Suppenküche

Fun place to go with a great atmosphere. The food is mediocre but again German food is a bit basic. If you are a fan of German food you might like this place. If you are looking for a fun place and don’t care too much about food, this is a good place to go for a large glass boot of beer.
They take a deposit for the glass in case you get too drunk and break the glass. Even the way the restaurant is set up feel pretty authentic, like you are in Germany.

Delicious Spatzle. Noisy. Cute bartender. German style seating. I was so happy to get Spatzle. The wild boar sausage was great with the Spatzle and sauerkraut. I want to try the maultauschen next time.

I was excited to try German food for the first time but I left disappointed. I don’t think I’m a fan of this type of food. I’m not a beer person either and it seems like a lot of people are a huge fan of the beer selection. The flavor didn’t impress me but maybe it’s the beer + food that complements each other very well here.
The Potato Pancakes were underwhelming. The taste of potato and apple sauce just didn’t make sense to me. My entrée was the sauteed porkloin with spatzle. I thought the porkloin was dry. Spatzle is very heavy. I was so full after a few bites. Food wasn’t bad but I don’t think it was good either. I’m not sure how this place compares but I don’t think German’s flavor profile suits me.
Portions are generous. Communal seating is interesting. I don’t mind it but there was a couple across at the same table who kept whispering and staring at us. I don’t recommend this place as a first date because it is very hard to hear each other when the place gets crowded.
Nice addition to diversify the selection of food in the city but do you ever hear someone say, «I’m craving German food»?

Stopped off for a beer after dinner last night. A lot of selections (15 or so probably on tap) and many sizes to chose from up to a 5 L glass for ~$ 85. (That’s 10 pints or so.) Bartender said we could try up to two (?!) after not knowing much about any. The hefeweizen I ended up with was delicious. Not a lot of seating if you are only going to drink; tables are reserved for those eating dinner and the waitstaff will be quick to tell you to move. That’s the only downer. Old time German bar feel. Worth checking out.

I like the idea of this place, and the look, but the food is definitely not as good as it is in Germany, and it’s overpriced for lacking in flavor. The service is always so-​so, nothing special. I like that they have community seating and that the place is like a block away from the beer garden in Hayes valley.

Wonderful place to start out the night. They have a wonderful list of German beers to slaughter the pronunciation of and you can get them all the way from a middling .5L to a giant 4L boot. That’s a lot of boot.
I had the Jägerschnitzel with spatzle and a few .5L beers. The communal tables and beer garden like vibes make for a fun place to get full and buzzed at. Service was friendly and the food was good.

This place has the atmosphere of a bar. However, there are a sizeable number of seats and numerous diners during peak hours. I ordered the popular meatloaf. The mashed potatoes were soft and creamy with some tiny chunks of potato here and there. The sautéed onions in the gravy gives it a slight hint of sweetness. The meatloaf was very soft and had a slight creamy consistency. The bacon around the meatloaf was savoury but it did not significantly elevate the flavour of the meatloaf. To my pleasant surprise, there was an egg in centre of the meatloaf.

This was probably my first time trying real German food. We started off with beer, my friend and I both opted for a Belgian sour. I think it could’ve been a little more sour, but it was pretty refreshing. We ordered the smothered pork chops and the bratwurst plates and shared it among ourselves. I’m not a fan of sausage at all, but theirs was really good! Especially with the sauerkraut and mustard– MMMMM. Nothing to rave about the pork chop dish– kinda just tasted like the pork chops I cook at home and it was paired with (what looked like) mac n cheese. Overall, I enjoyed the experience. The staff and bartender were really nice and welcoming and I like how they have communal tables.
Next time, I’m going to order a 2 liter beer in the boot cup. It looked like it would be fun lol.

Enormous portions for both food and drink! The food is heavy and tasty — but I really mean it when I say heavy, not for the faint-​hearted. We food coma’d for a good hour after our meal, but we also ordered too much; again, come prepared.
It does get crowded so come early if you can. We ended up getting seated in a dark corner facing the wall. (To be honest, we didn’t really care; we just started inhaling our food.)

German food, and German beer, how could you possibly go wrong? I’ve visited the city a few times and finally had the chance to visit.
We didn’t get to sample the menu in depth, but everything coming out of the kitchen looked wunderbar! Ordered the schintzel with roasted potatoes and a pretzel with obatzda. They were both really good. I wish the rye bread was fresh. We had what I assume was the left over end of the day batch. I will be sure to come back and eat everything on the menu! Prost!

So loud. SO LOUD. Like breaks OSHA rules for the employees loud. Long-​term hearing loss for anyone that has to work in that regularly.
Meh food. I guess it’s popular for the beer and drinks. Cheese spaetzle — gross. Beets that came with it good. Pork with mushrooms — ok.
Nice space, good service. Just loud and more about the drinks than the food.

Northern Californians are so lucky when it comes to German Food! Between Suppenkueche, Speisekammer and Gaumenkitzel you have at least food somewhat representative of tasty German cuisine. I have been frequenting Suppenküche since it first opened, and thanks to Fabrizio, it has always been a welcome trip to revisiting the yummy comfort food of my first 18 years in Deutschland. Raised by a great German cook mother from Bavaria and having had the good fortune of dining in some of the best restaurants in Germany in 2015 and 2016 I know my Leberknödel done by an Oma in a Bavarian Village to the modern Gourmet «Quartett vom Schwein» at Atelier Wilma In Frankfurt.
Oh but loathe the SoCal German restaurants! Ii am sitting in «Jeanette’s Edelweiss» in a strip mall of Northern L.A. Suburbia with cheap annoying German Schlager music blasting. Note the difference in restaurant names (seriously «Edelweiss» ?) which is a dead giveaway to smart creative substance restaurateur (translate my NorCal mentioned restaurants) vs. dummy tourism. Absolutely insulting beer prices with $ 9 for German tap beer. The veal Wiener Schnitzel tasted like dog food, the «German» potato salad was a disgrace. Also sampled Bratwurst and Sauerbraten. At best this is what food in a bad Bahnhof Kneipe (Railway Station joint) would taste like in Germany, — At 4 Times the Price!!! As for Jeanette: «Schuster Bleib Bei Deinen Leisten’ (a «film producer career» ???)
My dear Conejo Valley Americans who are swilling this food in honor of their German roots or Germany connections: Please don’t take this as representative for German food! This old Kraut will go across the street to «In n Out Burger» for better food.

I was kinda sad to see that there’s no more giant pretzel, but everything else like the beer selection, potato pancakes, and wienerschnitzel is still top notch.
I tried something new here this past weekend: the meatloaf. They put bacon in it so I couldn’t say no. It would’ve been better if the egg was runny, but the smoky bacon made the meatloaf extra tasty. I think they also add some sage in the meatloaf, because it had some fresh piney flavor. The sage (or whatever they seasoned it with) was a good highlight without overpowering the meatloaf. With the mashed potatoes and delicious gravy on the side, it’s hard to go wrong with this dish.

Finally got to try this place! It has a very fun, loud atmosphere and the service is awesome. They seat you at communal tables so not the best if you’re looking for something more intimate.
Got the potato pancakes with apple sauce ($ 12). They were a little crispier than I expected but tasted great with the apple sauce. The German ravioli in mushroom sauce ($ 14) was my favorite dish. It’s a huge appetizer and can basically be its own entrée. The inside of the ravioli was so meaty and flavorful!
For the entrée I got the jagerschnitzel that came with a small salad and spätzle ($ 20). I thought the porkloin was delicious and the spätzle was just okay. My group didn’t like the Sauerbraten entrée much. The beef was a little tough and the sauce was too tangy for me. The highlight of the dishes for all of us was the German meatball special with mashed potatoes and peas/​carrots. It was so well cooked and seasoned. I could eat this dish all the time!

Das Essen hier schmeckt gut, und ist auch recht authentisch. Allerdings fand ich den Sauerbraten so lala, und die Kartoffelpuffer finde ich wirklich nicht gut. Die Maultaschen waren recht frei interpretiert. Klar, Schnitzel und Spaetzle waren gut, aber das kann ich auch selbst. Insgesamt fand ich alles ueberteuert, Essen und Bier. 18 Dollar fuer einfaches Wiener Schnitzel und 15 Dollar fuer ein paar Bratwuerstelchen! Daheim kostet solches Essen vielleicht halb so viel, und schmeckt auch noch einen Ticken besser. Klar Preisaufschlag wegen der Lage in SF und so verstehe ich, aber 14 Dollar fuer Kaesespaetzle?

Perhaps Suppenkuche is the type of place you visit to drink until you’re so full that you can’t move anymore. Maybe it’s where you have dinner while you’re downing that boot of beer. I suppose I can give it another chance if that experience is pitched to me.
We went for brunch, however. We had a group of 7 (originally 8) and my friend called to make a reservation for opening time. All of the tables seem to be about the same size and to be honest, the table is too small for 8. I couldn’t understand why we had to squeeze even though we had a reservation. Luckily, the 8^th didn’t come and 3 not too big Asians fit on one long side of the table.
The food options didn’t wow me but I decided to get the first item on the menu. Please don’t ask me to pronounce it. Essentially, it was a few slices of smoked salmon, raw onions, and capers on top of a couple of pieces of butter lettuce. It was served with a not so «soft-​boiled» egg and cream cheese. Seriously? The portion size was tiny and the price was too high for what I was getting. Luckily, I had an afternoon tea to go to but if it wasn’t for that, I would’ve been starving all day. The smoked salmon was nothing special; actually, the whole dish was unimaginative and boring. And the egg yoke was almost as solid as a hard boiled egg. One of my friends was super enthusiastic about this place and I didn’t want to let her know but this was a waste of my time and money.

Wow was this place busy in a Friday evening. Either that or it is just really small, but maybe a combination of both. We got sat on the same table as a party of 6 which was kind of awkward. Reminded me a bit like London seating at restaurants.
I ordered the sautéed porkloin with mushroom sauce which was very tasty. The sauce was amazing and was full of flavor. Went very well with the porkloin.
My bf had the marinated and braised beef that he thought was mediocre. I agreed but my dish was amazing. The waitstaff was nice and very attentive. Our food came out super fast. Seems like we sat and ate all within 30 mins! lol
I should have gotten the potatoes to start since apparently that is the thing to get. My bf lived in Germany for a bit so I trust his opinion but I enjoyed the dinner!
Oh the free bread appetizer and butter was good too!

Tip: there are currently only 2 vegetarian options, potato pancakes and pretzels. (I’m confused about the «vegetarians go nuts for this spot» tag).
I’ve been here a few times, and each time the food was great and the beers were interesting. I recommend the radler (light beer + lemon soda) if you want something light and slightly fruity.
Come early if you want to skip the crazy wait, I came at 5:30pm for an early dinner and we were seated right away.
The braised beef and cranberry sauce was hearty and flavorful, and the portions are generous. I took ¹⁄₃ of my meal home.

This place is good but it’s not worth an hour and a half wait for just 2 people. Our waiter was nice despite the fact that the restaurant was busy, loud, and crowded.
I ordered the potato pancake, meatloaf, pretzel & bf got the sausage with sauerkraut. The potato pancake is pretty much a hash brown. It was still really good as well as the meatloaf, pretzel and sausage.

I might be falling for some of the hype by giving it 4-​stars. I’d say it’s more like 3.5. But I digress.
Good
— German food and german beer. Need I say more? :)
— Community/​shared tables. This can be good or bad depending on who you’re sitting with. We shared a table with some people who were, let’s just say, less than ideal to become long time friends with, but it good go the opposite way, too.
— Food and service were good. I wouldn’t say either were out of this world, but good. I got the venison and my wife got the sausage platter. Hers was much better than mine, so maybe I just picked the wrong thing (wasn’t a fan of the sweet cabbage, but that’s probably just a personal preference).
Not so great
— The wait to get a seat. The 1.5 hour wait itself isn’t their fault. In fact, it’s probably a good sign. However, most places nowadays offer to take your number and text/​call when a table is available. This would be especially helpful due to their bar being extremely small. There are tons of places in the area to grab a drink, so it’d be awfully helpful to be able to do so without fear of missing your table. It also seems like it would help the staff out as well. I’m sure there are instances where wait times are misquoted and people aren’t there, then get upset when they come back to check and find out they missed their name.
— Again, food and service were good, but not great. Maybe I just expected much more based on how everyone talks about this being *the* german place to go to.
After my first experience at Suppenküche, I much prefer Leopold’s (which I’ve only been to once as well). I would say that Suppenküche might be more fun if you have a large party and Leopold’s if it’s just 2 of you (smaller tables). That said, it’s german beer and german food — which is always amazing — so check it out at least once. Make sure, though, you either go right when they open, or have something to do as you spend an hour stuck right outside the door.

We arrived at prime time on a Saturday night. After attending the bacon and beer festival in the South Bay earlier that day, a good, substantial meal was needed. We were quoted an hour and a half wait for or party of two, and unusually they will not call or text, if you’re not there… Too bad! I kind of like it because it meant people didn’t always stick around and our wait only ended up being a little over an hour.
We hung out at the bar and worked our way through our half liters of beer, which I didn’t manage to finish before being sat and a family style table. The atmosphere is very chill, the noise is the sound of conversation and in this age of being so engaged in your phone, it was kind of nice to just hear the noise of fellow diners’ chatter.
They have a (forgive my German) Targes Karte with some great specials, how pretzels aren’t in the regular menu I don’t know but we started with those and they were delicious. I went with the sausage, sauerkraut and mash potatoes for my entrée, seemed the right thing to do and I wasn’t disappointed.
Our glasses were kept full, which is awesome because I am that person who chugs my water as soon as it is filled. The server, bar tenders and host were all very friendly and I’m sure we will be back!

omg.
I’m really glad I haven’t found this place earlier… because if I had. MAN! I’d be an oompa loompa NO JOKE.
The food here is amazing. It’s been 3 weeks since I’ve been here and I’ve thought about this place. hmm maybe…9x a week? Everytime a meal time rolls around I think to myself. ughhhh Suppenkuche sounds sooooo good right now.
Spatzle — AMAZING. Perfect combo of cheesy oniony mac & cheese. It comes out piping hot and seems to STAY hot the entire time I’m delicately picking at it so not to seem like an ogre at the dinner table.
Potato hash fried thingies — so amazing crispy, not oily at all and the best apple sauce to dip t them in. A basic thing DONE RIGHT!
Mushroom raviolis — HUGE raviolis … but I still wish I had a galloon tub of these. Amazing flavor.
hmm…what else did I get, I honestly can’t remember because I stuffed myself silly. My boyfriend got the pork chop, friend got a schnitzel. and I can barely remember what else because all the plates were cleared. ha ha: P
Get here RIGHT at opening to grab a table — or else it will be a 1+hr wait (worth it). Good bang for your buck :)
YUM. can’t wait to try their breakfast: D

I rarely eat German food, but after coming here I wanted to try more!
Hayes Valley area always has good food, and this place makes the list. I came in here shortly after 11am because I know finding parking in this district can be a pain during rush hours. Street parking here. The exterior of the restaurant isn’t eye catching, but once you’re inside, it has a nice feel to it whether it be the customers, the servers, or the overall atmosphere. If by chance there are not enough tables to accommodate your group (the smaller the better), they offer the option to seat you with a party at another table. Some seating may be a bit tight, but it works. Service is very friendly; they always check in on you to see how you are and how you like the food, which is super kind of them.
Here’s a Tip: If you aren’t too familiar with German cuisine or German food in general, I advise you to look at Unilocal photos for references since the menus are all text. I’m a picture menu guy, so I’d rather know what the food looks like before I order it.
Got the Potato Pancakes, Grilled Pork Sausage w/​Sauerkraut and Mashed Potatoes, & Chicken Schnitzel. Also ordered a Schneider Weisse Hefeweizen.
I wanted to try the Marinated and Braised Beef, but they don’t serve that during brunch/​lunch hours. The potato pancakes were bomb. Basically crispy hash browns with aside of cinnamon apple sauce. Whoever came up with this idea is a genius! The grilled pork sausage and chicken schnitzel were delicious as well. Individual bites of the meat, potatoes, and sauerkraut taste alright, but if you eat all the ingredients at once, then you’re in for a delight. Same goes for the chicken schnitzel. The beer tasted nice, but I wish I could’ve tried the big boot though.
Would recommend this place to all my friends.

Get there within a few minutes of opening and they’ll still be packed. Showed up at 5:05 on a Wednesday and barely snagged seats in the back bar area before the place was flooded. Luckily, staff at the bar are attentive and you can order both food and drink there.
The large selection of German beers is a highlight– I can’t remember exactly what we got (a hefeweizen and some sort of ale?) but they were both good. The food was decent– herring app was reminiscent of a russian dish, potato pancakes with applesauce had a good sweet-​salty balance, and the mushroom gravy with the German ravioli was signficantly better than the ravioli itself.
Prices are fair for the portion sizes and quality. Go early or prepare to wait.

Sure, this place is crowded full of people so you have to scream to be heard, BUUUT, I rather enjoyed the warm lighting, bier selection and delicious food. Really pleased that they offer vegetarisch essen (?ist das richtig?). Brot served with a creamy dill? chive? butter, verry nice. Pretzel accompanied w/​what seemed like a curded cheese (Bavarian style, I believe), ask for the sweet mustard!
I ordered the kaesespaetzle which came with a pickled cabbage, beet and carrot salat — Schmeckt SEHR gut! And I have leftovers!
big tough guy portions, so come starving!
Bier is great, naturlich! I wanted to order the big boot glass, but never got around to it. Another time!
We had to wait prolly like 25 minutes, and we were able to sit at the bar and eat. I wouldn’t have enjoyed sharing a table with strangers from Hayes Valley, so it worked out just fine. I thought the staff was friendly :)

Wo ist mein bier? (Along with «wer hat gefurzt,» this is just about all I remember from German 101.) Ah, my people! How can you go wrong with meat, beer, butter, and potatoes?
I’ve been to Suppenkuche twice, and both times it’s been packed. The tables are communal, the beer comes in suitably large portions (apparently there’s a 5 liter option… hmm), and I quite liked the food I’ve had there.
At brunch recently, we had the wiener schnitzel and the leberkase (served with fried egg on top — almost like German spam). The potatoes were served with big chunks of thick bacon, and the rolls were crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and delicious with a big helping of butter. Everything was delicious, and even the salad — a simple butter lettuce affair with salt and vinaigrette — took me back to eating dinners at my (German!) great-​aunt and uncle’s house as a child.
As for the beer, they have a great selection. Some of them are quite unpronounceable for the unpracticed German tongue, but the staff is happy to help you out. And I mean, really, who cares — if you’re going to have 5 liters of beer, you’re going to end up gesturing to get your point across — eventually — anyway. (One pint was enough for me, though.)
I don’t dig the communal tables, but it’s such a great change of pace from our normal selections, it’s not that much of a drawback.

Ich liebe dich Suppenkuche. Du machst mich so glücklich! Translation: I love you Suppenkuche. You make me so happy! How can I not be in my happy place with German beer, bratwurst, vension, potato pancakes, and mashed potatoes. The food here is wonderful and and the beer is bountiful and flowing all night long. I will admit that it can be a bit cramped as the tables are all communal seating but truly that is ok since everyone else seems to be happy with their beer and food too. The only minus to this place: parking. What the heck happened to the valet guy? Because seriously parking around here sucks. I almost need a pint of beer to help me forget the pain of parking. Luckily they have a pint plus some to help me not only forget parking but possibly where I parked my car to begin with.

Hallo Suppenküche Sie sind erstaunlich!
I LOVE beer, you can tell.
I LOVE food, I’m sure you can tell.
I LOVE the communal tables, I’m not sure you can tell.
So for all of you that did NOT know, I am a Swede, well at least I was born and raised there so I guess my body belongs to Sweden, NOT Switzerland so NO I don’t speak German.
Or do I?!
I still have not written anything about the food, the ambience or the service and maybe I wont.
Maybe, just maybe I want to write a review without a review because I am special like that. But I wont.
SO I LOVE Wiener Schnitzel and homemade sausage but since I don’t eat meat anymore I had to have a vegetarian dish, I was not expecting anything since this is a German meat orientated restaurant of course.
To my suprise my dish the stuffed Portabello mushroom was really good, it was a fun experience to eat vegetarian food at this place.
The service was good too, they were packed and it seems like the servers share their tables, this can be tricky but they communicated well with each other, because it was fast and delicious!
When I eat meat again I will go back for sure and it will probably be a 5 star review.
Later Mein Sausage!

Als gebuertiger Muenchner kann ich bestaetigen das «Suppenkuche» echt super schmeckt. Mein bruder hat hier seinen Jungesellenabschied gemacht und ich bin direkt aus dem flieger von Minga hier ins lokal um zu feiern. Also waren es nicht mehr als 12 stunden vor dem ich den geschmackt von der gscheiden mass + krustenbraten am flughafen muenchen hofbrauhaus genossen habe. Daher kann ich suppenkuche besonders gut bewerten — und die knoedel (und alles andere auch) waren sehr authentisch. Very good and incredibly authentic German food — this coming from a true bavarian born in Munich.

Went there for my friends birthday. Food was great!
You can’t go wrong with good hearty food.
Be sure to get the appetizer plate — mit Schinken, Blutwurst, Salami und Käse, it’s cured meat goodness with cheese also.
Me and my friend had the Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein
mit Bratkartoffeln und grünem Salat, it was good. Little bit on the dry side, if you don’t mind that, it’s ok.
GF had the asparagus special, which was wrapped with beacon. What’s not to like wrapped in beacon?
My other friend had the other special half roast chicken with dumpling and 2 potato pancakes. I ate 1 ½ of her potato pancakes, they were so dam good and part of her chicken. hehe!
Staff was really good and attentive.
My buddies all had the beers there, which I can’t recall but they really love it.
Very good experience, will definitely go again.

Als amerikaerprobter Schwabe kann ich sagen: handgeschabte Spätzle at its bescht. Wirklich das beste Restaurant für süddeutsche Küche jenseits der Landesgrenzen, das mir bekannt ist. Ok, die Bedieunungen kennen Deutschland nur noch aus Erzählungen und in der Küche stehen Mexikaner. Also alles nicht 100% authentisch, deshalb auch einen Qype Abzug. Aber Essen und Bier ist der Hammer. Wer geburtstag hat bekommt übrigens ein Stück Herrentorte oder Schwarzwälder Kirsch — auch sehr lecker.
Dass es hier sensationelle, original deftige Gerichte aus Old Europe gibt, hat sich auch bei den anspruchsvollen Einheimischen herumgesprochen. Unbedingt reservieren!!!

It was my first time eating German food and I would say that it was an experience! My friend’s cousin chose this place and apparently made a reservation so I suggest getting one because when I went inside, it was packed!
We waited for about 5 minutes until our server seated us in a table that we had to share with another party which was awkward… The place was kind of tight too and the lighting was dim.
I ordered the bratwurst with roasted potatoes. I totally forgot the name in German because it was long. Our food took a little bit to get to us just because it was packed which was understandable. Took about 10 minutes but it was worth it. The mustard with the bratwurst was tasty and I couldn’t get enough of the roasted potatoes!
I would definitely love to come back here again and try their other dishes just because I feel like I got an appetizer rather than an entrée and I ate prior.