Mader's German Restaurant Reviews

The Germany sampler for 2 was fantastic. Wait staff very helpful and polite. We wish we could come eat here more often. But the drive from Kansas is just too far.

Ive only been here once, but they have some really good food.

I have eaten the most tasteless food at Mader's. We ordered a platter of different meats and they literally slapped unseasoned variety of different meats (probably bought them from Milwaukee Public Market) and slapped them on a plate and served it to us. No wonder, it took waitress only about 10 minutes from when we ordered to when the food was sitting in front of us. The meats were completely unseasoned and much of it was not even properly boiled and so tasted and smelled like eating fresh flesh. Much of the meat got stuck between my teeth. I was a bit buzzed later that night and forgot to floss my teeth before bedtime and so in the morning my mouth smelled like rotten flesh (it was nasty). But, what was even more nasty was seeing the 70 year old waitress at Maders dressed up in a mini skirt. I mean I am dating a girl in her 20's and even she said she would have to think a few times before putting on one of them german mini skirts on that our waitress at Maders was wearing, oh well its a "free" country I suppose. Yeah, that was not a pretty sight.

The restaurant looks medieval so that's a unique look I suppose. Regardless, I am likely never going back.

Not only is this bad German food, it's bad food in general. Cold, over cooked & waaaay overpriced.

Just ate here. Good service. Shank was good Schnitzel was horrible. Tough pork. Clearly pre-prepared and put into a warmer for later assembly. Frankly, the shank was also pre-prepared and kept warm. From the time we ordered to receiving our meal was minutes. No way the meal was prepared to order. Now, this is fine if you're paying $15 for an entree. Not so at Mader's with the shank at $37 an Schnitzel at $34! Bottom line, this place isn't authentic or good German cooking.

Great food and excellent service. Expensive, but worth it.

I have been to multiple German restaurants in the city including Kegels and others, and I must say Mader s is one of, if not the best choice for anyone looking for a great night at an excellent German restaurant. Mader s restaurant is one of the best German restaurants in the city, because of it being in a great part downtown with excellent parking, fast and efficient service, and all-around amazing meals.

The first reason you should visit Mader s, because for being on a busy street in the center of the city, and near the new Fiserv Forum, they have an excellent parking service for the customer. First, it is on an easy to find street with usually very little traffic, but even when it is busy you can still easily get to the restaurant. Secondly, the number one thing is that you don t even need to park your car, all you have to do is hand your keys over to a nice consigliere, and they will park it in Mader s private parking lot. Lastly, when you want to leave all you have to do is tell the consigliere your car model, and they bring it to you.

Another reason you should visit Mader s is for the amazing and efficient service it provides. As soon as you arrive you are greeted with a kind server immediately ready to take your drink orders and bring any appetizers you desire. Also, unlike many restaurants they let you enjoy your drinks and appetizers and don t pester you every two minutes to make you order, and get it. Lastly, they really make you feel welcome, and make you feel like you are really in Germany, even wearing traditional German clothing.

One last reason you should visit Mader s is obviously for their food, from their German meals, and their other amazing dishes, you can t possibly make a mistake. The first thing you are greeted with is a delightful piece of expertly baked pretzel bread, and it is one of the best pretzel bread you will ever eat. Also, their appetizers are to die for, especially the spaetzle mac and cheese, which is a slight German spin on the classic mac and cheese. In addition to that, no matter what you order, it will be an amazing meal. From, the wiener schnitzel or beef rouladen you just can t go wrong. Lastly, their deserts are amazing, after an excellent meal, you can relax with an expertly prepared dessert with a nice cup of warm coffee.

Mader s is one of, if not the best choice for anyone looking for an amazing German experience. They have all around have a great place downtown with excellent parking, excellent and kind service, and to die for German cuisine. So whenever the next time you are craving German food, or are just in the right part downtown, you shouldn t hesitate to go give Mader s Restaurant a try.

Very cool old world place, stopped in for a late lunch and really enjoyed it. I got the beef and mushroom dish with flaky pastry layers, it was so delicious.

Awesome food and exceptional service! This is truly a once in a lifetime experience you must try while in the Milwaukee area.

Mader's German restaurant in Milwaukee is a family-owned restaurant. It is been around for very long time. They serve authentic classic German dishes. That goes from appetizers to dessert. They have a very good selection on their menu. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere it is clean and the people who work there are friendly and helpful. A great place for delicious German meal

Absolutely the best food in Milwaukee. A must every time we are in town. Never a bad experience.

Always a great place for comfort food and amazing strudel

How is this German/Bavarian? Nothing I ever had back home!

I liked my lunch so much I went back the next day to enjoy another outstanding lunch.

My husband went to lunch with a friend, called me and said we had to go back. He said "... great sausage, blah blah..." We just had lunch at Mader's and he said "no, really, you're gonna want to try this." OH MY GOSH!!! I had the Duck BLT and it was fabulous!

Fantastic authentic German food with great customer service.

Madder s is extremely overpriced and over rated. I was not impressed and will not be back. We started off with the Cheese and Sausage board. It was not terrible but was not worth $15+. Although, the candied walnuts were just sugar dust with a few very small pieces of nuts mixed in. For our wine, we ordered a bottle of the 2016 Fritz Haag Riesling and the waitress brought us the wrong bottle. It was the same brand but of lesser value. I did not catch it until after she poured our glasses and we began to drink it. Next, we had the Backed Onion soup. It lacked and any flavor or character and was served lukewarm. For dinner, we had the Tour of Germany. The Sauerbraten was extremely dry and almost chalky in texture. It tasted like something that was prepared in a Crock Pot and then left in the warmer for days. The Kessler rippchen was okay but a little dry. The pork shank was also okay. It seemed over cooked and a little dry. Since the shank is fatty, it was still palatable. The wiener schnitzel was good and is probably made to order. For dessert, we had a fried apple strudel with a side of vanilla ice cream. It was good but not work $12.50. For a meal that cost about $200 for 2 people I would expect a high-quality meal and that is not what we received.

This was an awesome place! Food was good, service was great and the atmosphere was fascinating!

Terrible! Our waitress smelled really badly of BO and the food was super overpriced and was not good. We also made a reservation online and they were not going to honor it so we had to call a manger and show the confirmation email. Even with that it took 20 minutes to get seated. I will never be returning here.

The only German restaurant I will go to over and over.

An old favorite specializing in German food, drink and ambiance.

You simply cannot beat the atmosphere and food quality at this old Milwaukee icon. I hop it lasts forever.

If you love German food, this is the place to eat at in Milwaukee. Decor is excellent and if you have time visit the store up the stairs for viewing and purchasing beer steins.

Very authentic German bar. Thought it would be more dive bar from reviews.

The best German restaurant in the U.S. Schnitzels are to perfection!

Great German food...ate here 20 yrs ago and again this July.. didn't disappoint!

Amazing food and great German decor/ atmosphere. If you love German food you will love Mader's, the last famous German restaurant left in Milwaukee. Bring a full wallet and empty stomach.

I had the lamb shank, and it was very tender and flavorful. A bit pricey, but worth experiencing.

It's the best resteraunt I know and it's history is amazing.

Very cool old school German vibe. Great beer selection served in a classic ceramic mug. Tons of historic decorations, especially their photo op of the big famous chair. Expensive but completely worth it! Tour of Germany was plenty of food to feed 2 to 3 adults. Nice little souvenirs for purchase as well. Street parking or valet lot.

The food was delicious! We sat at the bar and the bar tender couldn't have cared less to be serving us. Was there before and it wasn't like that. Maybe she was just having a bad day? Will definitely be going back for the food!

Great place for German food but quality is hit or miss. Last time I went it was great but the year before it was not. The place has become a spot for trapping tourists. Kind of expensive.

Time machine straight back to the Germanic middle ages!

Expensive but best German food and environment you will find.

Food-FANTASTIC. Service-TOP NOTCH. They have the most beautiful restaurant in the city of Milwaukee. Would go back in a heartbeat

My daughter and I had an excellent "after theater" dinner and decided to split a salad (hot spinach), and get two appetizers (Reuben egg rolls & spaetzle mac'n cheese with a bottle of Reisling and strawberry schaum torte dessert. I liked having the smaller portions and sharing the dishes. It was all delicious and our waitress was attentive and helpful. Our total bill was just over $70.

Tried the beer cheese with pretzel crostinis and then the pork shank. Pork was very tender. Service was good considering our large group.

Great authentic Old Style German food... Great taste and variety... Stepping inside takes you back in time!

Tyler was overseated. Tyler didn't know how to adjust and was full on chatty Cathy with most tables. This is awesome for those tables and I'd love to have him on a busy night where he has 5 tables. Management did not recognize the problem and some of us got crappy service. This is not really Tyler's fault. Going on Saturday at lunch may be a roll of the dice service wise. Good food, but I wouldn't recommend to an out of town visitor under 65 based on my experience.

This restaurant is tired. Lackluster food, average service. All at our table of six were disappointed. Pitiful dessert tray presented after our entrees. Everything just feels old.

Tried a variety of foods. Everything was delicious!

Very expensive brunch not worth the money food all right not great the staff was great

Traditional German foods and just like the Germans you get a lot of it. Went with their most popular dish, a sampler and I couldn't finish it.

Good food. Great service. Was surprised at how good the food was. Saw all the pictures and letters from important people hung on the wall. It's a great history to see out of a museum. Maders is a museum in time. A great place to show what milwaukee wisconsin has and is

Great food and good service! The food was hot and delicious. The room was a bit noisy, but not too bad.

So much food! Server was very friendly and helpful.

Food was good, we split some platters and had potato pancakes and a meat and cheese board. The board was very generous. There s parking by the restaurant with a really amazing valet. The Bavarian Platter is the pick for sausage lovers, sauerkraut was great.

Top German dining experience!! Food was incredible, service was 5 star!

I was part of a large group. I was impressed by how quickly we were served and everything was freshly plated. Of course I will always go for the German beer on tap.

Mader's is a famous Milwaukee German restaurant. Unfortunately, the food does not do its reputation justice. Although the appetizers which are standard simple foods were good, the main dishes were lacking flavor as well as presentation. The Crusted Almond Rainbow Trout was dry and flavorless and the pices of fish were carelessly thrown on top of a daunting pile of potatoes. The Schnitzel was equally equally flavorless and lacking a nice crust. The Shank of Lamb was tasty, yet overcooked, delivered on a daunting mount of Brussels Sprouts.
As to some of the items on the menu and their authenticity, I would question the presence of scallops over mac&cheese. German cuisine also does generally not mix seafood and meat.
Generally speaking, German food has a rustic home cooking side to it which is not devoid of some elegance. As for what it is, the food at Mader's would be just ok but for the prices which equal that of elegant beautifully presented French faire.
The venue is a piece of history of a Germany long bygone which has its charm and appeal. The service is very good.

Went there after a Cubs//Brewers game.. just for a pretzel, waited there so long they forgot about us ,, had to walk to the hostess who couldn't be bothered because she was on the phone, with only one waitress on duty. We left

We go to Mader's restaurant at least 3 times a year. It has been around serving the best German food in Milwaukee for over 100 years. It is decorated in a very nice old fashioned German way. I love their Saurenbraten but save room for the Scham torte with Strawberries. Both are so good. The servers are the best. You will not go wrong giving Maders a try.

Very friendly staff and food was amazing. I would go again

Great dining experience. Great food and excellent service.

I can only rate it a 4 because we didn t eat IN the restaurant. We got a giant pretzel to go, and it was amazing! The staff was very friendly while we waited. We did look at the menu and decided lunch would be the time to come prices were a bit lower, and there still seemed to be a good selection. We will definitely stop there the next time we re in MKE!

A true dining experience!!! I went for the Rhine sampler. Schnitzel and goulash.
A must go. The pork shank is Sehr Gut!!

Historic but pricey for ok food. What Milwaukee calls great food is mediocre for the rest of WI.

Lunch was excellent. Very authentic German food in a classic setting. Nice German beer selection. We found it on s walk glad we did.

Knights, lances, swords, full armour /
Beer in a boot, prost Deutschland /
A Milwaukee must

Worth the trip for the pork shank alone! Delicious cocktails. I loved the atmosphere and the great service. Will definitely return. Can't wait to try other dishes!