Black Forest Inn

I shared dinner with six of my relatives on 12/23/11, and we had an absolutely wonderful meal. My husband had the pork shank, which was fall-off-the-bone tender; I enjoyed the bratwurst dinner. Others in our party had the seasonal sausages and sauerbraten. We drank gluhwein and beers that our waitress suggested, shared appetizers, and shared desserts. Even though the place got busy, our waitress was attentive and professional. more

My husband and I went to the Black Forest Inn this last weekend and we very much enjoyed the atmosphere and food. We have been going there for over 25 years, usually only a couple of times each year. It has always been a good experience. Although most of the meals have been in the patio area, which I adore, our last meal was inside. I had forgotten how warm and fuzzy it feels, very relaxing. The food was a delight, we had hasenpfeffer which we had not tasted in years, so good! Also, there was a new dish (to us) that we tried, spinach cheese maultachen, it was delicious! Lastly, the black forest cherry torte was wonderful. We are going to make sure we get back there soon. more

(Note: The only reason this place gets one star is because a rating is required to post a review! Otherwise there would be no stars.) Last night I was joining my friends for dinner at Black Forest Inn in Minneapolis. They wanted to try the food and we had never been there before. I arrived and went to join them on the ""famous"" courtyard patio. The chairs are old dingy flimsy wire contraptions and the floor is old half rotten bricks (installed in 1971 probably) that are badly in need of some maintenance (the whole place needs a serious remodel and cleaning and a little building maintenance and paint would not hurt either). As I sat down, the leg of the chair went into a hole in the floor (probably created by years of frost heaves below the brick) where a brick was supposed to be and I fell very hard backwards into the table behind me, knocking over everyone's drinks, and my leg hit the table where my friends were sitting, knocking over their drinks. I was stunned and scared by the fall and had to catch my breath for a second. One waitress asked if I was OK, and I replied no, I was not OK. She then disappeared and never came back. I got up after a few moments and made my way out of the restaurant and back to my car and I went to urgent care to get checked out. I was shaking so badly I almost could not drive. When I called the restaurant to find out who the owner was, the manager, Gina, was rude and snotty. She didn't apologize or ask if I was OK or anything. Nor did she ever manage to ask my friends if they were OK, or if the restaurant could replace their drinks or even if I had been hurt. She never came out of the back of the restaurant. When I called the owner this morning, she was a bit more gracious and did apologize and gave me their insurance company's information (for my medical bills). She explained that the staff had not even told the manager that a patron had fallen until after I called (say what?). She also had to ask me if the manager had made it right with my friends, or had offered to pay for my meal (I was only in the restaurant for less than five minutes, so there was no meal to pay for). My friends stayed for the meal and reported that both Gasthof Zur Gemutlichkeit in Northeast Minneapolis and Glockenspiel in St. Paul have much better food. My roommate, who has eaten at Black Forest many times before, said that this place has lost it in the past few years. He said that twenty-five or thirty years ago, it was the best in the business, but now the staff, the building and the food are all a bit tired and decrepit. The building even looks run down and shabby. You can bet I'll never go back (I don't want to die) and I highly recommend that anyone who values their personal safety at least stay off the courtyard until their insurance company forces them to put in a new floor that's safe and replace the flimsy wire chairs with ones that are stable and safe. I feel like crap today (sore all over) and I need to go back to the doctor because my leg is bothering me. This whole experience sucks big time!!!!!!!!!! more

Set adjacent from AZIA and The Bad Waitress, the Black Forest Inn is sometimes overlooked. With its humble... more

Set adjacent from AZIA and The Bad Waitress, the Black Forest Inn is sometimes overlooked. With its humble no flash exterior this restaurant may n... more

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the Twin Cities. The Schnitzel is amazing. Where else can you find Sauerkraut so sweet and delicious. If you have a drop of German in you or perhaps just the stomach of one, this restaurant is an EASY decision. more

I understand that the food is slightly high priced (10-25 dollars) but I just read a review saying that a slice of veal is 25 dollars with no sides, and that sides are 10 dollars extra. For 35 dollars you can get more food than two people could possibly finish and a mug of beer each. Pros: Parking, atmosphere, food, oktoberfest Cons: Cocktail price, service on extremely busy nights more

Prime example that people will love mediocre food if they think it is exotic and have to pay a lot of money for it. It took nearly an hour to get our meal only to find it a few degrees above room temperature. And if this is a good example of German cuisuine (which I have my doubts) then I won't revisit it. I paid 25.00 dollars for a 6 ounce piece of cold, dried-out veal with salt gravy; and that's it. I wasn't aware I needed to fork over about 10 more dollars for any side dishes. more

We took my father in law to celebrate his birthday there, first time for all of us. There were a few of us that were disappointed, my mother and father in law however loved their meal, but then again they also eat grissle and blubber nuggets. They love food doesnt matter where what or who it came from.....go figure? I however was really disappointed. I am a wienerschnitzel lover, the schnitzel, the fries, the gravy. the whole works. I love german food. This meal was just awful. Everything from the presentation, to portion (very very small), the taste, the color and texture. For the price I expected more. Being a full blooded German born and raised in Germany, I know my cuisines. For some reason I sensed disappointment from the get go. My Childrens meal,..chicken strips & fries were almost black in color. Potato pancakes & onion rings also appeared burnt. This obviously was not due to over cooking/frying but from not changing the oil in the fryers regularly & not scrubbing the stove tops. The oil was OLD & you could taste and see it, all the food came out looking very dark. When my meal arrived I received exactly what I sensed...dirty looking soggy fries along with a paper thin (extremely thin) tiny dirty looking breaded so called schnitzel, that appeared very greasy. I expected a true German meal this was far very far from the real deal or anything close to it. The worst potato pancakes we ever had. Sorry, but those are not the potato pancakes I grew up on, that my mother, my family that still live Germany make & that the restaurants in germany serve. Not sure what those things where, they used fillers & powdered potatos? We had planned to take my Aunt & Uncle that will be visiting from Germany next month, but frankly I would be too embarrassed. I will not be able to handle the ""Das ist scheuzlich"" over & over again along with this is not german food. Check out Stillwater & St Paul, much better places. The prices are way to high for what you are getting....bad food more

I went with a group of four. We were seated quickly. It took some time to get our beer, but not too long. Our waitress was very helpful in deciding which brew to choose. I had no idea what to order since I've never had German food (other than saurkraut on my hot dogs). The waitress suggested a veal dish that came with the spaetzel. I didn't think the spaetzel was all that good - it may have been because they sprinkle parsley over the whole plate and I hate parsley. The veal was good - it was served in a heavy gravy but it was way too salty. I can't imagine that this is real German food, but it was still good. It wasn't as cheap as some of the other restaurants on Eat Street - about $25/person. Pros: Ambience Cons: Food not the best more

Whilst on vacation from the UK, my wife and I plus our daughter and granddaughter visited the Black Forest Inn last Sunday. We were disgusted by the quality of the food, it was greasy and totally unappertising. All of us left the majority of our meals. The only good point was that the waiter was pleasant and fairly helpful. The check came to nearly $90 and was a complete waste of money. We would defenitely NOT recommend this Inn for lovers of German food. It was a very poor example of German cuisine. Pros: Most defenitely no more

A word of warning: I haven't been to the Black Forest for a while, so this is based on my memory (which has been known to be unreliable!) In a nutshell, the Black Forest is a great place for German food. I've never sat inside, only in the enclosed beer garden, which is a must during the summer and fall. The bar inside is nice and dimly lit, full of dark wood - a place you'd want to be, in other words, when the weather turns chilly. Pros: great food, atmosphere, and outdoor seating more

We hired the BFI banquet room for a wedding reception and had a great experience. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable and flexible to changes, and the food was very delicious. We received many compliments on the food. This is a great place for a meal or a party for under 100 people. more

I liked it. I wouldn't really have known that it wasn't all that authentic had my boyfriend who has lived all his life in southern Germany (where spatzle comes from) wouldn't have told me. The beer selection was great and our server was great too. I would return again if my boyfriend couldn't make better spatzle... but since he can I guess I will just have to dine at home with him. I would take my friends there for appitizers and beer though. Pros: Friendly Service, Good Beer, Parking Lot Cons: Not very authentic more

Having lived in Germany, I was curious. I ordered the ""Fruehstucksplatte"" & got a huge platter of cheeses, Wurst, ..,just like in Germany, except for the amount, & the ""Broetchen"" (rolls), which are soft, not like the crunchy German ones (same is true for French & Italian breads here). Next morning I returned with my daughter (born in Germany) & requested ONE ""Fruehstuecksplatte"" for BOTH of us. The waitress brought 50% more than the day before - I was curious what we would be charged, but were charged for only one ""Platte""! That evening we returned for a main German meal. I ordered ""Jaegerschnitzel"" - fabulous! My daughter, claiming she wasn't very hungry, ordered the 2 Bratwurst & french fries dish, and, probably remembering the food in Frankfurt, proceeded to WOLF down everything. The Inn has real, delicious German food, just like in Germany! (except, like everywhere else, the ""Broetchen""). Pros: Food, Interior Cons: Refurbish the frescoe more

We hit all the high points with our dinner. Dinner was very good (good ingredients make the meal...what many chefs seem to forget). Our service was attentive and smiling (don't know if I can lend credence to the last reviewer's suggestion that men receive better service, but we were two men...take with a grain of salt). The bill wasn't shocking and on-street parking was easy. I'd happily return any time. more

Simply put: I have never found a place that served better food. I highly reccomend the Sauerbraten. It is a marinated roast beef dish that is great there more

Our cranky waitress couldn't remember that we existed -- we went as a group of girls-night-out. She seemed to prefer the middleaged men drinking at the other tables. Sad! Sad! Sad! Cons: bad service more

My husband and I went to Black Forest Inn for the first time on a Saturday evening for dinner, and we had a pleasant experience. We were seated immediately upon arrival and we had a knowledgeable server. I was very impressed with the large selection of European beers on tap, and the saurbraten is amazing (and an enormous portion)! Pros: free parking, great ambience Cons: uncomfortable seats more

I always enjoy the Black Forest Inn. The portions are generous, the prices are decent, and I've found that they can accommodate my individual preferences well. For instance, I wanted a combo of sausage and spaetzle, but they didn't have any such combo on the menu. No problem -- the server said it was totally okay for me to substitute spaetzle in place of some other side dish. When I asked specifics about the beer selections, the servers never got annoyed with me. They were friendly and answered my questions thoroughly. Also, each time I have come with a rather large group, and there never seemed to be any problem getting us all seated promptly, even on the patio. Pros: Wonderful Food, Great Outdoor Patio, Helpful Wait Staff more