(415) 551-7181

381 S Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94103 37.7671 -122.4174

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Neighborhoods: Mission, Central East

WALZWERK.COM

Price:

$$

Last updated 6.20.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express , Visa , Discover , MasterCard

Restaurant Special Features:

Notable Beer List

Cuisine:

German

Reviews & Ratings for Walzwerk

4 Star Rating: Recommended

19 reviews

What users are saying:

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Reviews from:
1 Star Rating: Poor

11/07/10

Bad Food, Worse Service

by cakaake at Citysearch

The food as awful. The service even worse. If you care about how you are treated when you eat out, don't go here. Go to Suppenkuche instead for better food and MUCH better service.

1 Star Rating: Poor

11/07/10

Birthday Bummer

by JayBee1 at Citysearch

That "tough" East German schtick has just crossed the line of demarcation! Walzwerk screwed up my boyfriend's birthday reservation, blamed me for it, promised to call back to see what they can do, and never did, forcing our party of 8 to make last-minute changes to our birthday plans on a Saturday night!

Here's the story: A week before my boyfriend's birthday, I left a message with Walzwerk to reserve a table of 8 for 7:30 pm on a Saturday. The next day, "Hilda" (Hilga?) of Walzwerk called me back, leaving me a voicemail, to confirm with the same exact details. I saved the voicemail.

At 6:35 pm of the Saturday night of my boyfriend's birthday dinner at Walzwerk, an irate female employee (sounded like Hilda/Hilga), said, “[My name], why aren’t you here?” She claimed that we were supposed to be there at 6 pm. Given the voicemail confirmation, the mix-up was clearly on their end, which she refused to acknowledge. Instead, she said, “Well, what do you expect me to do? I can’t hold it!” I asked, “What do you expect me to do… it’s a birthday party in less than an hour!” Said she would call me back to see what she could do. And, did she? No, of course not!

I get it. Mix-ups happen, but to not admit to your mistakes and shift the blame, with or without the attitude she gave me, is simply insulting, disrespectful and unethical. And, then to not call me back after “seeing what she could do,” just doubles the lie. Suppenkuche was more than happy to accommodate us despite of a busy Saturday night for them. My loyal friends and I choose to do business with those who have integrity, which the staff at Walzwerk clearly lack. Hopefully, Walzwerk goes the way of the Berlin Wall!

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

02/28/08

Whoever thinks the service is bad at this restaurant has obviously never been to Germany or known any Germans.

by Katelb at Citysearch

This is my favorite restaurant in the city. The food is amazing and reminds me of eating in small Mom-and Pop restaurants in south Germany. If you think the waiter is short with you, just remember he's GERMAN. That's what Germans are like. I used to think my German cousins were mean, but then I went to Germany and realized thats just how Germans are. The entire staff has never been anything but delightful to me and I go there whenever possible. The food is AMAZING and AUTHENTIC, just like the staff. Just remember to say bitte and danke!

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

07/14/07

One of my very favorite restaurants. Ever.

by coffeefrau at Citysearch

I don't normally write reviews on these sorts of things, but I felt I had to defend the honor of Walzwerk because I adore it, and its owner and employees, so dearly. The last couple of reviews were, in my humble opinion, absolutely untrue.

I happen to live a few doors down from this place and my roommates and myself love it so bad we just simply refer to it as "German" when we want to go over for dinner and beer. The staff is always friendly, always remembers us, and I know every time that the food is going to be AMAZING. I will put it to you this way: I dream about their mashed potatoes. Far from watery and filled with nutmeg, they, along with the bratwurst and sauerkraut and schnitzel and everything else, are simply fabulous.

My grandmother is German and I know what good German food tastes like. People, this is it! And, they have an awesome selection of German beers. Our token favorite has been the darker one, pitcher-style. And we end the meal with Underburgs, little tiny shakeable bottles of an herbal liquor concoction which always prove to be the perfect finish to our Walzwerk experience.

The interior is always clean, based on the hundreds (seriously) of times I've been in there. Moreover, it is simply decorated with German souvenirs of sorts and has a nice warm glow. The dishes are mismatched and all the tables have different salt and pepper and toothpick holders and doilies... you really feel as if you're in someone's German grandmother's house having dinner.

Need I say more?

  • Pros: awesome service, consistently amazing food, the prices are super
  • Cons: sometimes on the weekend if I haven't made a reservation, I can't get a seat!
1 Star Rating: Poor

06/08/07

Really rude service............

by lifelover at Citysearch

Walzwerk has the rudest waitresses I have ever come across. The service was just plain nasty so we ate and ran as fast as we could.

  • Pros: Lots of parking
  • Cons: Rude service
1 Star Rating: Poor

05/29/07

Probs with Food, Service & Cleanliness

by siciliana at Citysearch

The Citysearch reviews are usually spot on, but not for this restaurant. Hopefully, my review will help. Most importantly, 2 people in my party could not eat their dinner because it was horrible. I thought I could count on them not to mess up the mashed potatoes, but I couldn't even eat those. They were watery and overpowered by nutmeg. Luckily, my son ordered the mushroom schnitzel, which I was able to eat.

The floors and walls were very dirty. They also served us a drink in a glass that had been cracked halfway down the glass. Dangerous! We told the server, and she said it would probably be okay to drink it.

To top it off, the other server (male and German), was dismissive and inattentive. He said something off color the moment we sat down.

Every restaurant and every server is entitled to a bad day, but I don't think this place could ever resurrect itself. It doesn't deserve a single star. It needs to be shut down by the health dept.! Hey, can't you inspection reports online?!

  • Pros: They know how to pour a beer. Just hope you don't get it in a cracked or dirty glass.
  • Cons: Everything else.
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

11/14/06

Best German food and experience in the city

by sfconnoisseur at Citysearch

Decorated in old East German wares, this place is fun to visit. It's a little like being teleported to someone's house in old East Berlin. Very clever and real Krauts serve you. Of course the beer is fantastic, and for German food, they've taken it to a deliciously new level...thank God. It's the best German food in the city, which is why you usually hear some German spoken by the guests. Even though the location (14th & S. Van Ness) is not the typical for a restaurant, and so it would seem that it should get overlooked, it's always busy, and it's best to try to make a reservation. I love the woman who owns and works the restaurant. Figurately of course, she's very charming. Rarely you might end up being asked to share a table if both parties are waiting at the same time (in true european style) but it's always a choice to do so and I think it's fun. Macht schnell and go!

  • Pros: everything
  • Cons: location isolated as far as restaurants go, but still central
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

09/22/06

excellent food!

by claudiawi at Citysearch

This is place where we really like to go. It is hard to get in on friday nights, so we go early. The food tastes good all the time. The schnitzels are nicely cooked, the owners are very personable. Not too noisy, friendly atmosphere. Give it a try.

  • Pros: excellent food, excellent atmosphere
3 Star Rating: Average

08/01/06

Good food, but please work on service.

by pilot_pablo at Citysearch

Nice, relaxing atmosphere. Good food, but they burnt the edges of my schnitzel. I ate around the charred meat and it was still very good. Waitstaff was friendly but didn't have their act together. Had to ask for the bill two times (once we tracked them down.) Note to Restaurant Owners: When guests are ready to leave, please hurry it up; they've probably got after-dinner plans and need to go. Plus, if you get them out of there in a timely manner, you can free up a table for more customers. And that means more business.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

01/17/06

Trans-Europe express!

by savorygurl at Citysearch

From the ambience to wines to, most importantly, the food, I'd be hard pressed to find a more awesome restaurant than Walzwerk. Had an office party here and filled out the back room. Walls are delightfully detailed with German goodies including German LP covers. Two lovely German women were very accomodating.

Potato pancakes started us off-- not a smidge remained. I had beef roulade-- beef stuffed with pickles, onions, and bacon. Terrific. Sampled the dishes around me-- the chicken stuffed with apples and bacon caught the attention of my palate. Portions were filling and perfect considering German food is a little heavy to begin with. I had an Austrian red to accompany my meal-- very well received. The desert called for mascarpone with a blueberry tart. MAN ALIVE was it good. Been to Suppenkuche-- like both but would say this is lighter and more hip.

  • Pros: Food, Wine/Beer, German accents!

Showing 1-10 of 15 reviews

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