The atmosphere at Zur-Kate will not leave you wondering as to the nationality of the food. It is theatrically German with paintings of the German countryside, hunting rifles and animal heads on the walls as well as it fair share of beer advertising.
The staff was extremely friendly and paitent with all the questions we had for them. It was a very welcoming place despite the non-descript smoking area located far too near the front door for my taste.
The food was quite good but there was nothing outstanding here. There are numerous schnitzels on the menu but after ordering it became clear that all of the different varieties were the basic breaded and fried meat patty with different sauces on them. These were good as I've said but we were expecting something more exciting from a restaurant that has been around for more than 20 years.
The portions were large and the side were a nice change from your average American fare and they do have a nice selection of Germanic beer to choose from.
The apple strudel is worth having as a desert but not if you're dining alone, the thing is HUGE! Nicely spiced and accompanied with with very good ice cream it was a challenge for us to put this away after the very filling dinner but we managed. It was really very good.
Overall Zur-Kate was a nice experience, the food tasty and filling if not exactly exciting and was not too expensive. They keep odd hours though and are not open for lunch at all. Be sure and check by calling them to verify they are open before going out there. We had to try three different times before we caught them open. It is on the extreme east side of the valley so it is a journey even for us Gilbertites but if you're in the neighborhood you should stop by and give them a try.