Wiederkehr’s Weinkeller Restaurant

We stopped there on a whim. We were glad we did. We enjoyed great service and awesome food. Onion soup was fabulous and the turkey sandwich was really special. The wine shop had good choices and specials worth considering. A large group had just visited and the restaurant staff handled it with ease.

I haven’t stopped by weidekkers in several years. I live in California, but have a second home in Arkansas. We arrived about 1:30. There were only a few guests. My husband and I ordered the anti pasta appetizer plate, and a Ruben sandwich to share. I ordered a glass of rosé’. He had a beer.
The antipasto plate was beautiful and delicious! We grazed on salami, turkey, ham, and a variety of cheeses, olives, peppers and bread. We were satisfied, and asked for our Ruben to go.
Just polished off the Ruben for dinner. It was the best we’ve ever had! Holy smokes! Not a bit of fat on it — -all lean, tender meat. The potatoes that came with it were were excellent too! We were totally pleased!!!
The waitress was very attentive and accommodating too. Thank you weidekkers, You did not disappoint!

We are from the Dallas/​Fort Worth metroplex, but have family close to Altus, so we’ve had the pleasure and opportunity to stop by this restaurant and winery several times. The restaurant is situated in what used to be the original wine cellar, built in the 1800s. It’s dark and a bit musty, lit only by candles in old wine bottles and string lights, lending to a rustic, romantic atmosphere. The dinner menu is on the pricy side, but the lunch menu prices are reasonable. Our server has always been friendly and prompt, and has acted as a knowledgeable sommelier. Try the Post Vineyards cabernet sauvignon! The sausage platter and beef stroganoff are both excellent samplings of German cuisine with the sauerkraut and potatoes deserving of a nod for best vegetables category. If they replaced the paper placemats and napkins, they would round out as a classy, romantic winery and restaurant. Regardless of a few nitpicks, this is a necessary stop for anyone who finds themselves in Arkansas wine country.

Great atmosphere. Children loved steak on child’s menu. Beautiful Resteraunt. Salmon very tasty and well prepared. Candles on the tables are very retro and cool. Multiple candles burned to form a wonderful multi colored dripping candle. While family enjoyed food and atmosphere.

My mother and I have visited this restaurant twice and we’re pleased by it. Our food has come timely and the staff were quite friendly.
First of all I should say that the environment of the restaurant is one of its main selling points. The restaurant itself was hand dug in 1880, according to our wait staff, and is partially underground. It’s decorated in a quaint Swiss manner and the candle lit rooms are romantic. It’s cozy and gives you a sweet European feel to it.
This past time we came to eat, we were seated immediately and were served quickly. I had the lunch entrée of the Ruben sandwich with fried potatoes. It was wonderful, and the potatoes were exceptional. I also tried the apple dumping for dessert. It wasn’t the best I’ve had, but it was quite tasty. The food was a bit overpriced for the quality, but overall I was pleased.
I’m not sure what the other reviews were talking about, both of my experiences were great. I love the environment, and the food is pleasant. The staff is exceptional and I will be back.

This review makes me sad. I’ve dined at the Wiederkehr Weinkeller, on average, two times per year since the late 1970s. It once was a joyful culinary experience – one that never failed to leave me feeling happy and satisfied, albeit noticeably lighter in the wallet. My last visit, however, on Saturday, July 26, 2014, likely will be my last.
Make no mistake about it. This is a busy, popular establishment. Our wait for a table at 2:10 p.m. – not exactly prime time for lunch – was 15 minutes. When we finally were seated, our server, who appeared harried almost to the point of breathlessness, served us with patience and composure that belied her frenzied attention to her duties. Mind you, when asked about the possibility of obtaining some dry white wine by the glass, she suggested their Johannesburg Riesling, which was a sure tip-​off that she might not be relied upon as a sommelier.
Speaking of wines, my dining partner found her Wiederkehr Chardonnay acceptable, and I thoroughly enjoyed my Wiederkehr Muscato di Santa Maria. I do, of course, have a remarkably unsophisticated palate, so even though I love it, I can’t recommend my dessert wine as a companion for lunch or dinner entrees.
We ordered the $ 10 cheese and fruit tray as an appetizer. What a mistake that proved to be! We expected some wedges of brie, Gouda, or even little cubes of Swiss cheese. Based on this restaurant’s tradition and reputation, that would be reasonable. What we got, however, was eight halved slices of processed cheese product – two each of American (believe it or not), cheddar, pepper jack, and Swiss. This is the kind of discount supermarket stuff that one uses to wrap medication in for dogs. This «cheese» was accompanied primarily by slices of apple, a few melon balls, two or three little slices of kiwi. and two twisted slices of orange. We could have put this miserable little tray together for $ 1.50, including the lettuce garnish and the soap required to wash the plate.
Unfortunately, our entrees didn’t do anything to ameliorate our disappointment. After an uninspiring salad with an insufficient amount of ranch dressing pooled at the bottom of my bowl, I was presented with chicken Parmesan, accompanied by a tiny (thankfully) serving of canned french-​cut green beans and some spaghetti and red sauce. To be fair, the chicken was acceptable – appropriately crispy underneath the sauce. It lacked the cheesy goodness one normally expects from Parmesan chicken, but overall, I was happy, if not inspired, by the chicken, spaghetti, and sauce.
My partner, on the other hand, ordered the quiche Lorraine, and it was terrible. It obviously was pre-​packaged and merely heated up on the premises. The bacon in it tasted like canned bacon bits, and it was accompanied by some potatoes that were completely devoid of taste and might also have originated in a can. These spuds would have been more at home on a camping trip than in a respected restaurant. My partner, too, had the same tinny-​tasting french-​cut green beans that uselessly took up space on my plate.
It is obvious that the Weinkeller no longer has a chef. It has a extremely poor cook who isn’t skilled enough to transform the canned, pre-​packaged, and processed food-​like items into anything other than the miserable substances that they are. As I said, this is sad because this restaurant once was a scintillating star in Arkansas’ culinary cosmos. Now it doesn’t rise to the level of a 2^nd-​rate diner.