My friends and I decided to try out Zur Kate because we were looking for something new to try. We're a group of late 20 and early 30 year olds and usually end up at some chain restaurant in Tempe or Scottsdale to eat. If you are looking for authentic German food then you will find it at Zur Kate. It wasn't GREAT German food but it was GOOD.
I was super-excited when I found out the daily special (Friday) was Rouladen because this was one of my favorite meals that my mom used to make for us (she's from Germany). So that's what I ended up getting. The verdict -- it was good but my mother's (and mine) is way better. It tasted a little over cooked and could've used more of the traditional ingredients stuffed in it. I also ordered sauerkraut and potato dumpling. The sauerkraut was a little bland but stll good. The potato dumpling was my favorite item on my plate. Nice big dumpling ball, perfect consistancy with the traditional crouton in the center.
I must add that we sat down and ordered our food around 6:30 - 7:00pm and I almost didn't get the rouladen. It was the last one they had. So people must love it.
The rest of our table ordered either one of the schnitzel or brat plates. They all seemed pretty happy with their selections and I tried a bite of a couple of them and they had good flavor.
One thing I didn't like is that NONE of the schnitzels were veal...all were pork. It would've been nice to have more than one option.
The staff was super busy (they probably could've used another server or two). Our server was a german woman who was good but you could tell she was rushed. She actually forgot to put my food order in so I received my food about 5 mins after the rest of the table.
The place could use a good sprucing. There were cute nicknacks on the walls but is defnitely could use some updating. I think if they were located in a larger space it would be better. There was an accordian player that played all throughout dinner and he was very good and it helped add to the ambiance.
On a side note, there was about 80 people in the restaurant (which is kind of small) and I think everyone except for my friends and I were all over the age of 70. I think a lot of old timers like this place. Not that there's anything wrong with this, it was just a little funny. We did get to the restaurant kind of early though...6:15pm ish.
All in all, it was a good experience and I would definitely go back, just maybe at a later time in the night when the early bird rush is gone so it's not as busy.
The End...