Heinrich's German Grill

Heinrich the original owner had a fantastic atmosphere, food and biers. Always a welcome as he would even sometimes sit table side or at the bar and have a chat. The best dishes I've had were the jaegar snitzel, mushroom gravy, red cabbage, spatzel, it's a very sad news to hear he has sold it and will no longer be involved this fall/winter. I will miss Heinrich and the homemade taste and generosity of his staff. Not to mention the delicious food and quality prices and portions.

I'll be honest, this is not my kind of food. As in I'd never ask for it. But my mother in law is German and she loves it. So I went along. We started with the potato pancakes. Different from Jewish deli potato pancakes. These are crisper and the potato is thickly shredded. They were delicious! Especially with sour cream and applesauce! In fact I told everyone to save one for breakfast. I had a vision of them on the griddle with fried eggs! More on that later. For the mains I had veal schnitzel with mushroom gravy and sour kraut and spaetzle. Not the sour kraut I'm used to. Very spicy! But I love spicy so I loved it. The mushroom gravy was thick, rich, and delicious. I was picturing it on a variety of foods. My wife had chicken schnitzel and my daughter and mother in law had assorted bratwurst. Everything was very good and very rich! More like cold weather comfort food. But I guess given Germany's climate that makes sense. My ONLY criticism was the lack of certain condiments. My daughter and I both had unsweetened ice tea. When I asked for a sweetener I was told there was none. Only sugar. Ok, that's a sweetener but not for ice tea. I had to ask twice and was finally brought a tiny plastic cup. Really? Don't people have coffee here? Get some Splenda! I guess next time I'll bring my own if I want ice tea. Also stingy on the sour cream. We had four plates (12) of potato pancakes and one tiny plastic cup of sour cream and applesauce. I had to ask for more then received another tiny plastic cup. Ok, next time I go I'll pack Splenda and sour cream. BTW: The next morning I threw the leftover potato pancakes on a griddle and topped each with a fried egg. Everyone loved it! Definitely will be back!

This was the second time this week I had dinner at Heinrich's T he new management, Josh and his wife are running the restaurant now and doing a great job responding to the customer concerns! Both meals this week were excellent and Josh did a great job make my meal as authentic as any I have had in Germany! I will return often! TomC

Excellent food, old style German cuisine Service was slow, however, I went during pandemic, so no extra help. Lovely atmosphere, a little dark, but German haus music playing in the background

Every time I visit Sarasota I make sure that I visit Heinrich's for dinner. I love the atmosphere and the food. The chicken schnitzel is so tender and the potato pancakes should always be chosen as a side even though they are an extra $4.50. As an appetizer I recommend the three Brats based on the meaty flavors of the Bauern, Weiss and Curry. if you still have room, the apple strudel that comes with ice cream is the perfect finish to the experience. I noticed on a sign outdoors that the restaurant is for sale. I hope whoever buys it keeps the same menu and atmosphere. One thing I would change is to make the reservation system internet based. Right now, you have to call and leave a message on an answering machine stating your desired time. There isn't a call back confirmation. The recording did say they only call you back if they aren't able to accommodate you. Also, the mashed potatoes are of the powdered instant variety (based on my visit last year). I would recommend they just make that side dish from fresh potatoes.