Teske's Germania Restaurant-Bar & Beer Garden, San Jose

This gasthaus is located in a sort of "null zone" in San Jose, just north of downtown. Not a great neighborhood. Unfortunately Teske’s is about the only game around. So what’s it like? Imagine an old and isolated facility about 20 years past its prime. Worse, Teske’s features an uncaring staff under an uncaring owner with mediocre food. We found the entrée adequate but the salad wilted, the potato soup weirdly sausage-like, and the strudel days-old (you can’t share a plate without a $10 “split” charge, so we paid extra for the unpalatable extra courses). This isn’t cheap: about $30 per person, whether you ordered it or not. Yes, that’s right: we wanted just to share a plate—never any extra work—but were charged for a “split.” Rather than argue we just paid the $61 tab and “split” ourselves, and we’re never coming back. Finally, Hans, the owner, is unwelcoming and rude. So if you’re on a date and for some reason want to make yourself appear small and humiliated, go to Teske’s, ask for Hans and he’ll accommodate. Otherwise, buyer beware. There are lots of better choices.

Favorite Dish: None.

The food is good and the entertainment is great, however, I wish the owner would stay at home since he will never understand how to properly treat customers. We had a reservation for 14 people and after a short wait we were told that if the remaining party didn't get there in 5 minutes, we would lose our table. We started making cell calls to our guests to hurry. This owner's attitude is absolutely horrible and he has a negative affect on his workers. PLEASE Mr. Owner be nice and stay at home.

I don't think I have been to a more enjoyable restaurant in years. The food was incredible. My wife had the Osso Bucco special, outside of Italy it was the best!! I had the Stuffed Pork Chop that was stuffed with a bread stuffing that was better than any Thanksgiving stuffing, I have ever had. All dinners come with soup, salad, entree and apple strudel. What a deal!! If you make reservations in advance, ask for Cindy's section... she has been ther for 15 years, speaks German fluentally; and is the best server to ever wait on me. I travel all over the world with my job and this restaurant shoulkd be on Zagat's top ten list. PROSIT!!

Favorite Dish: Wienerschnitzel, Pork Medallions, Schweine Haxe (pork shank) all on the regular menu, but try some of their specials. They change daily, but the last time my wife had the Osso Bucco and I had the Stuffed Pork Chop. Gutten Appetit.

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Britannia Arms was where I'd go for Fish & Chips. However, they've decreased the size of the portions and changed the type of oil use for deep frying (Yuk!).

I'll never go there again and definitely do not recommend it!

Favorite Dish: None!

I am German myself and though it is a well known fact that Germans don't know much about customer service, this place has really topped every experience I ever encountered. A few friends of mine have been going to Teske's for almost a year every Friday, spending a good $100 on food and drinks, but had to stop going, after being accused of not paying our bills, though we have been going back in order to straighten out every misunderstanding and explaining that we did pay all our bills. Then one evening the owner got involved who had no idea what had been happening so far and basically threw us out, on the grounds of lying. At that point we had been overpaying our tap - we had receipts to prove it. They simply couldn't keep track of their customers tap and on top lost good customers.

Favorite Dish: Though the food and beer is great, I have to give it an unsatisfactory rating as I have never experienced such rude behaviour from any management. I told friends to stop going!

The food and drinks are fairly good. Just be careful. We were overcharged for drinks. We were then treated very rudely by Scott when we questioned the bill. My friend visiting from Germany said that he had never been so insulted. We will never go back. My advice to you...if you are going to try it, count your drinks and look at your bill very carefully.

Had an end of project celebration in this restuarant. To be honest I don't remember too much about the meal except that we had a really good time and the food was very good. But the beer, wine and liqueurs were even better.