Restaurant Review: Euro Bistro

Tender twists of homemade spatzle, crisp potato pancakes, hearty vinegar-infused red cabbage, and the most succulent, warm German potato salad on the planet are the side dishes that accompany the truly remarkable cuisine at in Herndon. If you are looking for authentic German dishes, with thick rich sauces and deep layers of flavor, this is the restaurant you must visit.

Few places do the old-world classic German cooking, or routinely serve very interesting, dark German beers and brats. Every second Tuesday in the month this restaurant has a "Beer and Brats" evening with German accordion music, where you can get a brat with sauerkraut and German potato salad, plus a pint of German beer, for $14.95.

Their wienerschnitzel is available in pork, veal or chicken, and it is the one required dish that all German restaurants must do well, and Euro Bistro gets high marks. It is a thin, tender filet covered in a delicate breading, served with a brown sauce on the side. The winner for the evening was their Paprika Schnitzel, a sautéed pork loin, with red peppers, ham, mushrooms and onion in a delicious paprika-seasoned sauce.  This was the dish that you ask for extra bread just to mop of all of the remaining bits of sauce on the plate.

The portions are large, so it is a good idea to split appetizers, which are very inventive. Our goat cheese strudel served with greens and prosciutto was fabulous. Prices for the dinner entrees range from $14.95 to $20.95, and with the included sides, it is a good deal. Each meal is accompanied by soft, warm bread with their signature whipped garlic butter.

The restaurant has a "Wine Cup" scheduled for this evening where three courses will be served with different wines, and the patrons get to "vote" on their favorite wine served with each course. Hopefully more of these events will be scheduled in the future.

Lunch portions are large and equally spectacular. I liked the Dijon chicken panini sandwich, with grilled chicken breast, ham, Dijon mustard and a thick slice of melted Swiss cheese. My other favorite is the Caesar salad or spinach salad with grilled chicken. It includes two large slabs of delicate grilled chicken breast atop a generous plate of Caesar salad. 

Save room for dessert in this restaurant. There are four signature desserts always on the menu, and they are all delicious and large enough to be shared.

My favorite is their crème brulee, which can be easily split between two or three people. The blend of heavy cream, vanilla and egg yolks is so yummy—we ran our fingertips around the sides of the ramekin to retrieve the leftover drops of this dreamy concoction.

Their apple strudel is homemade, with thin slices of apple enfolded in delicate pastry, with a hint of cinnamon, and served warm with vanilla ice cream.

Their chocolate mousse cake is good, but their Sinful chocolate cake (a flourless dark chocolate cake served with dark chocolate mousse) is absolutely a showstopper. It is sliced into bite-sized straws, and stacked in a miniature tower on the plate (6 pieces). Don't rush this dessert, but take time to enjoy the wash of dark chocolate ecstasy in each mouthful. (Note to all: you do not need Black Forest Cake to be a good German restaurant.)

Now serving Saturday breakfast from 8 a.m. until noon, and Sunday brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., this is the perfect place to begin a weekend. Their breakfast sandwiches are fantastic—served with dark roast coffee—definitely worth getting up early for on a Saturday morning.

Service is adequate and friendly, and there are many popular "regular" customers. Most just come in for a glass of dark German beer, and others just come in for carryout, or a bowl of their thick and rich Goulash soup. Legendary German cooking is not the next "Food Network" shooting star, but, you have to realize that the enduring and satisfying qualities of authentic German stuffed cabbage and savory sauerbraten will be here a long time after Emeril Lagasse is gone.