Mader's German Restaurant Reviews

Nice old building, and the roasted pork hock is very good. Impressive number of autographed photos of past patrons.

The atmosphere could use some updating but a nice place if you like German food. The prices are high but the service was expectional. Our server was Nick and he made great suggestions on the menu and anticipated our needs. If we go back, we'll only ask for him. I have never had a bad meal here, I have tried most things on the menu and what I havent tried my family has, everything is good, well prepared and served quickly.

The food was cold. They took the food off our bill. We traveled from Las Vegas and our dinner that we were looking forward to was ruined. I was there 35 years ago and I gushed to my wife about the food and it was cold! I will never forget this and won't be back.

Awesome food, awesome atmosphere, best deserts I've ever had from a restaurant. 12/10 would recommend.

Great place to eat dinner before a MU basketball game. Goulash and a glass of wine hit the spot, server Allison was very helpful. I'll be back.

Excellent as usual. We have been driving up to Mader's from Chicago for years.

Wanted to love it. The atmosphere does not disappoint, but the food was bland and not very good. Beef in the rouladen was very gristly. Very disappointed for the price. Pretzel bread was great.

Mader's is one of the best restaurants in Milwaukee! It is an historic piece of Old World 3rd Street, operating for almost 120 years! Voted Best German Restaurant in North America! The atmosphere is charming for special occasions, birthdays, families, students and large groups. The German decorations and stained glass windows are incredibly unique, you've got to see 'em! (They also have a small museum and international gift shop.)
You can't get food this good, unless you're in Germany! I recommend the WI cheesboard and Wienerschnitzel! Food will knock your knickerbockers off! Also, fabulous selection of international and domestic beer! Don't forget to try the Schwarzwald Kuchen! Outta this world!

We had a fantastic meal served family style for us. The service was outstanding

Nice place with a very cute atmosphere . Food was nice, drinks were strong , beer was cold and crisp. Very satisfied

Authentic German food. Had pork shank sample for 2, fed 3 and had plenty left over. All scrumptious. First visited about 45 years ago and came back for the second time this year and it was great both times. Wish I lived closer.

The kitchen is always clean. The food could be a seasoned better.

German food done rite! The food was simply amazing. Highly recommended.

Awesome beer selection and the food was fantastic. The schnitzel is some of the best I've ever tasted!

Maders has great service! They are family friendly and have a wide variety of food to choose from. The price can very depending on what you choose. The baked onion soup is a favorite!! I highly recommend Maders for anyone who wants to try something different. I will be back!

First time trying German food... Actually went inside this restaurant with no real knowledge of what we were getting into other than being hungry.... Lol The first plate is a German sampler. Would have liked if waitresses would have explained the meal but it appears everyone could do different pairing. First time seeing a place serving pretzel bread. Very warm and delicious. The mac and cheese was completely different than what I've had... Took me several bites to get used to the taste. I had actually order the mac and cheese because I couldn't understand the menu and it felt more "common" lol Husband ordered blue crab. Glad they have a kids menu... Kiddo would have complained all night long... Their chicken off kids menu was pretty crisp and delicious. The apple strudel was A.MA.Zing!!! :) Definitely a place husband and I are wanting to try again. Really good overall. The service was great. Very friendly and attentive.

Never ate German food before this place, but this place definitely was a good start.

We only visited the bar, but the ambiance, decor and costumed staff make you feel like you are in Germany

The staff were so impersonal and awkward, the food wasn't only terrible, it wasn't anything like food from Germany and it was incredibly overpriced!

What German food should be. Excellent brunch!! We had a very good waitress. Excellent service

Went here with high expectations for amazing food. It was ok. Nothing particularly special though.

When you visit Mader's, you will receive a very German experience! The staff is dressed in traditional German outfits and all the menu items have German names.There are traditional woodcuts, figurines, and even suits of armor decorating the building! The staff is very polite and was accommodating to me photographing a friends proposal pictures there!

I'm not at all complaining, but I did notice that the floor was a bit creaky in places, under the carpet. That's honestly the only real con I could think of for this restaurant.

Excellent German fare. We were actually taken there while we were visiting for Germanfest. Food was great but most of the staff was working the festival. All you can eat buffet on Sunday.

Excellent food. Old world feel. Thank God they have valet parking!

Fun and interesting place. Took friends from out of town there. Enjoyable.

Brought my family here by the suggestion of my Berlin-born grandmother who remembered it from years ago - thought it would be nice before seeing The Nutcracker. Showed up at 315 (reservation time) only to be immediately told, "We have your reservation set for 330-345" and my reaction, "Uh....what? That's not going to work". Half of the restaurant was empty - there were no constraints setting up the reservation for that time online or any time in the 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock or 4 o'clock hour, so this made no sense. She says, "Let me go check if it's set up" - five minutes later she brings us back. Not sure what all that was about. We sit down and our waitress was nice enough. My entire family disliked the seating location, literally almost on top of a party of 8 behind us, with small tables at arms length all around the other side...it appeared they tried to fit as many tables as possible into that room. The menu had no drink options aside from wine, then there was a small separate drink list only with alcoholic options. We saw other tables got a single plate with pretzel bread...maybe we didn't receive this because we ordered a large pretzel for appetizer. Considering we allocated two hours and 15 minutes for sitting down at the restaurant before the show, I was watching the time. After that large pretzel came out along with our girls kids meals, our entree took until 440 to come out. We had to leave by 515 at least, and thankfully I told the waitress we needed our check asap to get out the door immediately after eating. Even without the time constraint, the wait for the food felt like too long. The food itself...I got the chicken schnitzel and I'm glad I did, it was spot on but I could say Cracker Barrel's chicken fried chicken is just as good. I was shocked they didn't have more potato options and German potato salad into more entrees - the red cabbage is good and all but we need some potatoes here. After looking over that menu five times, I saw one, maybe two entrees with red potatoes present - I even convinced my husband to get the pork shank BECAUSE it listed red potatoes....and lo and behold, when it came out he had a bowl of spaetzle and red cabbage under the pork shank with zero potatoes....My grandmother said the goulash was so salty and the meat was tough. Again, I'm satisfied I went with the chicken schnitzel but for $32, I felt like I was eating at the brauhaus in Disneyworld..except this is no buffet, it's a single entree of alright food, and the brauhaus food at Disney is significantly better tasting. Another thing, I was also shocked by the lack of sausage varieties. Anyways, I must say, the decor is very pretty and Germanic but aside from that...meh? $200 later, it was nice for one time. My grandmother who suggested it was overall the most disappointed in how they've changed from years ago, so that says quite a bit.

Excellent food
Excellent atmosphere
Iconic place
Very international

Absolutely the BEST food ive ever had! I had lamb and it was tender and juicy. It was perfect. Everything I had was perfect. Bring ur card tho this place us pricey. But worth every single penny! Highly recommend this restaurant. Staff were exceptional. They even had free valet parking.

Best classic German atmosphere in a classic German neighborhood

Fun decor, excellent service, good place for a larger party to converse, but sadly gotta say that this food was so bland! Nearly everyone at our table of 10 thought the food was mediocre, which given the prices is pretty disappointing.

Nice visit with Robert. Enjoyed hearing about the restaurant's history. Didn't stay for dinner. Just drinks.

We had the brunch. Service was great the food was good. I highly recommend it.

Love the place, love the experience, but it seems to me that the food quality, while still very good, has declined from my visit last year.

Wonderful! We went for lunch and will most def be back for dinner. The decor is outstanding. The service was prompt. The food was delicious and prepared well.

Beautiful place and tasty dishes, but really really REALLY overpriced. Dinner dishes are over the $30 mark each and that is a lot for traditional peasant food.

What an awesome end to a great day. Me and a couple of riding buddies stopped here for dinner last Saturday and everything from top to bottom was absolutely amazing. The service, the ambiance, the food were all top-notch. The impromptu musician playing outside was the icing on the cake (Get that man a record deal!)

I would gladly return and recommend that anyone in the nearby area stop here. Thank you guys.

Past it's Prime? Used to be my favorite German restaurant in US, but last two visits were substandard and pedestrian.

Great atmosphere, great beer. The cotton ball smell was the only bad part.

Great food and service. Reuben rolls, bread and desert were exquisite.

Great authentic German food. It was like I was back over there!

Restaurant was the complete package.

The service was absolutely amazing.

The waiter we had was very knowledgable of the beer menu ( which is VERY large ) and gave pairing reccomendations for the meal.

He recommended the roulade and it was spectacular. We also ordered Ox tail soup as an appetizer. The soup came with warm fresh pretzel bread. It was so good, we almost cancelled dinner for more soup and bread.

Would highly recommend Mader's and will return every time I'm in Milwaukee.

Disappointed in the 30 dollar a person brunch. The cold peel and eat shrimp were warm and had a mushy weird texture with no flavor. The whole time I was there for about an hour, the cheesy hash browns were never replenished and the stuff that was left around the sides were burnt and black. I could swear that the mashed potatoes were instant. They were too watery and clear looking to be real potatoes. The sauer braten meat was dry and nasty tasting. The corn was mushy and had no flavor. The best things were the fruit and waffles. Most of the breakfast stuff was gone every time I went up there. Not at all what I expected for the price. The only reason i have 3 stars is because we had a larger party that needed separate checks and he accommodated efficiently even though separate checks on a larger party are a pain. So great service but disappointing food.

I haven't been here for some time but glad my wife and decided to have dinner. I had the pork shank and my wife had the liver dumpling soup. She's a light eater but really enjoyed the soup.

FABULOUS meal!! FABULOUS place!! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! Will definitely make this a Tradition!!

Being born in Germany, and having many years of authentic German food...this place is as good as being in Munich (prices would be a little less in The motherland, but...) service is amazing, the beers are cold, and their food is to die for! Treat yourself to either the German sampler or my fav the Rouladen!

I love the atmosphere at Mader's. Even during the pandemic with only 7 patrons we had a great time at their bar.

Awesome awesome awesome. Great atmosphere. Very accommodating with going to a show at the Bradley Center.