1892 German Bier Haus

The German beer and atmosphere get a "10"!!!
Service and food get a "0".

Nice little place in the 100 block of Council Bluffs, with an outstanding German Beer selection. Food is predominantly bar food, with a few German dishes on the menu.  The German dishes are good, but the other food is average. Spaetzle here is outstanding.

As for some other reviewer's problems with the $1 charge for credit cards, there is a sign prominently displayed behind the bar, and it has been my experience that it is only applied during "bar time".  That may explain your juke box and drunk people problems.

Some may remember Das Rheinland, an Omaha German restaurant that at one point had two locations around the city: one in the Old Market, and the other way out west in Lakeside.  The locations did not last long (Lakeside was the first to go, followed by the Old Market location a couple years later) but while it did I was a frequent visitor.  
Being someone who took German classes for five years through middle school and high school it somehow seemed natural to seek out an eating establishment that revolved around a culture I had spent so many hours studying.  My friend Chuckles and I homed in on Das Rheinland and never looked back.  The decor was awesome, the service splendid, and the food was absolutely delicious.  I even had my first beer at the Lakeside location (didn't like it, but I'm not a big drinker so it was no biggie.)
So, when the Old Market location finally closed I was a sad Panda.

Fast forward to last week.  I finally discovered that the owner of the Das Rheinland locations had opened another restaurant in Council Bluffs under a new name.  According to info found online, the menu was identical to the old locations.  I was ecstatic, though a little confused about the name change; it kept old fans like me completely ignorant to the new location.  I shrugged it off and dragged my wife to Council Bluffs.

I don't know what I was expecting to see when we arrived.  I suppose I expected the same classy decor: the linen tableware, cloth napkins, nice silverware, German decorations, flower arrangements, and traditional German tunes softly playing in the background.  Instead, I was stunned to walk into a Country/Western bar.  There were neon signs, beaten up old booths, domestic beer ads, and LOUD country music blaring over the speakers.  And I mean loud.  Loud.

Okay, well that's a downer but the food is the main event, so...I shrugged it off.  I ordered my old favorite, the Gemischte Wurstplatte (Mixed sausage platter) that comes with sauerkraut and Spaetzle (a type of little dumplings).  My wife ordered the same.

I ordered an iced tea to go along with my meal.  It tasted off.  It honestly tasted...sweaty.  And I don't mean sweaty as in it was hot and the glass was covered in evaporation, no I mean it tasted like human sweat.  Ugh.

But, hey, here comes the food: time to reward my eager taste buds.  

Okay, I seem to remember the mixed sausage platter having a better...mix.  Bratwurst was represented, but what happened to the weisswurst?  Knackwurst was supposedly included according to the menu, but I couldn't find it unless the 'sausages' that tasted like chopped-up HOT DOG were supposed to be it.  Most of the sausages where charred/nearly burnt, as well.  The sauerkraut tasted wrong.  But...the Spaetzle still tasted just as awesome as I remembered it.  There's one point!

As my wife and I were nearly finished, a couple of drunk Council-Tuckians decided to swing by near our table and sing along to the latest "my wife cheated on me/lost my job/love my dog/whatever" country tune that was attacking our ear drums.  I looked down at my plate while being serenaded by these annoying drunks and noticed a new ingredient to my meal: my tears as I reminisced of better days gone by.

Mercifully, we finished and received our check.  We're finally free of unpleasant surprises, right?  Nein!  Apparently, they have a policy of adding a $1.00 charge for all credit card transactions.  Great, thanks for letting us know AFTER we've paid.    

I'm giving this place two stars, but only because the Spaetzle was still very good.  That saves it from a one star...ever so barely.  

It might be wise for you to avoid this place and stick with Zum Biergarten or some other German joint.

Aber das ist geschmackssache!