Schneider’s German Gasthaus and Beergarden

I have been coming here about once every other month since I moved to McAllen. I have always enjoyed the food and the customer service. However, my visit last week changed all of that. We showed up around 6:30 and there was a decent sized crowd but, not what I would consider a packed house. It took nearly 20 minutes for a waitress to take our order. An hour and 2 beers later, the food showed up. My wife normally orders the Donner Kabob however, they have recently removed it from the menu. She ordered the big salad instead which, is usually pretty good. Not this time. I normally order the Jäger schnitzel and never been disappointed, until this time. It showed up overly greasy with a pile of what appeared to be canned mushrooms on top. There was a small hint of watery gravy lining the plate. Overall, one of the worst excuses for jäger schnitzel that I have ever seen. I am hoping that this was just a really bad night for them that will never be repeated. I am planning on giving them one more shot at redemption before I write them off for good.

My wife and I were very excited to find what was reputed to be a good German restaurant in the RGV. Unfortunately, it was a very big disappointment.
There was a respectable offering of good German beer and the Löwenbräu was wonderful. The service was reasonable. The problem was the food. The chef clearly did not know how to make schnitzel. The meat was not prepared correctly, the breading was thick and greasy. The sauerbraten was pedestrian, as were the spätzle and red cabbage. We will not be making a return visit.

The only German establishment in our area, I have wanted to visit Schneider’s for some time now. Tonight was our night to finally make it. The place was a bit out of the way, off the street and a bit challenging to find. Although homey and quaint (good), it was also a bit faded and worn looking (not so charming). Could have used a bit of paint perhaps, to freshen it up a bit? The waitress was kind, pleasant, but I believe she was the only one working tables both inside and out in the biergarten. Because of this, she was not as attentive as one might wish. Now to the food. We each ordered something different so we could sample more dishes. The bratwurst was excellent; cooked just right. The red cabbage, perfect. The mashed and German fried potatoes, quite tasty. The spatzle tasted good, but it was the proverbial «not as good as what my mother makes» scenario in my mind. The sauerkraut, which is one of my favorite German foods, threw me off, however. My tastebuds did not quite understand the seasonings used. I don’t know, just could not quite wrap my head around the flavors. Nice generous servings. Reasonable prices for the food. We tried some of the dark draft German beer and it was very good, indeed. The apple strudle tasted good, but was a biit soggy; not at all crisp on top. Yes, there was ice cream and whipped cream involved, but it was served on the side. To sum it up, I’d go again, especially this time of year (Oktober!). But sadly, I would not order the kraut again.

We showed up an hour before closing. They were out of the special for the night. The waitress was very apologetic. The goulash was excellent. The sauerkraut and the potatoes were cold. Sent them back to be reheated. Everything had great authentic taste.

More reviewers can be found under Schneider’s German Gasthaus and Biergarten.
I have really liked this place since it opened, for the food, service and ambience. However, after visiting Austria recently I’m also struck by its authenticity.

Got here kinda late, but the food was great! Love the live music; overall a great casual atmosphere.

I am a real big fan of eating different ethnic and cultural foods and this is one of the best places in the Rio Grande valley to try something different. Most of the older staff speak fluent German and you get a sense of the old country as the gasthaus is decorated like a traditional Bavarian restaurant/​Oktoberfest event. I have tried most of the items on their menu, but I usually get the jaeger schnitzel, German fries, and extra order of sauerkraut, the best food item on menu. They serve a decent selection of name brand German Beers like various types of Spaten. I was able to buy a large dimpled styled beer mug from this place, which was awesome!

We were 16 out in the beer garden. It was unique. Beer was a little slow coming. Dip and pretzels to snack on were good. Salad was unique. Some had the beer truckers platter and it was huge. We had roulade and it was wonderful. If there was one complaint, the fried potatoes were quite salty. Maybe cooked in bacon grease and then more salt? We would return in a minute.

We got to Schneider’s at 5 pm when they were opening. A good sign: there was a constant stream of people coming into the restaurant and occupying tables as soon as they opened. The atmosphere is nice and relaxed. We had the jaeger schnitzel which was very very good. We loved the dinner salads that were brought before our meal. These were no simple lettuce and dressing salad. These were nicely dressed salads with cucumbers (fresh and lightly pickled), tomatoes, coleslaw, variety of lettuce, and homemade yogurt dressing. We also got sides of their red cabbage which is outstanding.
Next time we plan to sit outside in the biergarden and enjoy the outdoor firepit.
Oh, and if you are a fan of good German beers on tap, Schneider’s has them!

Wow great food in deed. Although the prices are relatively high, the food was amazing. The chicken was perfectly cooked and our waiter was very nice. I was very filled as the portions were generous. The overall staff in there was very nice.

The food was super delicious and the service was friendly. Definitely seems to be a nice German-​family owned restaurant.
I was there with a large party that included a baby and they were very accommodating. We sat in the front area (indoors) but it seems that they have a large back patio which looks like fun for beer and food with friends.
The food was great. The brats were hot and juicy, and the mustard it came with had a nice strong spice to it. I asked for dumplings in place of the mashed potatoes and was even brought a small dish of gravy for them. The potatoes other people had looked pretty awesome too. Bf had the ham-​hock special — which was so tender it came apart at the touch — yum. I did try a bite of the schnitzel which was good but definitely a darker (and crisper) crust than what I had in Germany.
The only negatives were the dessert and the bathrooms. The apple strudel needs a lot of work. The filling was OK, nothing special, but the crust was pretty soft and bland. The bathrooms just look like they were left from whatever was there before and a little updating would go a long way.

Love the food and the owners are always there to make sure the food and service is great. The jäger schnitzel is awesome! Great place to go, sit outside and have a cigar or stay cool inside.

Truly an amazing experience!!!
I had first heard about this place from my boss and had been trying to locate it. Finally had the opportunity to attend with my family and we have been returning ever since.
First of all, from the moment you walk in, you notice how attentive they are. The atmosphere is very relaxing and I always feel at home.
The food is nothing but scrumptious!!! I love the Schnitzel which is one of my favorites. Truly authentic German cuisine and I am so happy that we are honored to experience it down here in the valley. Plus while there you have to have a Sparten German beer! Also their entertainment is great!
The owners are sweethearts and love their customers. They are professional and make sure their customers are enjoying their meal and themselves. Great staff as well!
I highly recommend Schneider’s German Gasthaus and Beergarden. My favorite restaurant in McAllen, by far!!!

Love this place. The owners are always there serving & kibbitsing with the customers. The food is delicious and plentiful, the beer is cold & regional & the atmosphere is relaxed. The outdoors is so inviting, I am not sure I have ever seen anyone eating inside. I guess if it ever rains down here, we would have to go indoors.
There are also several resident cats who you are just dying to feed which just adds to the homey feeling of this great restaurant.
The only drawback is that it doesn’t open until Wed so if you are hungry for German food on Tue, you have to wait a day, but it is certainly worth waiting for.
Oh yes, I forgot to mention that they now have a nice guitarist playing in the evening.

This place had become a favorite for me and my family until tonight (for drinks only, I couldn’t eat there if I wanted to since they are extremely unfriendly to vegetarians).
I have recently recommended this place to my colleagues and their families. Tonight however, I was in a party of over 17 people, and all was well while we ordered food and drinks. Then as we winded down to enjoy the open air seating, we were told to leave because our children were too loud. I was greatly offended since the children were very well behaved and we had honestly spent more as a group than the other patrons.
Apparently the kids disturbed some inflexible folks (clearly a minority in what had been advertised as a family friendly place). The owner made a point of coming over and effectively asking us to leave. Three of the waiters apologized for the owner’s conduct, but honestly I was not moved. The owner later tried to apologize but instead simply accused me of not paying attention to my own kids.
I remain greatly offended. The ONLY reason I came was that I thought it was a family friendly environment to get drinks. Now I understand this is completely NOT true.
In short, I do not recommend this place and hope that anyone with children avoid it at all costs since they are rather hostile to kids’ natural behavior.

Authentic German food in the Valley? Heck yeah. And it’s good… really good. Don’t tell them this either, but it’s too cheap (shhhh). You get a huge portion of great hearty authentic food, a great beer (mmmmm Spaten), and still have leftovers for the next day for under $ 30 including tip. You can’t go wrong with that. And when I say leftovers that’s enough for a decent sized meal the next day.
If you’ve never had German food before and are considering it, by all means try Scheider’s. Our waitress was extremely nice and helped us navigate the menu. She offered us suggestions and made the experience great. This was my third or forth time there and it just keeps getting better.
Try it today and don’t forget the beer!

A nice change of pace for the Valley. The inside eating area is tiny and unimpressive, but the backyard area is lovely. I had the Schnitzel, it was delicious, but a bit greasy. The entertainment was a hoot. It would be nice to be able to get a smaller portion, my plate was huge and the food was very heavy on my stomach. And a side of broccoli or something would be nice, everything was so brown and heavy, it was delicious, though. The service was very friendly, server was a bit dense, but very nice.

Excellent. A nice change. Looking forward to working my way through that menu. That is of course if it is ok with Cory that a 45 year old person goes out in public to eat. Wait, forget you Cory — I’m going for German food, you can go and pick up a new valley baby mamma at chuckie cheese, it’s more your crowd anyways.

Excellent restaurant. GReat food, great beer, great ambiance. Quite a lot of old people but as the night wore on the crowd got younger, and the liters of beer kept flowing.
I’ve lived in Germany and Switzerland. This is the real deal.

Below par German food
Had the bratwurst. and my friend had spackle… terrible
ETERNALLY SLOW service. took over an hr to receive the food
the waiter was extremely nice. and realized how long it had taken for our order to come out. and gave us free beer: /