the steak au poivre is flamed but that is NOT done at the table unfortunately. It would be more spectacular to see your food flamed in front of you, not off in the kitchen. The Black Forest cake is unfortunate as I can get much better Black Forest cake at the Swiss Bakery in the Springfield, off Port Royal road. I'll be back but won't order any dessert next time as none of them really looked good. They all looked dense and heavy and like you had better have plenty of room for them. The railroad track runs right behind the restaurant and if you are inclined you can go above the restaurant and watch the trains run or even catch your train out after a good meal. There was a big clock on the wall but it doesn't keep correct time so don't depend on it or you might miss your train. Waitresses wore strange clothes. I think the waitress said it was a durned ole dress! Apparently the restaurant has recently hired the manager and chef from the zum Rheingarten.

    (4)

  • Grant J.

    Had dinner there this weekend. Had the steak Diane and it was delicious. Servers were attentive and friendly, portions were larger then I would like. Atmosphere was clean and nice. Always a pleasure to have authentic German food.

    (5)

  • sharon O.

    Worst restaurant we ever went to! The food was absolutely terrible. My husband is of German origin and I wanted to treat him. The weiner schnitzel was fried in butter and tasted putrid. My husband had a rump steak, totally overcooked, although he stated pink inside, and was chewy and tasteless. All the vegetables were of the poorest quality and they tried to hide all the taste with over seasoning. The food was not of German style in anyway. My first order of a veal stew was served over mashed potatoes--definitely not a German food! The spatzle was awful. The waitress was nice though. The atmosphere was tasteless. You hear the trains arriving and the floor rumbles.

    (1)

  • V W.

    My husband was house sitting for a week in Fredericksburg but I had only come for the weekend. He waited all week to take me to the Bavarian Chef. It did not disappoint. My husband lived in Germany for a few years and we have also been abroad together and have experienced authentic German food. The Bavarian Chef is just that...great German cuisine! Our waiter Cassidy was exceptional, explaining that the veggies are shared by the table so don't order duplicates. My husband had the duck special and loved it. I had the sauerbraten and the gave me 4 pieces of meat. It was so delicious. The bread basket was filled with various types of bread. The special appetizer was a large Bavarian pretzel with cheese flavored with beer and homemade mustard (and the pretzel was flown in from Germany). We didn't get it but the next table did and it looked amazing! My husband loved the extensive beer selection and the restaurant was beautifully, tastefully decorated. Whether you are a local or just visiting, I highly recommended the Bavarian Chef. Reservations recommended, but we were able to get a table for two at 6pm without a reservation. We had two pieces of cheesecake to go for dessert and thought they were quite pricey at $7.95 a slice. We thoroughly enjoyed this meal!

    (4)

  • Brian A.

    1st time here.Family and i enjoyed ourselves. I was a bit disapointed Rouladen was not on the menu. I thought a German restaruant would have it as a steady item. Everyone got a different dish and we all tried one anothers. We all enjoyed how different everything tasted and how good it was. Our table was filled with veggies and we all at least tried each dish. Our waiter was on point and we had no complaints. The beer was GREAT! It is a bit pricy for German fair.

    (4)

  • Randy P.

    Oktoberfest tip: during the Capital Ale House sponsored Oktoberfest celebration (Sept 2011) the Bavarian Chef had a special - they served roast chicken, pork, sausages and all the side dishes (all you could eat of everything) for $16 per adult, $9 per child. It was much less crowded and less crazy than the downtown celebration, and significantly better food. We'll definitely come here again for Oktoberfest dining. Everyday tip: Go with a party of at least 6 people and order one of each side dish (two side dishes come with each entree). They are served family-style and worth tasting some of each. My favorite entree is the Hühnerbrüstchen Baden-Baden: chicken wrapped around an apple with bread stuffing and sweet glaze. My wife loves the Jäger Schnitzel: a very nice veal with bacon. Most people dress nicely (coat and tie or at least dress shirt and slacks) to come here for dinner; however, I have seen tourists come in T-shirts and shorts and they were treated graciously by the staff. So, I'd say even if you are in town walking around and don't have a chance to change clothes, don't let that stop you from enjoying excellent Bavarian food. Both of my friends who grew up in Germany told me that they thought the food here is very authentic, good Bavarian food. I visited Munich one time a few years ago and ate at a fine restaurant there - I found the food at Bavarian Chef to be just as good.

    (5)

  • Joshua H.

    German cuisine at its finest. We love eating here because it's a departure from everyday dinner. The staff are professional and welcoming. The environment is classy and understated. With a wide selection and creative specials, the Bavarian Chef is one of downtown Fredericksburgs best places to eat.

    (4)

  • Georgio B.

    Since english is not my first language... I'll be brief. The entrees,drinks, desserts and service was second to none! If anyone says the food here is less then quality, it surely was a fluke experience. Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Absolutly!!! Enjoy!

    (5)

  • M C.

    Good food, HUGH quantities (everyone had a take home box or two), neat environment, knowledgeable and friendly bar staff

    (4)

  • Reid B.

    In a word: "meh" Our overall impression of the Bavarian Chef is that it was okay, but probably won't be back. Décor and atmosphere: The restaurant is a either upper end casual dining or entry level fine dining. I don't think they've decided themselves. For instance the hostess, as well as the waitresses were wearing some type of ridiculous "swiss miss" costume, but the men were wearing a standard shirt-and-tie. Either put the dudes in lederhosen and go theme restaurant, or let the women dress professionally. I was half waiting for a bell to ring and all the women to run to the front of room and perform some polka or something. I liked the décor, because it clean and uncluttered, and was relieved there wasn't a lot of German kitsch. As other have noted, it is an open floor plan so it may get noisy when it's crowded, though it wasn't an issue for us on a weeknight. Bar Service: After we were seated our waitress came by for drink orders. I ordered a martini with a twist, my wife ordered a lemontini. My martini came with olives, but I didn't care enough to send it back, I've had plenty of martinis with olives. And yes, my wife asked if the lemontini was overly sweet, because she doesn't like really sweet drinks. So her lemontini came and it certainly wasn't sweet. It tasted like tipping back a bottle of that concentrated lemon juice stuff everyone had in the back of the fridge. Yes, certain things are a matter of taste, but this thing was so acid and bitter it was more like a drinking challenge on a reality show than a cocktail. She asked for a glass of pinot grigio instead and it was fine. I ordered a beer with dinner and it was good, as expected. They have three sizes of draft glasses which is a nice option. Menu and food service: I have to agree with the reviewer who mentioned the menu font. It's in this odd "Black forest font" or something and you can't tell what the hell is being spelled out. I just focused on the descriptions which were in a more standard type face. My wife is a vegetarian who doesn't like mushrooms and their only straight vegetarian entrée was a Portobello mushroom. No problem, we deal with this a lot. The waitress was helpful with some suggestions and changes to standard menu items that worked out. She ended up with a Caesar salad and the red pepper soup. I ordered the beer battered snails and the salmon special. When the snails arrived I was amazed at how big they were. I knew they would be breaded, but these things were bigger than golf balls. Buried deep inside was a regular snail. I had no idea how to eat these things. They were way too big to shove in my maw in one bite, but they gave you a small shrimp fork. I ended up digging the snail out of the ball of dough and having some breading with it. I will say that the rich breading soaked up all the garlicy goodness and tasted great. But by the time you got to the snail in the center, it was totally void of any of the seasoning that was poured over the breading, leaving the snails rather tasteless. And it was soooo filling. I barely had room for a fourth of my entrée. My entrée was the salmon special, and it was good. It was a huge portion of fish and the sauce was a good blend of sweetness and citrus and flavor. The texture was okay but it was a tad overdone. My wife's salad and soup were okay. The salad was piled up on a plate that looked too small for the contents. It was hard to eat without stuff dropping off all over the place. The soup was fine but it was very heavy. The sides, potato dumplings and carrots (in an applesauce glaze, I think) were good and tasted fresh. Service: Overall, the service was completely fine, but a tad bit odd. The Hostess seated us (expected that), our waitress took our orders and delivered the meals (expected that), the Hostess was back when it was time to get the leftovers boxed, the bartender (I don't really know who she was but she wasn't dressed like a dairy maid) brought us the bill, and the manager brought us back the receipt and credit card bill. I was starting to feel like Ebenezer Scrooge, just waiting to see who popped up next. Though everyone was certainly pleasant and helpful. Overall: It was okay, fine, whatever. I don't really see us going back. It certainly wasn't terrible. But I think it's too pricey for the offerings and I just don't have a compelling reason to return.

    (2)

  • Enrique Q.

    This was a last minute plan using Yelp to find something to eat. Yelp was right on with its reviews of this establishment. I could not believe the quality of food that was served at this place and the service was phenomenal. Each dish had its unique taste with a burst a flavor in every bite, they have a real Das Boot that is 2 liters of beer, pure goodness!!!!!!! I highly recommend this place to anyone who either wants to try German food or is looking for authentic German cuisine.

    (5)

  • Eric P.

    The Bavarian Chef offers up some really delicious German food! My whole experience was really great. I'd say my actual review is about 4.5 stars and the 1/2 star subtraction is due to the lack of potato pancakes and the higher prices (entrees hover around $23). But since people actually gave this place bad reviews, I feel I have to help out Bavarian Chef. I've only lived in Northern Virginia for a short time but this was by far the best meal I've had here. The appetizers, the entrees, the sides, everything was tasty. The Bavarian Chef is housed in the VRE train station in the quaint town of Fredericksburg. The restaurant and bar are small but feel very cozy. The waiters are dressed in suits and the females are dressed in traditional German garb. The tables are adorned with white table cloth. When my party arrived, the restaurant was relatively empty, but by the time we had finished it was packed. We started off with three appetizers: some sausage, puff pastry filled with brie, and crab-stuffed mushrooms. All three were really good, but were on the small side. We only got about a bite of each appetizer. I would highly recommend the mushrooms. For the main course, I ordered the Zigeuner Schnitzel. It came with two ENORMOUS pieces of breaded pork that covered the plate. The schnitzel came in a tangy sauce with tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions. The pork was tender and flavorful. The rest of my party all ordered some form of schnitzel and loved their food. Sides are served family-style, each entree comes with a side to share, so the more people you have the more sides you get. We went with the red cabbage, spatzle, potato dumplings, and green beans. The red cabbage was amazingly rich. It was my favorite side. The spatzle and potato dumplings were very bland. And the green beans were pretty good and covered with an interesting spice I couldn't quite put my finger on. When we finished our entrees, the waiter brought us the dessert tray and asked us if we wanted any to which he received a resounding NO! We we're stuffed! I would highly recommend Bavarian chef to anyone and everyone!

    (5)

  • Jim U.

    The Bavarian Chef has expanded from their original location in Madison, VA to a second location in Fredericksburg, VA, taking the place of the now defunct Claiborne's. It's located in the heart of town, inside of the train station making for a grand, airy space. We went on a Thursday night around 7:30 pm, and the restaurant was quite busy. The hostess asked if we had reservations which caught us entirely off guard. No, we did not. She then proceeded to the main floor and verified an available table and had us seated. The floor was nicely carpeted, but there was little for the eyes to look at in the restaurant. By all appearances, the decor was the open space of a train station with as many tables that could fit the space. A lack of dividers, flowers, wine racks, and the like, made for a very loud atmosphere. The walls were simply adorned with posters of Germany accented with overhead lamps. Really though, without those posters or the bierhalle clad of the female servers, I would have no idea that I was in a German restaurant. I looked over the menus, and I was very pleased with beer selection. There were a handful of choices from the Hofbrauhaus on tap. I opted for a liter of the Weihenstephaner Dunkel, also on tap, which was served in a lovely stein. Quite impressive. The regular menu and the night's specials were less promising though. I enjoyed seeing a mix of standard German dishes. However, I was downright confused by the evening's "New Orleans Special" though. Really? My friend and I both ordered the Bavarian sausage platter. Shortly after, the waitstaff drew attention to the fact that one of the patrons was celebrating a birthday at the restaurant, and then proceeded to break out into song. So a restaurant where reservations are recommend, but the staff sings to you? My German special was decent, but aspects of it were definitely not German. The plate included a sample of three sausages, placed upon a mix of mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Between the two of us, our four sides were: spaetzle, German potato salad, potato dumplings, and red cabbage. The sauerkraut was disappointing; it was overly acidic suggesting it had not been rinsed, and it was devoid of caraway seeds making it distinctly un-Bavarian. The weisswurst was also odd in that it had been pan seared; typically this sausage is only boiled. The red cabbage was almost syrupy. The spaetzle were an abomination. I have no idea what they served me, but they were not spaetzle. They boasted a strange color and flavor. For reference, I posted a photo of what a nice creamy spaetzle should look like; the photo is from a meal I had at the Michelin starred restaurant, Seasonal, in New York City. All was not lost though. The potato dumplings, read matzoh balls, were fairly good. Also, despite the preparation style, all of the sausages were agreeable. After dinner, our server brought over a tray of desserts. It was not the most promising selection of sweets, but our server's enthusiasm helped balance things out considerably. In addition to authentic selections like the sachertorte, I was quite amused by the offering of German chocolate cake. With a capable chef, I would have chalked this up to whimsy and good hearted fun. Here, I was not so sure. Maybe they really believe that German chocolate cake is German, not realizing that it is actually named after its inventor, Samuel German. Obviously, we deferred on dessert. For all the insistence on being a German restaurant, I was surprised by the lack of authenticity. I also felt that there was confusion as to how to run the restaurant, mixing high and low brow elements in a flippant way. The restaurant does have some promise for the area as it offers an underrepresented cuisine; I just don't think it will succeed as an example of fine dining. For the area, the restaurant probably merits 3 stars, but I would put it at 2.5 stars in general.

    (2)

  • Marty H.

    Guten Appetit! -- Good German restaurants are hard to fine so when there is a great German style restaurant you make it a destination point and enjoy the experience. That is what we did last Saturday night at the Bavarian Chef in Fredericksburg. Ever since dining at the Bavarian Chef on Route 29 in Madison, Virginia, we knew we would seek out its sister restaurant in Fredericksburg and are we glad we did. A Bavarian sausage sampler and huge pretzel appetizer were followed by Jager Schnitzel (a "wow" dish to be sure) and Goulash (delicious) entries with 4 terrific side dishes. Given the generous portion sizes left overs were a certainty. In fact, we took enough food home for another small meal. This was strategic because we also wanted to share a desert. Some wonderful German wine helped us enjoy the ambiance of the old train station and the most excellent service we have ever received from the beginning when we were seated to the end when we departed. If only this restaurant were closer we would be regulars without a doubt. Make sure you are hungry when you arrive and enjoy all that the Bavarian Chef has to offer -- we did and we will return!!!

    (5)

  • T T.

    Disappointing dinner. I've lived in Germany and can say that I've had the privilege of eating some amazing German food. After reading some of the reviews on this place I was really expecting to enjoy my meal...not the case. I made dinner reservations for a Saturday evening, after arriving, I realized that one was not needed as the restaurant had many empty tables. We were seated right away, we ordered the pretzel appetizer and hefeweizen. One of the servers came by and filled our glasses with water and dropped a bread basket on the table, redundant as we just ordered a large pretzel. The pretzel was one of the best things about our meal. Served warm with a beer cheese dip and sweet whole grain mustard. For our entrees we ordered jagerschnitzel and the Bavarian sausage platter. Each entree comes with two sides so we ordered German potato salad, potato dumplings, creamed corn, and spatzle. Their meal presentation was nice. The Bavarian sausages (bratwurst, knockwurst, weissewurst) came atop a bed of sauerkraut and mashed potatoes and some sort of brown gravy. I wish I could say that the presentation was on par with taste. The sausages were disgusting, grisly, and fatty. The jagerschnitzel fared worse. Two large slices of veal covered in a gravy with mushrooms, bacon, onions turned out to be a grisly, chewy meal. As for the side dishes the potato salad was only passable as German, the potato dumplings were sitting in a bowl of butter, the spatzle was burnt and COLD, the creamed corn (hardly European) was the best side dish. This was an all-around horrible meal. Unfortunately, we will not be eating at this establishment again. Although I would rate the meal one-star, this restaurant gets another star for ambience. My recommendation would be to skip this restaurant if you're looking for good german food.

    (2)

  • John W.

    Great location but the new owners have done little to give the appearance of an authentic German restaurant, other than hanging a few photos on the wall. I was not pleased with the menu's readability. The font is distracting, using a German-style appearance . . . we already know it's German vis-a-vis the name, use a font that's clear and understandable. The food was decent, but not totally German. My wife had the stuffed shrimp. She said it was very good. I opted for a sirloin, also very good and prepared quite well. The sides weren't too bad, particularly the whipped potatoes. I also liked the red cabbage. I'm sitting on the fence as to try it again.

    (2)

  • Vw C.

    Went to this restaurant for a late afternoon on Friday holiday weekend and was extremely surprised. The atmosphere was charming and old-world feeling. The lunch menu was diverse and well priced ($9.-12.). The pork Schnitzel lunch was large and very good. The Paulaner beer complimented the meal. The Applesauce was yummy. The waiter (Lee) was knowledgeable of the menu offerings and the local area. This was an excellent find, and I look forward to going again.

    (4)

  • Angela A.

    The Bavarian Chef was our Valentine's Day destination. We made a last minute decision to go here and were lucky enough to get a bar table. At first I was disappointed, but the bartender was one of the best servers we have had in ages, so it was worth it. She even brought us samples of different beers and a sample of creamed corn since I didn't know what it was. We ordered nuremburg bratwursts on top of warm potato salad for an appetizer and it was beautiful and delicious! I ordered french onion soup and a salad, both of which were very good. My husband ordered jagerschnitzel with red cabbage and spatzle. He thoroughly enjoyed every bite! Overall, it was an excellent experience!

    (4)

  • Jacquelyn G.

    I'm not going to act as if I'm an expert on what is and what isn't authentic German food. However, having been to Germany a few times, I like to think I have a somewhat decent read on this kind of thing, and I found the fare at the Bavarian Chef to be quite authentic indeed. I had the traditional Bavarian platter which consisted of three sausage links, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes--all of which was delicious but just way way way too much food. There were six of us in our party, and the dishes are served family-style, so on top of our entrees (which already came with sides), we had several side dishes of potato dumplings (two thumbs up), corn, beets, mashed potatoes, German potato salad and I can't even remember what else. I just remember it was a ton of food. We had boxes of leftovers and it was still a lot at that point! That said, it was all very delicious. The service was good for the most part. It started out being very good, but we seemed to become a little forgotten about towards the end and the service got a bit slower. Our particular server wasn't the best with wine recommendations, but maybe I should've kept things simple and German-like and just ordered a beer instead! I would definitely return.

    (4)

  • Sophie W.

    I went back with my family for dinner around Christmas time. While the food was good, the service was lacking. The hostess seated us and then we waited for quite a while and no one came to the table. I had to go back to the hostess to inform her we had yet to see a waiter. The waiter came over shortly thereafter and was extremely apologetic. He said he wasn't told that he had our table. We went ahead and ordered. We did have some questions, but honestly he wasn't very good at answering them. I don't know if he was fairly new or what the deal was, but for what you pay to dine at this restuarant we expect to have a waiter that knows the food. After having 2 poor experiences at this restaurant I highly doubt we'll be going back. The food was good both times, but the service was not.

    (2)

  • Taylor L.

    We had a party of four and hands down, 100%, none of us will ever go back. Order your beef, chicken, pork, etc. and all the grossly over cooked sides come family style straight from the can or box. No flavor at all! Our waitress chose to refer to each of us as "hon" and when served, she'd reach across in front of one of us to serve the person across the table. This is a grossly over rated restaurant that won't survive here in Fredericksburg, VA.

    (1)

  • John O.

    I'm still full eight hours and states later. Stopped here on my mother's tab. We were immediately ushered in by a great hostess, seated without reservations on this warm Sunday afternoon, and tended to by a waiter who had the whole menu memorized. The food came quickly, and it was knock-down quality and tasty. My mother had a steak, which was cooked well, and I had a plate that I won't attempt to name, but had three types of sausages on it. Wow, a new appreciation for Bratwurst!! The dessert presentation was stunning, and the tab was reasonable! Highly recommend this place for families and pairs!

    (5)

  • Kevin B.

    This is the place where quality meets quantity. Pardon the brevity of my Bavarian critique, but I'm still in a blissful food stupor. The staff was friendly and welcoming. Although it was my first time here, I was treated like a long lost, and sorely missed friend. I detected knowing glee from my server when she presented my Pork Schnitzel topped with Shrimp Augratin. Generous, mouth watering and artfully presented, she seemed to dare me to try to polish of every savory mouthful. I lost, but I'm so much the better (and supremely satisfied ) for it. To quote the great Austrian thespian, " I'll be back "

    (5)

  • Janelle T.

    Was finally able to make a stop after reading the reviews on Yelp and knowing its one of the only German restaurants locally. I had high hopes as it's been a bit since we've had German food but the experience fell a tad short and left my husband and I not wanting to make a return trip. We've had German food at multiple places in different states and he was stationed in Germany, so it's not like we don't have anything to compare it to. Atmosphere was nice and our waitress was amazing. It's the food that fell short. I had a better experience with my food as I ordered specials of the day, roasted red pepper soup with lump crab meat and Hefeweizen Bier Schnitzel. He wasn't impressed with the gravy for the Jaeger Schnitzel after seeing the next table have it, thus opted for the chicken schnitzel and he said it tasted like grease with no flavor. Sides ordered were spaetzle, red cabbage and the zucchini. I enjoyed the red cabbage but the others not so much, and normally everyone loves spaetzle, but theirs was not too tasty. Pricing was a tad high as well but you do get a large portion size and the sides are apparently bottomless.

    (3)

  • R. J.

    We've eaten here now about 7 or 8 times in the past year, since moving to Fredericksburg. It has quickly become one of our favorite places to eat lunch - until today, it was always a five star experience. We brought friends today and arrived at about 12:30, were promptly greeted and seated - and while it wasn't very busy, it did seem to take our waiter about ten minutes to come back to take our drink order - no big deal. Normally I get the Rueben and my wife does too - today only I got the Rueben and she got something totally different. I've eaten this sandwich there now almost every time we visit and it is always the same - thick, piled high with meat and very filling. Not so today, the meat did not even go all the way through the sandwich but was piled up in the middle and even then, only two slices. I had this exact same sandwich there last week and it was so thick (at least 4-5 slices of meat) you could barely hold it with two hands. Today it was so thin that you could easily hold it with one hand and after two bites, it was all bread. Perhaps the regular Chef was off today or maybe they have put the lunch menu on a diet but it was disappointing. It certainly tasted fine and every thing was good, as usual - and even the service improved after we got out ice tea. Bavarian Chef is very generous with their sides and if one ask for a couple of extra sides, in our case creamed corn (which they are normally quite famous for) and warm German potato salad - no extra charge and normally delicious. But for some reason, today, the creamed corn was just not the same, not creamy at all; it seemed under cooked, not at all creamy - not even close to our past experiences. It tasted okay but was not the usual flavor and consistency - again, perhaps it was the Chef's day off - but this is hardly a difficult dish. Anyway, consistency is my pet peeve and at an upscale restaurant a diner has ever right to expect a similar portion and quality experience for the same menu item - every time. But I will give them a pass this time - and we shall see how it goes next time we decide to dine here.

    (3)

  • M D.

    Good food, excellent service. I was really pleased with my experience at the Bavarian Chef. The wait staff took good care of us and we enjoyed our drinks and food. I had the sausage platter entree (this isn't what it's called, but you'll recognize it on the menu), and one of the three sausages was PHENOMENAL and the mashed potatoes and sauerkraut were very good. The other two sausages weren't outstanding, but still decent. We also really enjoyed the giant pretzel appetizer that was on special. I think there's better German food out there, and I'm still on a quest to find it, but the Bavarian Chef was definitely enjoyable. If I lived in Fredericksburg (or if 95 weren't such a misery), I'd probably be there a few times a year.

    (4)

  • Sharon S.

    It is restaurant week in Fredericksburg VA! Be sure to stop in at the Bavarian Chef for their event menu. Justin, our waiter, was very knowledgeable about the selections and wines to pair with the entrées. The Nurnberger, my appetizer, was a meal. It included sausage on a bed of homemade German potato salad and sauerkraut - all were extraordinary! The Summer Schnitzel was perfectly prepared and topped with a pineapple, tomato and gouda melt and arrived with my chosen sides of spatzle and red cabbage. My Malbec was a great accompaniment. Highly recommended. ..Prost!!

    (5)

  • Lisa G.

    I've eaten at the Madison location several times, but last night was my first time at the Fredericksburg location. This venue has outdoor seating that's kinda cool. Food was exactly the same, delicious and plentiful. The service could've been A+ except our waitress kept us waiting. A lot! We were a party of 10, and it took 3 hours when it could've easily been 2.5 or less. Still a great place to take people from out of town. MUST get a pretzel for an appetizer and a nut ball for dessert.

    (4)

  • Shelby L.

    This place is a breath of fresh German air located in an attractive spot by the train tracks. We felt at home the second we walked in the door. The decor and the giant mugs of beer were a hit! Every appetizer and dish was perfectly put together and came in huge portions. Our server was a knowledgable and very nice guy. Will be back ASAP.

    (5)

  • Luke M.

    Great food! Great staff! Just moved to the area and my fiancé loved it! We will certainly be back soon! Thanks Lane for your great service!

    (5)

  • Solomon D.

    This review is based off the special restaurant week menu. Otherwise eating here can be a bit pricey. But the best part of eating here is the location. There is a certain nice ambiance to eating in a renovated train station. As for the food, it's OK but not great. Salad- ok, lentil soup- ok, salmon with wild rice- actually better than ok, sides (mashed potatoes, cabbage, green beans)- ok, nut ball dessert- liked this a lot but was too full by the end of the meal and that took away from it. Good selection of beers here. Overall decent establishment not much more.

    (3)

  • Tiffany D.

    Welp , I must say I have to agree with some of the other reviewers. The food is just well ... OK ! I have definitely had better German food. The bread & butter that was served before the meal was pretty good. As for the meals, they were pretty basic and bland. I got the Chicken Cordon Bleu Schnitzel with Red Cabbage and Potato Salad. This schnitzel is the same that I order at every german restaurant that I got to and this was by far the worse. NOTHING about it was good. It was basically ham and Swiss cheese breaded and fried. I mean hardly if any actual schnitzel meat. I also did not like the potato salad, it was to vinegary. The red cabbage was good. It had a sweet and sour taste. My fiancé got the Weiner Schnitzel with Whipped Potatoes and String Beans. His meal was definitely better than mine but still not great. It was a little bland. The whipped potatoes were good and I could have done without the beans but considering I didn't order them, owell. Next we had dessert. So I decided to be a brave soul and try German Chocolate Cake (bc I have never tried it and wanted to be different). I should have just stuck with what I knew. It was nasty. Way to much coconut for me. Why I ordered this knowing I don't like coconut is beyond me. The cake was also dry. I then ordered the Carrot Cake and it was better but not the best I have ever had. The service was good. We had a guy named Cassidy. He was very professional and nice. Overall I would not recommend this place as a must have German Restaurant. I'm sure there are better places in Fredericksburg than this one. .... AND I was going to give them 2 stars but my fiancé said they at least deserve 3, so there you have it. He actually enjoyed his food and said it wasn't great but it wasn't bad so it was good. : /

    (3)

  • Heidi F.

    I am definitely a fan of German food and having lived in Germany for four years and truer other German restaurants in the area, this place was not my favorite, nor was I that impressed. My husband got the classic Jäger Schnitzel and instead of a nicely fried and breaded pork with a thick mushroom gravy, the pork was swimming in a thin sauce with no breading and no flavor. It's like salt was not added to the food. The bread basket is great and so is the large pretzel with a beer/Gouda cheese dip. And I was very surprised on how much cheesecake they had to offer for desert. Cheesecake is not what comes to mind when getting desert at a German restaurant. Not as authentic as I had hoped.

    (3)

  • Grant N.

    Awesome dinner!! Best German food yet. I had the sausage plate with red cabbage, spatzle and German potato salad. All was top notch. Had a half pils from tap and finished off with strudel....mmmmm. Definitely worth the drive if you like German food.

    (5)

  • Jon C.

    I had the Bavarian Platter which was the various wursts. I found the food quality to be excellent. It was very well displayed and very tasty. I was a tad disappointed in the spätzel, but it was still good. The beer list, for a German restaurant, was limited in it's German beer selection. I went with a party of 5 and everyone enjoyed their meals. Overall excellent experience.

    (4)

  • Don R.

    I know my wife and I won't be back... so many issues I don't know where to begin. They are clearly listed in the other reviews so I won't waste time writting about them all. We paid and left our food on the table uneaten. Server didn't even ask and didn't care....

    (2)

  • Sarah H.

    Food was decent, not as good as what we had in Germany, but good, although the spätzle was really rubbery and dry, very disappointing. Service was really, really slow. We received our appetizer before the waiter even came back to take our order, and we were trying to eat it around our menus. It took half the meal to get a drink refill that I had to ask for, and needed since before we even finished the appetizer. We were going to have dessert, but it took so long for him to come back with the dessert tray, we changed our mind. We also waited a long time for our check, and change, we started to feel as though we were trapped in the restaurant and couldn't wait to leave.

    (2)

  • Chris R.

    The food was wonderful and everything is purchased fresh daily, never frozen. Best German food I've had anywhere. Recommend making a reservation but was not required. We took our kids and it was fine but I would have enjoyed it more if it was just the adults. Definitely a place I will go back with just the wife. The service was awesome and extremely friendly. Great beer!

    (4)

  • Randy L.

    This is as close to five stars as a restaurant can get (I rarely give five stars). It was one of the best dining experiences my wife and I have had in a long time. The portions are insanely huge (makes for great take-home leftovers). We both had different types of schnitzel and both were outstanding. Believe it or not, however, the highlight of our meal was the whipped potatoes and the red cabbage. The sides are bottomless, so we had a second portion of each. It's rather pricey, so we'll reserve it for special occasions, but we will definitely be back.

    (4)

  • Rich H.

    45 minute wait for drinks. Cold sides, poor service and mediocre entrees. Very underwhelming!

    (1)

  • Bill M.

    Very good Service I know nothing about German food I was very pleased but I never know what to order I wish they had a sampler so I could learn what I like.

    (4)

  • Louise Z.

    For an extraordinary German meal in a gorgeous setting, make Bavarian Chef your 1st stop and you'll never want to go anywhere else. With a Mother-in-Law from Schifferstadt, Germany, we know German food and this is fabulous. With groups, (ours was 7 people) you are given bowls of every side dish, with unlimited refills. Portions are out of control and we can have 1 or 2 more meals from the leftovers alone. I love the grand feel of the old train station and you can expect white linen service without the attitude!

    (5)

  • David A.

    Great German, err, Bavarian food. We ate here on an afternoon at this neat little plae that is in an old train station building on one end of the Fredericksburg strip. The decor is very plush and comfortable and there are several options if you are trying to reserve rooms. We had a large group with several kids and the server was helpful and nice and dressed in German fashion. They had an impressive draught beer list and most of the adults in the party ordered something different to fill their stein each time. I ordered the schnitzel and that is the only complaint that I had. It was ok but really didn't have the quality taste I was looking for. This was not true for the sides. They were the best part of the whole experience. We were in a large enough group that we got one of all the german style sides they had. Each was worth tasting, especially the cabbage. I highly recommend this place if you are in the Fredericksburg area and want something different, but remember, German food is anything but light.

    (4)

  • Lucia D.

    Very good German food. Pleasant and efficient staff. I loved the spatzel and red cabbage side dishes. My hubby had crispy, schnitzeled pork chops with a cherry sauce that was surprising and delicious. The restaurant is in an old train station and the floor plan is quite open and a little noisy but I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food.

    (4)

  • Kelly K.

    We visited this place last night on date night! We tried to eat here one time before, but they were totally booked. So this time I made a reservation! For some reason we weren't brought bread. Everybody else had it, and it looked darn good! I started with a garden salad, and I chose the house dressing, which is a mustard-dill dressing. It was SO good! The salad seemed a little too big for the plate, but I ate every bit. My husband opted for the Hausfrauen Art Gurken Salat, which is a cucumber dill salad. Neither of us loves cucumbers, but this was really good. I don't know what they did to those cucumbers to make them taste so good. We both got the only vegetarian entree: Vegetarian Portabella Schnitzel- Handbreaded portabella mushroom smothered with gouda served over spätzle. You also get to choose 2 of their family-style veggies for each entree. We got creamed corn, red cabbage, potato dumplings, and zucchini. I wanted the whipped potatoes, but was told they contain bacon. The portabella was really good, but the mounds of cheese melted on top were kind of congealed, like it had been sitting awhile. I think next time, if I order this, I will tell them no cheese, and see if there is any kind of sauce or gravy they can offer me instead. All the sides were good, and once you finish one, you can have it refilled! This is why I didn't make a stink about not getting bread...I knew I would have too much food already! They bring around a dessert tray with about 8-10 desserts on it, and they all looked good, but the one that caught my eye was the "Bavarian Nut Ball". This is a scoop of vanilla-bean ice cream that has been rolled in crushed coconut, pistachios and almonds. There is chocolate sauce in the bottom of the bowl. You wouldn't think something so simple could be so good, but I am still thinking about this dessert! Like, maybe next time when we go, could I get a salad and then maybe THREE of these nut balls?! Service was good but kind of on the slow side.

    (4)

  • Lauren S.

    We love German food and are always trying to find a great place to get it. This place was pretty darn good, not the best ever or anything, but very doable. There were at least ten beers listed on draft although at least one was out when I tired to order it, but great prices for really good German beers in .3, 1/2 and 1 liter servings. The complimentary bread was very good as was the service in general, some of the bussers even wore semi-traditional outfits. The decor was lovely in that it was a renovated old railstop. Overall we found that the sides were amazing and the main dishes were good. The whipped potatoes, sauerkraut, red cabbage, german potato salad, sausage stuffing and spaetzle we had were all divine. the sausages and other meats were a bit bland or overly salted in each case. All in all a great meal and the portions were far more than we would have imagined, enough to bring home for a full lunch for two the next day. Check it out if you are in the area!

    (4)

  • Jason C.

    Good food, didn't get a chance to try the beers during lunch. Plates of food were TOO big. My wife and I split one plate and we still couldn't finish the meal.

    (3)

  • Becky W.

    I love The Bavarian Chef restaurant. It is my go-to place for special occasions. I went there again last night for my birthday and had another great experience. I love the food and the generous portions. The sides are fantastic. Last night I tried the creamed corn for the first time and loved it. It is a bit pricey, but that's why it's my special occasion place. One of the things I have always noticed too is how helpful all the employees are to each other. They all help each other clear tables, take away stands, or deliver food. I think that's a very good culture to have in a workplace.

    (5)

  • Michael N.

    We went to the Bavarian Chef at 5 PM on a Saturday. The hostess asked if we had reservations (5 PM!!!) and because we didn't we were seated outside. The weather was nice but the sun was distracting. The fare consisted of good, not great, German food. The goulash soup was very good but not very hot and the sauerbraten was very nice. My wife had the schnitzel and said it was well done. The portions were expensive but enormous - really much more than necessary. I would have liked a smaller portion at a lesser price. There is a good selection of beers and the service was earnest and well intentioned , if a little slow. All told, it's a nice restaurant if you are in the area but probably wasn't worth the drive from Sterling.

    (3)

  • Honestiam S.

    It's more like a 2 1/2 stars but aren't able to rate in halves. Because my Sweetheart is from Germany and does business there 5 months of the year, he's more critical than others who doesn't know or experienced what REAL German food tastes like. He had the Goulash Soup as an appetizer and that was very yummy. I ordered the Weiner Schnitzel and we would rate that as a 4 star and both enjoyed that much much more than his Sauerbraten. The Sauerbraten sauce was incredibly too sweet and didn't resemble the German dish at all. We would rate that as a 1 star at best. Now the dessert was out of this world. The Apple Strudel a la mode was soooo good. Not only did it taste delish but they also took the time to make it beautiful. Our compliments to the dessert chef and our server. However, one recommendation would be to change the decor completely. It's very dark and unappealing when you first walk in. A little effort was put in but it's really not what it's like in Germany. In was of drinks, he had a German beer and I had a Radler (not on the menu that we could see and is my favorite German drink of choice) For the soup, two meals and 2 drinks, it came to $95 plus tip. If we were to have the same in Germany, it would only have been about $30 - 35. It's worth going back again just to try something else, like the sausage sampler. That looked very yummy. We parked across the street on the same side as the Restaurant.

    (3)

  • M B.

    My husband and I dined here on Saturday November 12, 2011. We had the portabella mushroom to start and it was really great - lots of crab and covered with melted cheese - so tasty, almost addictive. We both had sweet iced tea with lemon to drink and it was the best around, dark and rich like it is supposed to be. For our main course, he had the jager schnitzel and I had the wiener schnitzel and they were both wonderfully prepared and delicious. The sides dishes were excellent too. We both had potato dumplings and he had green beans and I had creamed corn. The dumplings were so light and wonderful in a butter and chives glaze. The green beans were very well seasoned and very good with bits of mushroom and tomato mixed in. The corn was wonderful because I love sweet. It was buttery sweet and I ate every bit of it, savoring the last bite longer than the rest just to keep the lingering flavor going. You're given a wonderful bread basket soon after your drinks are served too and it comes with one of their flavored butters. We had big carry home boxes when we finished up- which were so yummy when heated up the next day. Too full this time, I'm ordering dessert when I return as I'm sure that's a wonderful experience too. We plan to go back for our anniversary which is coming up soon. I'm looking forward to the pleasure.

    (5)

  • Dan H.

    On Jan 16th 2011 my wife and I had the miss fortune of trying to dine at this establishment. We were greeted at the door and promptly seated, once we were asked if we had reservations or not on a Sunday afternoon at 1:30pm. However you would think after FOUR people who were seated around us, were greeted by a server, one would be at our table...soon? We were given bread and water only by a busser not a server. One would think that after 15 minutes seeing two people at a table with menus, SOMEONE would have asked you if you wanted to order something to drink? I mean it is not like I was not properly dressed or obscene in anyway. I can only guess it was the color of my skin being black. So I would say if you are a minority you would be well advised NOT to attempt to dine at this restaurant. Even upon asking for a server politely my wife who is Caucasian was told "OK and then the person she asked went in the back...yet no server was with him, but he had a tray of food for the table next to us. The server at the table next to us did not even ask if he could help and he would not even make eye contact with me. So if you want good German food and are a minority..this is not the place for you..it is still stuck in the 60's...Anglo Saxon only. Viel Gluck

    (1)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Tue

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Dinner
    Parking : Street, Private Lot
    Bike Parking : Yes
    Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Classy
    Noise Level : Average
    Alcohol : Full Bar
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : No
    Has TV : No
    Waiter Service : Yes

The Bavarian Chef

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