The upstairs patio is nice in the summer, and the food is reliable burger/beer/brat type fare. Â The sandwiches don't come with a side, so you may want to order something to go with it - the 1/2 order of fries is plenty for two people. Â The prices are really fair for what you get.
On my last visit I ordered a special - a burger with a patty made of bratwurst, on a pretzel bun, with sauerkraut. Â It was quite good. Â The staff was friendly and offered good service. Â When my coke was down to 1/4 full, the waitress brought a second glass without even having to ask.
My Fault, should have loooked at Yelp before going. Menu was limited. Very expensive. Had the Prime Rib dip special. Greasy bun and Arby's quality wafer meat. Only had 3 Bites. Service was slow too. Glad we went to Mile post 111 in Cashmere after. Had to buy 2 sets of meals but the milepost was fantastic!
Review Source:The place offered a very limited menu and I found it to be expensive (but normal compared to Leavenworth).
We tried some of the beer and finger foods but it all seemed to be average, generally more sandwiches and burgers. Our bartender was really great and went out of his way to make sure that it was a good experience for us and paired our drinks accurately.
our waitress was terrible. None of our drinks were ever refilled and she took forever. The food was good. The place is nice. Good all around but pricey and the minute is VERY limited. So those two things make me give it 3 out of 5 stars. BUT it wasn't too busy and we were seated quickly. Would I go again? Possibly.
Review Source:We went to Gustav's the night we arrived in Leavenworth. I loved the themed decor. The place was really cute and helped get me in the mood for Little Bavaria. But then our server came to our table. She was rude and incredibly unhelpful. This bummed me out, but I tried to let it slide. Sure, she delivered our beer and food, but she was not even slightly personable. I was sorely disappointed by this.
As for the menu, it was pretty lame as well. The only Bavarian options were the German sausages.
Though Gustav's is cute and beckons you from its corner location, I don't plan to go back and would never suggest it to a friend. There are much better places to stop in the heart of the shopping district.
I'm not impressed. Â The waitress was SO nice, so props to her, I wanted to like it, but, I ordered no pickles on my burger, and it came with pickles. Â That's one of those things where when you pick it off, still tastes like it. Â I loved the hand cut fries, but that was pretty much the only thing I loved about Gustav's. Â I wanted to like it, I really did, because of it's great location and the cute exterior of the building. Â It's pretty cramped inside (then again, we were there Oktoberfest weekend) and other than the fries, food was not impressive. Â Aside from the aforementioned pickles, my burger had a rubbery texture and I couldn't finish it.
Review Source:This is my hometown favorite. Â Everytime I come back to Leavenworth, I make visting this spot a top priority. Â The decor and ambiance are very homely, outdoorsy and inviting. Â The winter time is my favorite time of the year to go here, especially now that they have expanded the establishment. You can watch the football game while you devour the most delish brats. Â The french dip is a personal favorite of mine and you can never go wrong with their fries. Â This place is cozy, like a cabin in the mountains. Â LOVE!
Review Source:Like any other restaurant, there are Pro's and Con's to Gustav's.
Con: the menu has not really changed for as long as I've been going there.
Pro: the menu has not really changed for as long as I've been going there.
Pro: I've been going to Gustav's for so many years I really have no idea how many times I've visited. Â On a recent trip (two weeks ago) I specifically went out of my way to go through Leavenworth (adding 45 minutes to my trip) so I could introduce my oldest son to the Dip sandwich. Â The sandwich is still just as good as i remember it (it may be the best thing on the menu).
Con: a little more regular attention could be given to the restrooms. Â However, some understanding from customers would make some sense on this matter. Â If you've ever run a tourist restaurant you'd know how your customers treat your facilities... so if you're wondering why the restroom isn't 100%, look around you... or in the mirror.
Summary: I'm a fan of Gustav's for what it is (hey other reviewers... why are so many of you trying to make Gustav's into something it is not). Â It's a great place to stop in for a predictably good meal. Â It's got a great view and a warm atmosphere. Â The staff tries very hard to make sure you have a great stay with minimal wait times. Â And most important to me: it's family friendly for me and my clan of 5 while delivering a great experience.
Thanks again Gustav's... I'll be seeing you again soon.
Great view from the upstairs patio. Â We did wait to be seated about 20 minutes but it was the lunch rush on a Sunday so that really was not bad. Â All were friendly why we waited and through service. Â Once seated our server was friendly and prompt. She offered recommendations, Â we went with the Brat and in house cut fries. Â No complaints from me. Â I thought the price was reasonable. Â I highly recommend and would grab a beer and wait for that outside view.
Review Source:Live nearby and went here with visiting friends. Definitely a place we will bring more friends to. Cool atmosphere. Cozy and warm feeling. Our server was right on. she was there just the right amount and got everything perfect. Super friendly and helpful. Friday night - We would have had to wait about 15 to sit outside but no wait for inside. I had a margarita that was really tasty. Food was good. My husband and I gave it a b+ to a- . He had a big juicy Reuben and I had a large salad. Not the place to come if you're looking for German food but great for sandwiches, salads, burgers. We will go back for sure. looks like a fun place to watch a football game.
Review Source:Ok place.
The menu is pretty limited and somewhat pricey. I was hoping for something a little more authentic than burgers and fries since it was my first time there and the only thing I could find remotely close to that was the sausages on their menu, so I opted to order the Bockwurst. It was ok as well.
I failed to understand why a place named Gustavs served mostly burgers and sandwiches. Maybe I was building the name up to more than their actual menu? But I must say, my dad's 'Gustav's Burger' looked mighty good. The next time we go there I'll be sure to order that instead.
This was our regular stop when riding through Leavenworth. We came here because...
1. It's easy to find.
2. Generally never an issue to get seated.
3. They have an outdoor deck.
4. The menu is just large enough that everybody gets fed.
Unfortunately, the food is just kind of blah and a little on the spendy side. I suspect this is the tourist tax, but doesn't mean I enjoy paying it. I would give this place 4 stars if it wasn't for the blah and $.
Service, though, is generally pretty friendly. We've rolled in 15-20 deep and they were able to make a whole new section for us.
This place is on the high side but somehow still very much worth it!
$63 for lunch (after tip) for three people is more than I care to spend but we were on 'vacation' and it really was a great meal.
For that price we ordered two side salads @ $5 each, one Lemonade @ $3 (pretty sure it was fresh squeezed) two French Dip sandwiches w/cheese @ $12.50 each, one fish sandwich @ $9.50 and a 1/2 order of fries @ $3.50 and there was NO room for dessert.
We have been here a handful of times and will continue because bottom line, it's really good food each and every time.
The server (Catlin) was VERY good too. We had a lot of little requests and she met them all with a smile and happy attitude.
Who doesn't enjoy a big, juicy brat in their mouth on a cold day in leavenworth? Ok well I didnt have a brat but my friends did. I had a cheeseburger and I have to say 1) it's a good thing I shared it with my other friend because 2) I would have ate the whole thing it was so good! Fries were natural cut fries and they were delicious too. Topped it off with acouple of pitchers of beer and you got yourself a good time! Service was really great and friendly too!
Review Source:SPORTS FANS HATERS!! Â I've been going to Leavenworth in December every year for over a decade. Â This year when I went into Gustav's Sunday afternoon to get some food and watch a bit of football I was in for a rude surprise.
The manager informed me that they would not turn on the TVs to any sports, even if it wasn't a Seahawks or other football game. No Sports period! Isn't this place a sports bar, seriously!! Â The manager went on to tell me the owner said that sports fans don't spend enough, and he wants to get people in and out as quickly as possible to make as much $$$ as possible during busy weekends.
Avoid this place if your a sports fan. Plus the food is over priced, even for the tourist trap that it is.
What a joke.
It's Friday night of the Christmas lighting festival. The wait is about 15 minutes. The place is packed. It's gotta have good food right? WRONG. We had our 7 month old and saw many other kids so it looked like a good choice for us.
It took 15 minutes for our waiter to come over to us. Therefore we order drinks and dinner together. I ordered the only "European" thing on the menu. A bratwurst. My wife got the fish and chips. 10 minutes later he brought our food out in plastic baskets. The fish was frozen 10 minutes ago and had so much grease on them you can see your face in it, she ate 2 pieces and wanted to throw up. The fries looked good cause they are homemade, oh wait they burnt them so bad it was like eating a log out of the fire. The bratwurst was wrinkled and had about 39lbs of sauerkraut on it, it was pretty worthless and I could have gotten better out of safeways frozen food section.
The service was meh, no one there seemed very exited about working or serving.
The only reason for 2 stars is because they had my favorite beer in the world on tap, Jubelale. The name "Gustav's" is a disgrace because this is nothing but a grease trap sports bar perfect for your screaming 7 year old kid.
I feel like I should apologize to Gustav's for the inexplicable poor reviews that people have given this establishment. Â I can understand a tinge of deceit if you walked into a place named Gustav's expecting a German restaurant. Â But you have to remember, it's Leavenworth - Â more fake than a boob job, more gimmicky than Carrot Top. Â The majority of people who actually go to Leavenworth are pretty clueless tourists with screaming kids in tow.
And to set the record straight. Â THE FRIES AREN'T BURNT. Â They are dark in color, like they should be. Â Do they taste burnt? Â Nope. Â Go to western Europe some time, you'll figure it out. Â The fries are actually fantastic, comparable to some of the best pomme frites from the Netherlands and Germany that I've had.
The burgers and sandwiches are well above average, especially some of the more creative ones like the Ortega burger - the "dried" fresh salsa is genius, it spreads on the burger without soaking the bread. Â The tap list is great with small craft brewers like Big Al's. Â The only disappointing part is they don't have real imported German weissbier on tap... only a lager. Â Pyramid Hefe is not a substitute for a good Franziskaner or Weihenstephaner hefeweissbier
For me, Leavenworth is a bathroom break while traveling between Seattle and Lake Chelan, but if I want to stop for a good meal without the fake, Gustav's is a great choice.
On a hot summer day in Leavenworth, I came into Gustav's. Â The AC is a god send. Â I was coming in here for a rest of long shopping day. Â The beer was great and the food was good too (except the fries, it's on the soft side).
I can see myself coming back here during winter time.
BTW, I loved all the deco in this restaurant. Â Very charming!
Last but not least, great service.
Family friendly, all-American fare. Average burgers, horrible fries, typical service, and typically priced. Not a place I'd go out of my way to go to, unless I wanted to eat a burger in a chill environment. The burgers are all well-done, not made to order. SUPER well-done, like to the point of charred and burnt. The fries were also burnt. I recall reading another review that mentioned this and now I know what they are talking about. Not like crispy crunchy burnt. But like coated in a dark gray/blackish coloring that you initially think is seasoning but is actually gross burnt-ness from God knows what.
$10 for a meh burger and just a few (like 7 or 8) burnt fries? No thank you. I'd rather find a Red Robin where the burgers are $8 and the fries are bottomless.
P.S. The beers my friends ordered--mac and jack--tasted off and they had to send them back.
Best place in Leavenworth for an American MicroBrew. Â Now granted you shouldn't be coming to Leavenworth for American beers, this is a German town for god sake. Â But the interior is totally reminiscent of log cabin you'd find in a ski village at Lake Tahoe. Â Really cool interior and plenty of space either at the bar or restaurant upstairs. Â We went during the winter time and enjoyed sitting by the fireplace downstairs. Â
The food was just OK, otherwise I'd give them 5 stars. Â Start off at the Munchen Haus down the street for a Bratwurst and a traditional German beer or two. Â When you've had your fill of German food and ambiance, come here for some great regional micro brews of the Pacific Northwest.
They have some great German inspired American Micro brews.
Ate here twice - once on the way outbound to Chelan, and then on the way back to Seattle. Â Food was good.
However, my daughter noticed that a female staff member did not wash her hands after #2 in the bathroom. Â Gross. Â We mentioned it to the manager and even pointed out the staff member, and the manager acted like it was no big deal and did not take any corrective action.
Will never eat here again.
Gustav's wasn't exactly what we were expecting. Â My boyfriend and I went in looking for some good, solid fish and chips, but came out pretty disappointed. Â The halibut was fine, though nothing special - it was clearly just frozen fish quickly fried and served. Â The fries were...well, very bland. Â They looked like they would taste fantastic, but they literally had no flavor and only tasted good with a generous amount of salt poured over them. Â I also had the tomato bisque soup which was good - kind of hard to screw up something like that. Â
The one bonus: It was nice to see Thomas Kemper Root Beer on tap - delicious! Â
The prices were a bit high for some of the items. Â Beer prices were decent, but food prices were too high, in my opinion, especially considering what you got in return. Â
Our waitress was nice enough, but the service was lacking a bit. Â
Overall...I just wasn't happy with our lunch here. Â We both agreed that we wouldn't be back.
My boyfriend and I got into Leavenworth pretty late Friday night and after fighting after-work traffic up Hwy 2, we were stoked to find a hoppin' place open late enough for us to grab a bite to eat!!
The atmosphere is pretty sweet; I love all the wood worked furniture. We tried some new brews from the beer selection (accidentally, actually! I ordered a Mac & Jack's expecting an Amber but got the spicy African Amber - a fun surprise!) I had a grilled cheese sandwich and my boyfriend had the cheeseburger. I liked the sandwich but the green chili was a little much for me. I think the spicy beer and spicy sandwich combo wasn't too kind to my stomach, but I pulled it off and at the rest of it very happily.
Cool place, young crowd, and laid-back waitstaff. Perfect for what we needed! Thanks Gustav's!!
You would think for being the first place you see coming into town it would be a great option for food, you would think. Â This IS NOT a German restaurant at all. Â It is a burger joint/pub with a German name.The menu was extremely lacking in options and the food not very tasty.
I paid $9.75 for a pepper jack burger that came loaded with onions and not much else. Â My bun was burnt as were the 15 fries on my plate. Â When I asked about getting some fresh fries they told me that is how they come, burnt. Â Sure enough my wife's and mom's fries were burnt as well. Â I decided I was not going to pay 6 dollars for a beer so I just ordered water, it was served to us in a pitcher with 4 PLASTIC cups for us to pour ourselves. Â Really? Â Plastic cups??
The most surprising thing though may have been the kids meal I paid almost 6 bucks for. Â It was 4 frozen and fried chicken strips. Â No sides, no drink, no dessert, just 4 chicken strips. Â What kind of place serves a kids meal with no drink option AND charges you 6 bucks for it?
While this may be the first place you see in town, it should definitely be your last option for food.
Every time I've eaten here it's been after a few days of hiking, climbing, biking, and/or camping. Â I can pretty much guarantee that people who don't like the food here haven't worked up an appetite - if the extent of your warm-up for the gut-bomb you are about to enjoy was parking your car and looking at cuckoo clocks, maybe you should be thinking about a salad. Â Or maybe a change in lifestyle.
Oh yeah. Â I went there.
The beer is good, and cold, and the onion rings are crispy circumferences of deliciousness. Â The fries come in an enormous basked of homemade goodness, and the cheeseburger was piled high with fresh onions and pickles. Â It's an honest cheeseburger.
Who knows? Â Maybe the food here is horrible and I'm just insanely hungry every time I'm in Leavenworth. Â But I've always left satisfied and happy. Â But there really is no substitute for a basket of fries and onion rings after a 14 mile hike in paradise.
We tried various other more "authentic" places, but they were packed out the door (we were in town for the Ale Festival).
The beer selection here was quite good. Â I got an amber ale on nitro (which is a rarity) that was brewed by Hale's.
Food was mainly generic pub fare (burgers, fish & chips, etc.) it was OK, not great.
Our service was quite good and our food was brought out disturbingly fast.
I'm just incredibly lukewarm on this place, the German food options are sparse. Â Beer is above average, though.
This place sucked. Do not go here.
The tables were sticky. My chicken sandwich was bland and gross. The fries were icky.
The only redeeming quality to this place is their beer, which is brewed by Hales.
Don't go here. I'm warning you. If you want bland, unimaginative food, then go here. But I don't think you drove two hours for this garbage.
This is not German food. Â Do not be fooled. Â We came here after wanting to enjoy a German style meal. Â You know, red cabbage, sauerkraut, schnitzel, and the like. Â This place is a burger joint. Â
And the burgers were not great. Â Our large party was pretty disappointed in our food. Â The burgers and chicken fell flat. Â The fish and chips were so-so. Â The beer was the only good thing about this place. Â I could easily see sitting here and just drinking their nice selections but everything else about this place is disappointing. Â
It was easy enough to bring the kid with us. Â The wait was long. Â Our waitress was nice enough and made sure we were taken care of. Ashame they share the name Gustav's with a great German place in Portland.
We got to sit on the top deck which gave my mom and I great views of the town and the hills. I had a hamburger which was pretty good, homemade french fries which were out of this world (and I never say "out of this world" so it must be good in order for me to say that), and a darn good Leavenworth IPA. Also, my mom really liked her brautwerst. The food and the view was an awesome combination.
I am not going to knock any points, but we were not too happy with the waitress we had. While she wasn't overly rude to us, when a woman asked for her pickles the waitress snapped, "I already ordered it. You will get your pickles." This while the woman was a little more than half way through her sandwich. Not a good idea to snap at your customers in front of everyone.
Zipzap Zubidy Bop!
A fun casual restaurant experience. It's labeled as a German restaurant, but everybody but me was able to get burgers and such. My  motto is when in Rome........
Service was great, atmosphere was very nice too. Food was OK....not fantastic, but not bad. It felt more like quick version of sausage and kraut rather than truly slow cooked home made German versions.
Prices were pretty inexpensive, making it a good tradeoff between food quality and wallet reduction properties.
The decor of the place was very festive. It would be a perfect place to visit during an Oktoberfest. :-D
I hate Leavenworth the town, but I was there to eat and drink beer between hikes in the Icicle Creek Valley and I wanted to sit outside and drink beer....is that to much to ask? The climate here is high desert and the temps frequently are very hot, but finding a place to sit outside and have a beer and burger was alot harder than it should be in this BS town. The service here was actually good for my buddy and I so I didn't see the bad service the other reviewers were referring too. We got to sit on the deck and have a few Hef's while sitting in the sun. LOVED IT! Small deck though so good luck when they are busy.....
Why does this town not have more outdoor seating? The general emphasis on shopping here makes my skin CRAWL...YMMV
Because Leavenworth is a tourist town, I expect some higher prices for what I get, but I also expect decent food and damned good beer. Â I got both at Gustav's.
The fries were crisp and actually tasted like potatoes - not very salty, either - and the burger that Boyfriend and I split hit the spot. Â We got a pitcher of Whistling Pig, which was the perfect summer beer to compliment the beautiful view and good food.
We were attended to well, tipped accordingly, and happy to return. Â No gripes here!