Renate's German Restaurant - German restaurant in Hanover Park - 7213 Olde Salem Cir, USA

A hidden gem in an unassuming strip mall. This is a cute little place with German food and German-themed decor. Parking is easy and there is a small outdoor dining area. My teenage son and I visited for dinner on a weeknight. The service was very attentive. The menu is pretty extensive and has many traditional German options as well as common American dishes. There were several vegetarian options including cheese spätzle, a veggie burger, breaded eggplant, and a grilled cheese sandwich. There is also a children's menu. I had the Cheesy Spätzle and my son had the Jägerschnitzel. The portions were generous and the flavor was good. Everything was very enjoyable. It would have been a bonus to have a hearty dark bread with the Spätzle instead of white bread but that's just nitpicking as everything was great. They have German soda and beer available as well as common fountain drinks. All of their desserts are made on site. I had the Bienenstich (Bee Sting) cake which was made with honey, almonds, and vanilla cream and my son had a mini banana cream pie. Both were delicious. We had a chance to speak briefly with one of the owners who was very personable and friendly. We learned that his wife/partner is from Germany and does both cooking and baking for the restaurant. If you enjoy German food and want to support a local, family-owned small business, I definitely recommend giving this place a try. We will definitely be back!

Best German place around! The owners are some of the nicest people; very personable. They make you feel right at home. The liver dumpling soup was awesome. These are my 2 favorite items; I can’t wait to try more. They were also featured on Chicago’s Best.

Today, I had dinner for the first time at an awesome German restaurant in Hanover Park. It's called Renate's Olde Salem Cafe. It was so good! My mom was with me for dinner tonight. We both started off with an ice cold Haufbrau House beer in a heavy stein. Prost! This was followed by a delicious cup of creamy chicken dumpling soup. The entrees come with the soup or a salad and a choice from a wide variety of sides. My mom went with plain schnitzel, thus no picture. BECAUSE...I had the Schnitzel Ala Holstein which is served with two sunnyside up eggs (a far more exciting photo op!). The schnitzel was pounded thin, as expected. The breading was applied perfectly and the seasoning played so well with the egg yolks that I can still taste the awesomeness! We both had the scrumptious spaetzle as our side. As you can see, there's enough food for twp people on the plate! But I ate all of mine. HAHA If you've always been leery of trying schnitzel, it's just meat that's pounded really thin (pork, chicken or veal) then breaded and pan fried. It's served a variety of ways...mushroom gravy, creamy gravy, eggs, plain, etc. I highly recommend it! Spaetzle is just German pasta. The service was excellent and I'll definitely go back. Prost! #supportlocalrestaurants

I went a couple weeks to this place. My first time trying German food. No disappointment. The quality of the food was great and fresh. I had a chicken soup with a bun that just came out of the oven as an appetizer that brought me back to live. I had for lunch/dinner their chicken schnitzel that was delicious. I ordered to go the poppy seeds poundcake, a carrot cake and some buns. Everything was delicious but the best was the attention and service. Thank you for bringing a little of Germany to the suburbs of Chicago. I’ll go back soon 😊 Si no has probado la comida alemana antes, este es un sitio que en definitiva te va a encantar. Los empleados te van a ayudar con cualquier duda que tengas respecto al menú. Mi experiencia es 100% recomendado. Todo lo que ordené estuvo delicioso y fresco. En definitiva volveré pronto 😊

Probably my favourite German restaurant in Chicago. A hidden gem with all homemade food. From the bread, to the Schnitzel to the Schwarzwälder Kirsch cake - all made right there. Super friendly staff and great prices. Definitely the place to go if you love German food. Favourite item on the menu: Liver Dumpling Soup!

Got a good deal on local flavor so thought I'd try it out. If you're using the local flavor deal, you need to use the whole amount pretax so be ready for some leftovers. Not a bad little place. I tried their bacon cheese burger on their pretzel bun and their pretzel stocks. The burger was OK, nothing special but the fries were good. Fries were fresh cut, crispy and just the right amount of salt. Pretzel sticks were good but the cheese sauce was meh. The vanilla cake was good as well.

Food and service were excellent. Large portions as well. The Currywurst poutine tasted incredible. Kase Spätzle was 4.5 / 5 stars. Apfel Strudel and some kind of almond cake were both delicious. They even have a GRAPEFRUIT RADLER which are hard to find at restaurants outside outside Germany, it tasted awesome and would recommend you try that if you aren’t ordering a beer. The warsteiner Dunkel I ordered came with a frosted clay mug to drink it out of! Great touch. Great experience. We want to go for breakfast next time

Renate's has excellent German food and beer, by far the best in the Northwest suburbs! Ignore the fact that it's hidden in a strip mall, the service is top notch. Stop in or order takeout, you will not regret it.