Enjoy a German Feast at Bavarian Inn Restaurant

*I did receive a complimentary meal for the purpose of a review. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

My hubby and I and our two youngest boys are on a road trip this week. It’s our first one since the onset of the pandemic. We’re being cautious, wearing masks, using lots of hand sanitizer and enjoying getting out into the world for a brief road trip to Michigan.

Part of our trip has been spent in Frankenmuth. It’s an adorable little town on the Cass River known as “Little Bavaria.” I was drawn to it due to my husband’s German heritage. He’s a second generation American raised by a father who was born and grew up in Berlin during World War II. Thanks to him I developed a love of German cuisine, so when I was planning to spend time in Frankenmuth, one of the things I was most looking forward to was dining out while we were here.

We made a dinner reservation at The Bavarian Inn Restaurant. It’s right across this cool wooden bridge on the other side of the river from the Bavarian Inn Lodge where we stayed. The night before, we took a little walk down Main Street and listened to the band playing outside the restaurant for a bit and watched a little of the glockenspiel Pied Piper of Hameln figurine show at 9 p.m.

The restaurant is well-known for their chicken dinners, but when I visit a German restaurant, I usually go for my favorite - Wiener Schnitzel. Turns out I didn’t have to choose. You can order a family-style meal of chicken with either Kasseler Rippchen, Sauerbraten, Bratwurst or Jager Schnitzel. Or you can select a number of German dinners - and when I saw that the Frankenmuth Combo dinner included their Famous Frankenmuth chicken, schnitzel and Sauerbraten, I knew I had to order it and get a taste of all three. Better yet, it came with lots of other items in this huge German feast. 

The dinner I ordered came with stollen (fruit and nut bread) with a strawberry rhubarb jelly, backofenbrot (housemade white bread), noodle soup, coleslaw, pasta salad, cranberry relish, a Michigan seasonal salad (tonight it was a cucumber salad), potato cheese puffs, vegetable du jour (a blend of yellow carrots, green beans and peppers), sauerkraut, buttered noodles and housemade ice cream.

It, of course, was way too much food, but it was such a satisfying hearty meal. The sauerbraten had some kind of sweet sauce on top that I loved. The meats were all of a reasonable size and I liked getting to sample some different dishes. I also really liked the pasta salad and the stollen. The soup was fantastic. The noodles were so buttery and cooked to perfection. And I finished off the meal with a delicious vanilla/orange sherbet soft serve. 

As usual, I also tried a little bit of hubby’s. He got the sausage dinner with knockwurst, bratwurst and weisswurst. He opted for an Apple strudel for dessert that was quite sinful and worth every bite. I also enjoyed a Hofbrau Hefeweizen with my meal - one of my favorite imports that is a perfect brew for a summer day. Totally puts Blue Moon to shame. They also make their own root beer, which is amazing.

We took a little time to head down to the lower level to do a little shopping. You’ll find everything there from snacks to jewelry to fudge to clothing. And shirts of the band Greta Van Fleet, who I am a little obsessed with. They are a rock group from Frankenmuth with a sound reminiscent of Led Zeppelin and they won a Grammy last year for Best Rock Album.

The entire town of Frankenmuth is quite charming and a place where you can get a taste of Christmas in July at the World’s Largest Christmas Store, Bronner's. Besides the shops along Main Street and the Covered Bridge, there’s the Frankenmuth River Place shops, a collection of specialty shops situated to resemble a little village. And you can shop there year round thanks to heated sidewalks that keep the walkways free of ice and snow. 

THE BAVARIAN INN RESTAURANT

713 S. Main St.

Frankenmuth, MI

1-800-228-2742