Guten Tag, everyone.
When I lived in Hinesville, Ga., I often ate at a downtown restaurant right across the street from the newspaper office where I worked called Zum Rosenhof.
The style and food, authentically German, was like being instantly transported to Bavaria. The servers even wore traditional dirndls and during Oktoberfest, the place was always packed with everyone having a great time.
"Zicke Zacke, Zicke Zacke, Hoi Hoi Hoi!"
It was and still is a local gathering place to say the least.
I ate there so many times I think I tried every Schnitzel option they offer on their menu. Onion Schnitzel, Weiner Schnitzel, Jager, Zigeuner, Rahm, Mushroom and Paprika Schnitzel. I ate their Bratwurst sandwich with a side of their German cucumber salad and spätzle or potato salad. I devoured slices of their authentic German Chocolate cake.
Since moving to Chattanooga, I’ve been craving some authentic German food and while traveling in LaFayette, Ga., I stumbled upon Vienna Bier Garten.
I’ve never parked my car as quickly as I did the minute I spotted their restaurant signage.
It’s a small restaurant with a well-manicured and landscaped exterior. Inside there are decorative beer steins lined up along the walls on small shelves. The dining room is furnished with stately wooden tables and chairs and there are a few colorful paintings on the wall.
The ambiance was like being inside a remote Austrian pub.
The waitress said they opened three years ago and business is doing well.
On my first visit I ordered their sausage sampler. Kielbasa, cheddar smoked sausage and an Andouille sausage, that are cut into bite size pieces and served over a bed of spätzle and house mustard on the side. I also order a side of Austrian potato salad.
I was flabbergasted by the amount of food I was served for $12.50. The potato salad was creamy and topped with parsley. You could taste the differences in the sausages with the Andouille providing a little heat. The smoked cheddar stood out and was delicious. The spätzle was buttery and fluffy.
I had leftovers that mom and I shared the next day.
Vienna Bier Garten offers German beers from Paulaner Brewery such as Hefeweizen, Oktoberfest, Salvator Doppelbock, Pilsner and Munich Lager. They also offer Warsteiner brews, domestic beers and ciders. They now offer wine as well.
Drop in during happy hour which is daily from 3-6 p.m. Beers are $3. The menu has plenty of options for an authentic Austrian meal as well as a few burger choices, baked potato options and desserts.
On a subsequent visit, the parking lot was full, but when I stepped inside, I was the only person in the dining room. Turns out the nice weather we’ve been having meant everyone was seated at their outside patio. Pets are welcome if you dine outside.
This time I ordered a Michelob Ultra, Jager Schnitzel with waffle fries and onion rings and their Riesen Bretzel. It’s a soft pretzel served with beer cheese, Liptauer cheese spread and house mustard for dipping.
HOLY MOLY!
The pretzel was bigger than the size of my head!
It was also hot, soft and pillowy. My favorite dipping sauce turned out to be beer cheese. The pretzel and ice-cold beer paired perfectly and was enough to be my whole lunch. Then out came the Schnitzel, all by itself on a plate taking up the all the space as well as a massive basket of waffle fries and onion rings.
Before she even walked away, I asked my server to bring me a to-go box. I immediately sliced the Schnitzel in half and put away half of the fries and rings as well as the remainder of the beer cheese and pretzel.
Leftover heaven!
The server said they offer different plate specials every now and then that are posted on their Facebook Page as well as their outside chalk board.
I know Chattanoogans tend to flock to BrewHaus in the Northshore neighborhood, and I definitely need to give them a try, but if you find yourself in LaFayette, Ga., off US 27, this place is worthy of a stop.
Vienna Bier Garten
- 1391 N Main Street, LaFayette, Ga.
- (706) 996-8577
- Open Wednesday-Saturday 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.
- Visit Them On Facebook