Steinheil 16: Is The Buttery Schnitzel (and Bratwurst) Worth The Long Walk?

N and I had just completed our day trip to Salzburg, and we were contemplating on the train what to have for dinner.

The original plan was actually to have dinner at Salzburg itself, before returning to Munich. Salzburg turned out to be a bore, and we actually left the city before sunset. (Not before we bought some potato chips to make up for the lunch we missed)

Reviewing our itinerary, we found one restaurant that we were supposed to go for our first lunch at Munich, but forgot (we were still overwhelmed with excitement that we didn’t check out itinerary properly. We ended at Cafe Arzmiller then.). Since we meant to walk from our hotel to that restaurant initially, and we are now transiting from Munich Main Station, we thought: Might as well.

So off to Steinheil 16 it was.

Walking to Steinheil 16 After Dark

Steinheil 16 was a few blocks away from Munich Hauptbahnhof, which according to Google Maps, was 1.2km away. Since there was no subway stops in its immediate surroundings, and we were not confident of taking trams, we thought we would walk our way there.

To be honest, walking around the city is one of the best ways to know the city. In this part of Munich north of the main station, which was supposed to be less sleazy than the southern area that we also walked through, the neighbourhood was still dimly lit and interestingly was very quiet.

The walk there should not be much of an issue, had I not already walked so much in Salzburg. So a short 15-minute walk ended up as a 30-minute walk.

Since the street layout of Munich was near a grid-style, it was not difficult to reach Steinheil 16; one just need to know to turn at the correct junction.

I don’t really know why Steinheil 16 was named as such, but I assumed it was because the street name was Steinheilstraße, which I infer that the restaurant takes its name from its address. This also meant that, once we’re on the right street, we only needed to turn when we saw Steinheilstraße.

Ambience – Cosy, but Makes One Feel Claustrophobic

When we reached, it was almost 7pm. We were worried, because when we reached our dinner place (Schneider Bräuhaus München) the day before, we had to queue for another half an hour, so we thought we would end up in the same fate.

Lucky for us, we were still considered early and most of the people who made reservations had not turned up. We were given a table that we must give up by 9pm (easy-pizzy). Half an hour into our stay, the place was already filled up and people were already queuing up for a table, so I must say that being early and being in small groups when eating at this restaurant is still essential!

It was not a large place per se; it could at most take 60 pax including counter seats. Like many other restaurants we visited, Steinheil 16 was also wooden-themed in interior and had a bar in the centre of it. The lighting was warm, and when it was crowded, it was not noisy. Good acoustics, I would say.

Service at Steinheil 16

The lady who served us was nice, considering that it was our 2nd day in Germany and we were still apprehensive speaking English in a predominantly German place. She also bothered to let us have a reserved table, and offered us the English menu.

Food Variety – Schnitzels and Bratwursts

Shall I say, all restaurants in Munich are simply franchises of each other? They basically served the same food and beverage, the difference being the way the food is cooked and presented. Just like how every tze-char in Singapore are similar, yet different from each other?

Schnitzel is the restaurant’s mainstay and what it’s famous for. However, they also served bratwurst. These are the 2 basic options, and customers could choose the variant style of cooking. For me, I took its classic Schnitzel (that was what I walked 30-minutes for!) and N chose Curry Bratwurst.

Salad That Tasted Fresh Off The Garden

Since my Schnitzel came in a set with salad, I got to satiate my hunger with some greens beforehand. N had earlier noted that we had not eaten vegetable since we reached Munich, though I begged to defer, because my Pulled Pork Sandwich in Hotel Müller had cabbage and saurkraut.

Oh well.

My salad looked like the classic greens served in Singapore’s Western restaurant -> Cabbage, cucumbers, carrots and corn, drizzled with thousand island.

I was OK with all, except the cucumbers. Some how, the cucumbers lacked the lightness that cucumbers in Singapore had (a characteristic that made cucumbers good for eliminating heatiness after eating satay or BBQ food). Instead, as I described to N, it had a heavy ‘soil’ taste.

This is a good point to note, because one might argue this could be due to the improper handling (i.e. washing) of the cucumbers at the restaurant. However, I later attested that all cucumbers in Munich / Austria had the ‘soil’ taste, so if anything, be aware of this change in taste when in Germany.

Steinheil 16’s Schnitzel!

My Schitzel came looking as plain as it could be. It was not huge like that of Andy’s Krablergarten, nor was it thick like that of Schneider Bräuhaus München. It just looked like plain old breaded pork cutlet.

But looks can be deceiving.

Although it was thin, whatever in it was mainly pork. Yes, in Singapore, be it a thick or thin cutlet, the thickness of the meat is always 1mm. In this case, the meat-to-batter portion was 3:1. It was so sufficient that I could taste the meat, and also conclude that the meat did not have the ‘pork smell’ that most pork sold in Singapore had!

Speaking of the batter, I quite liked it, for a unique butter-y taste I would say was very satisfying. It added another dimension to the taste rather than overpower it.

Curry Bratwurst

Before I went to Munich, I only knew to eat bratwurst and Schnitzel. I didn’t know Germans were so into curry too.

That was the first time I had curry bratwurst and the explosion of sour/salty/spicy was interesting to say the least. Mind-boggling could be the better word.

Verdict of Steinheil 16: Is The Tasty Food Worth The Long Walk?

I must say I have a hard time deciding whether to recommend this place.

The 1hr trip to and from Steinheil 16 really makes it a hard sell. Especially for someone like me who don’t like to walk long distances just to eat something. However, this place offers schnitzels that are not of commonplace recipes. So, unless you decide to take a cab there, perhaps you can leave your calories for other schnitzel places.

Till then, stay hungry!

How To Get to Steinheil 16

Steinheilstraße 16
90459 Nürnberg
Germany
steinheil16.de
+49 89 527488

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Like My Review

If you find the tips helpful in deciding whether to visit this restaurant, or what to do when you come here, do go to Tripadvisor, search for “Zenov” and like my review.

Or, if you are planning for a trip to Bavaria this coming winter, follow my blog, as I will post more about my adventures in Bavaria, and tips on getting the best out of your vacation!