Gartenstadt German Restaurant, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

34 Dong Khoi St., Dist. 1, HCMC
Tel: (84.8) 3822.3623

This restaurant has been around for dog years and it was one of the restaurants I'd inevitably end up in back in 1995 whenever I could not stand to see yet more squid and steamed rice. Since then, neither location nor quality have varied; something rare indeed in Vietnam where consistency does not appear to feature in the dictionary. What has changed is the clientele. Whereas 15 years ago the only Vietnamese in evidence were the staff, they appear to be the main clientele today. I suspect a fair share of them studied/worked with their socialist brothers and sisters in what used to be East Germany.

Interior is true to German restaurants: naff.

The entrance is hard to find these days; half hidden among all the glitzy boutiques and designer shops that populate Dong Khoi Streets. Once you step inside, the first thing you will notice are the clouds of cigarette smoke; a far cry from Germany where smoking these days is a big no-no. Head upstairs where smoke is less of a problem (they used to have a no-smoking section but I guess as a lot of their guests are from countries where smoking is still acceptable, they gave up catering to non-smokers). The second thing you'll notice are the pseudo-German costumes the staff are wearing. At one stage they did put the girls in Bavarian "Dirndl" but as Vietnamese girls tend to be of somewhat slighter build than your average German, that did not quite work out that well. The walls are hung with photos of German landmarks and old advertisement signs; the music is either German pop (terrible) or English lounge music (not much better). Like a restaurant in Germany, this place will not win awards for avant-garde design.

Apart from starting the odd war or two, the Krauts sure know how to make sausages.

Anyway, what you really should be looking at is the walls or rather the boards with the daily or weekly specials. There are often some really good things on offer, e.g. Herrings salad when I went a couple of days ago. Should you not find anything among the specials then there is an extensive menu. Disregard the international section, there are better restaurants for that, and stick to the German food. The food is pretty mainstream, I certainly miss things like "Leberwurst" or "Saumagen", but what is on there is all good. Schnitzel are a good choice; my regular order for years was the "Schnitzel Holstein" with Anchovies, fried potatoes, and red cabbage. Sausages obviously feature a lot and are well worth a try. The one thing I'd stay away from are the French Fries; they are always well overdone (but then why would you eat French Fries in a German restaurant anyway when there are Spaetzle or fried potatoes on offer?). Sausages are also very good; as are the roasts.

Schnitzel. Can never go wrong with that.

Incidentally, if you are a big sausage fan: head to the Gartenstadt on a weekend for their current promotion. All you have to do is eat a paltry kilogram of sausages plus their accompaniments and you'll eat for free (it is VND 660,000 otherwise). I must admit that I chickened out......

I do not like the feel of the menu, sure like what's in it though.

Service is very much on the friendly side and efficient enough. I did read somewhere that the staff did not speak English but I must admit that that has never been an issue in the 100+ times I must have eaten/had a beer there. I do not like the new menu. Not because of the content but because they have "plastified" all the pages. Might make the menu maintenance-free, but feels like crap (and the pages stick together, almost missed the sausages).

Washed down with a "Hefe-Weizen".

Ooops, I forgot the beer!!! The draft beer available is Krombacher, which is not bad at all. Personally, I prefer wheat beers and they do have both dark and light Schneiderweisse. The beers are not cheap, but then they are imported and USD 5.00 for a half-liter mug is cheaper than in Germany.

Many comments on TripAdvisor moan about the supposedly high prices for the food, too. Again, I find these to be reasonable. Most mains are around VND 170,000++, meaning a main will come to around USD 10.00 including taxes and service charge. Sure, a local noodle soup restaurant might be cheaper (though not by much these days), but for a good "Schweinsbraten mit Bratkartoffeln und Rotkraut" I'd be happy paying twice that. And the portions are pretty big.

Do eat the "Frikadelle", but ask for fried potatoes instead of the rather lame chips.

I think I have never had a dessert there and can thus not really comment on that. MUST try the apple strudel one of these days.

Like a real German restaurant back in the old country, the restaurant does not deliver spectacular culinary experiences. What it does deliver is good solid food and service and, assuming either one of us will be around that long, I foresee myself going there for the next 16 years.

Food: ****

Ambience: ****

Value for money: ****

Recommended: Yes