Speisekammer in Alameda serves “classic” German dishes as they were popular especially 30-40 years ago in Germany and are still associated for many tourists as typical German dishes. Even though German cuisine has quite changed over the last half century with many people from Turkey, Italy, Croatia, Greece moving to Germany it is from time to time nice to have those dishes in a restaurant. Overall Speisekammer had some very good entrees whereas appetizers and desserts were more of a mixed bag.
Reibekuchen - potato pancakes with apple compote - unfortunately quite bad start to our dinner. Clearly not made fresh as they were served cold and way to crispy. A good Reibekuchen should have a crispy outer layer and a soft “filling” - this rendition was just a cold, hard, sad version
Gebeizter Lachs - House cured Gravlax with a mustard-dill sauce - much better with a beautiful gravlax and a classical sauce
Shaved Brussel Sprouts Salad with pine nuts, grapes, parmesan and sherry vinaigrette- very good version with a nice balance from the grapes and vinaigrette
Sauerbraten - marinated (in red wine and spices) and braised tri-tip with red cabbage and spaetzle - excellent dish with a great balance between sour and savory of the meat. The red cabbage and spaetzle were also great.
Jaeger Schnitzel - pork cutlets with mushroom sauce and spaetzle - very tender meat with a nice savory mushroom sauce
Bratwurst gegrillt - rustic pork sausages with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes - very good sausages with some nice spices. Sauerkraut could have been a little bit less sour.
Apple Strudel with vanilla ice cream - Similar to the reibekuchen, the strudel would have been much better if not served cold which really muted the flavors.
Lemon Bundt-Cake - Good cake
