Reviews / Profile Dinner Menu Website Rudi Lechner's German-American Restaurant Express Lunches - Happy Hour - German Food & More! Oktoberfest Every Wednesday - $14.95 buffet Hours: See Profile   2503 S Gessner Rd in Woodlake Sq Houston TX 77063 713.782.1180 Daily Specials Add Review PROFILE   Website  Menu Whether preparing for a special occasion, serving brunch or lunch or dinner, Rudi Lechner is always at the restaurant to welcome you and make you feel at home. Since Rudi Lechner's opened twenty-five years ago, Mr. Lechner has developed a loyal and regular following. Mr. Lechner's ability to individually recognize and appreciate each customer makes each visit memorable and personal. The menu consists of German-Austrian specialty items. The selection of sausages includes weisswurst, knackwurst or Polish sausages. The wienerschnitzel is a delicate veal cutlet that is breaded and pan-fried. The menu also offers the Heritage Dinner. It includes red cabbage, sauerkraut, Austrian potatoes, sausages, roasted chicken, porkloin, wienerschnitzel and sauerbraten. Rudi's Recipes including the Zucchini Bread, Chicken Soup, Sauerkraut, Red Cabbage, and more MY REVIEW: Went to Rudi's for the first time for lunch this past week and it was great! Loved the lunch specials, were reasonable and delicious. I had the goulash for the soup/salad and the sausage plate. One brat and one knok. Both were great! Will return soon. NAME: Scott SUBMITTED: 4/6/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 04/2008 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Went for the first time on a Wednesday and what a great time! An authentic german polka band played in the corner while we enjoyed the buffet and braised brisket with spinach. Discounts on German beer too! Everything we ate was wonderful with second helping of the zucchini bread! The desserts are made fresh at the restaurant, and there are 2 on the menu that take 24 hours to prepare! ( Call ahead I'm sure they are worth it! ) We will definately be coming back! NAME: Keith & Katy SUBMITTED: 4/3/2008   LAST VISIT WAS: 4/2/08 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Wonderful service and atmosphere. The food was exceptional. My friend and I had the sausage plate, mine with knockwurst and polish sausages, hers with a brat and polish sausage. It came with a wiener that had been split and fried in a way that it looked like a little meat flower. Too cute. My other friend had salmon with capers and fresh spinish. That too was delish. Weak points were the potato pancakes. They were more like hashed browns and not very flavorful. Also the cd they were playing played the same song for over an hour. The only thing that saved us was the live music started up at 6:30. The zucchini bread you get for free was AWESOME! I'll be back many times! NAME: KAF SUBMITTED: 9/24/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Wonderful Ambiance, Great Germany Music and the very best Germany food in town. When I want a taste of days gone by in Frankfurt, Germany.. I head for Rudi's. NAME: Jeri SUBMITTED: 9/14/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 9/14/07 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: This restaurant was suggested by a new client and friend of mine. It was wonderful! I have heard of this restaurant since the 1980's, but had never been. I had the swiss cheese soup as a starter (yum!) and then the crab cakes for my meal. (Another yum!) I have to give compliments to the hostess, too. I arrived about one minute before my guest and they did not have my reservation which I had made the day before. (Note: When you call to make a reservation, they ask is this for a birthday or anniversary...I thought that was nice.) She did not say a thing, but simply noted I had some documents in my hand and said it looks like you have some materials to share with your guest...would you like a quiet table where you can talk easily?...and she led me to a back room. It worked out perfect and our waiter was very efficient. When we departed, Rudi was right there greeting each of us and I thanked him for a lovely meal and for actually putting crab in the crabcakes! They were some of the best I have ever had. Also, the nice thing is that there are traditional German dishes on the menu, but there are also other types of food like what I had. I will definitely go back and recommend this restaurant to others. NAME: UH1980 SUBMITTED: 8/14/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: It was soooo worth the drive!! Not only is it open from 11am-10pm (not closing at 2 til 5, which is so annoying), but the waitress was so sweet and the hostess was so nice. Rudi said hello to us as we entered the place. The ambiance is great, it feels like home. The food- OH MY GOD!!! It is soo Good! I am German and I know good German food (all the women in my family live to make good food)- and this is good! We got the potato pancakes, swiss cheese soup, and I got Wienerschnitzel. My brother got the sausage platter. Everything was amazing. The Zuchinni bread was so great- I can't say enough good things. We drove for an hour through thunderstorms to try it, and it was so worth it!! We will definitely return. I never write reviews, but a restaurant this good made me feel like giving it a 'plug'. If you are considering trying it-go for it you absolutely will not be disappointed. Danke. NAME: T. Zeitland SUBMITTED: 7/6/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/07 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: We celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on saturday.We reserved a booth for 7 p.m.We were seated promptly and congratulated on our anniversary by the hostess.This is not the first anniversary that we celebrate at Rudi's.We also enjoy celebrating birthdays and other special occasions there. Since it was St.Patrick's day the decor was irish/bavarian.very colorful and cheerful to say the least. i can't say enough good things about Rudi's restaurant.The service was top-notch as always.Rudi himself stopped by our table several times and made us feel very welcome.The food was to die for.My husband loved his grilled sausage plate,which consisted of knackwurst,red cabbage and Austrian potatoes.He had an excellent German dark draft beer.I had the grilled salmon with spinach and steamed veggies.The caper sauce was out of this world and the salmon was perfection itself.The buffet salad was fresh and crisp.The zucchini bread was completely addictive.The food was amazingly delicious. Rudi kindly treated us to a complimentary carrot cake with a lit candle.It was the best,most moist carrot cake we have ever tasted.By far.The capuccino was huge,and had a very strong,authentic European flavor.it was amazing. The live volksmusik band"The Wanderers" was outstanding.The lead singer has a beautiful voice and yodeled like a master. Rudi Lechner's restaurant has the best ambiance in houston,the best German food and exceptionally good service.We plan to return many more times. NAME: LEONOR MÜLLER SUBMITTED: 3/18/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/17/07 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: read such great reviews about this place I had to try it, and was not disappointed. great enviroment, and food. love the salad bar-not just veggies but fruit and boiled shrimp too. tried the goulash and the beef was so tender it practally fell through my fork. will definitly be coming back. NAME: R B SUBMITTED: 3/15/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 3/8/2007 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: I have been going to Rudy's since the 80's and last night was excellent as usual. Having lived in Germany for 8 years I would say that not only is it authentic but it is much better then you would get in most of Germany's finest restaurants. The cheese wine soup is amazing as was the sampler platter. Two thumbs up as usual. NAME: texlend.com SUBMITTED: 3/2/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/07 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: My favorite german place in town!I have been going to rudi since the 1980's and i have never had one problem with either food flavor,temp,or service.Very nice place for dates or if you have to hang out with your boys go and try the side entrance into the bar.I recommend the beirschnitzel accomandated with a glass of spaten!I am swiss,and not having anymore swiss places to eat in town,this is the best next thing to home! NAME: A.Kunzi SUBMITTED: 12/20/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: december 2006 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: Great place, unique atmosphere, and friendly, attentive waitstaff. Loved eating and listening to accordian player/band. Took the family there and we all got something different. Bratwurst, salmon, trout, roasted chicken, and three appetizers: stuffed cabbage, potatoe cakes , and some other german plate. All were delicious and came to our table very promptly. Give this place a try if your looking for someplace out of the ordinary. NAME: ILIKEBEER SUBMITTED: 12/2/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: I like the three types of bread, and the salad bar. The musicians are fun to listen to. Our family first ate at Lechner's when Tony Frisch (part owner of Lechner's at the time) was the place kicker for the Houston Oilers in the 1970's. NAME: Mark SUBMITTED: 11/13/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: Oct 2006 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: I had heard how good the food and atmosphere was so I stopped for lunch. Describe it as excellent food and service and loved the atmosphere. Have a separate bar area. I had the bratwurst and knockwurst with red cabbage and German potatoes. Also included is a self-serve salad bar. Wide selection of salad items and a large plate to put them on. Everything was fresh. Two kinds of bread also came with meal. The service and meal were excellent. Came to $9.20 without beverage. I will go back. I would get there early as this place fills up at lunch and there is a small parking lot in front but plenty of parking some distance from restaurant. NAME: Hugh Diner SUBMITTED: 10/12/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Rudi's the bomb! So's the Tafelspitz, Goulash & the Schnitzel.....and the pickeled herring at the salad bar... Ditto for Greta, Jose, Artemio, Gustavo, Yevgeny, Juan, Maurilio, Junior, and Jorge. Oh; and Mike & partner play great music! A heartfelt encomium, folks... NAME: Steevo SUBMITTED: 8/19/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2006 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: We visited Rudi Lechner's for the first time and were pleasantly surprised. We called and reserved a table for 6 only half an hour ahead of time on a Saturday night and were seated in the "wine room" where we could hear the band, but it was not too loud. However, if we had wanted to be involved in the dancing and such, it would have been more difficult being seated in another room. As we were seated, Mr. Lechner came and introduced himself to us, which was a great touch! The food was great. We were given some plain white bread and some great zucchini bread to start with a cheese and a patte dip. All of this was wonderful. Although I am not a huge fan of German food myself, I found lots on the menu to order. Everyone was quite pleased with their meal. I got the bowl of soup and the salad bar for $8. The salad bar, though small, is quite impressive with more than just your normal salad fixins'; there were small shrimp, some pasta salads, and fruit salad to choose from. Some of the plates can be close to $20, but if you get the special, you can get the salad bar, trout, 2 sides, and dessert for $14, what a deal! As for the service and atmosphere, we were quite pleased. Our waiter was very attentive and we really enjoyed the band. We even got to do the chicken dance before leaving! We will definitely return for many more fun evenings at Rudi Lechner's. NAME: lovetoeat SUBMITTED: 4/24/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: April/2006 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: the best real goulash with nockerl in town. and also an authentic liptauer - a spicy cream cheese. delicious! i am austrian and can strongly recommend this place. NAME: feinschmecker SUBMITTED: 3/1/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 12/2005 FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times MY REVIEW: I have been to Rudi's several times and have NEVER been disappointed. I try to make it a point to try something new every time I go. Tonight I had the special- Lamb Shank it was out of this world! I had it with his wonderful red cabbage and mashed potatoes. I am one who must have dessert even though tonight I did not know where I was going to fit it, I decided on the carrot cake... Moist and absolutly one of the best carrot cakes in town. My waiter Jose was great! I was greeted with a smile by the "new" hostess who made it a point to get me seated and comfortable. The young lady who used to greet me at the door noticed me shortly after I was seated and made it a point to come by several times and make sure I was doing well she is always very pleasant and personal. The service is always very nice and you can count on seeing Rudi making the rounds to his guest. It does get very busy on the weekends which I learned the hard way on my first visit so I make sure to call and make reservations. Sometimes the music is a little to loud but, depending on what your in the mood for you have the option of the wineroom which is a much more quite area. In short rudi's is a wonderful place to visit and have great food. I have felt like I was a friend coming to dinner from my first visit. Rudi you have a new regular thank you. NAME: joining the many SUBMITTED: 2/11/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 02-10-06 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: What a disappointment. First let me say that I am a native German who has lived and travelled all over the world. The German food at this restaurant was no doubt the worst I have ever had. The first time I went with a large party where I had been invited as a guest and the food was so-so, not great, but OK. The service was superb and Rudi is an excellent innkeeper. The second time we had a family celebration there and some of my relatives from Germany were visiting so I thought they would enjoy the Texas version of German food...the comments I received were "the worst food I have eaten in the US...in Germany this place would not stay in business"...the spaetzle were overcooked, the meats had no flavor...quite an embarassment for me.. However, I have to say the service was superb and we tipped the wait staff accordingly..I think I will give it one more try...maybe we just came on bad days... NAME: oldgerman SUBMITTED: 11/12/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/05 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: Wounderfull surroundings, nice employees, FANTASTIC food. The owner/manager tries to make his rounds as much as possible. Great for an upbeat anniversary dinner! NAME: klkithas SUBMITTED: 10/6/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 08/2004 FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times MY REVIEW: Selected their site based on the top of the page ad listing. We were a table of 6 with reservations. Most in our company had no idea what German food was prepared. The food was excellent for all involved. The traditional Wienerschnitzel was my choice and beyond what I expected. Generous portions, well prepared and timely service. The ambiance was very authentic and the music entertained all. Great choice!! Great value!! Great experience. We will return. Problems: Weise beer selection was much more limited than on the menu. NAME: Dinning Enthusiast SUBMITTED: 8/13/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 8/11/05 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: Hunter's Schnitzel was excellent, "original" schnitzel not great. Service attentive. We arrived for an early dinner and were subjected to noisy housecleaning (sweeping the rug, dusting the seats) which definitely interfered with an enjoyable dining experience. Probably won't bother again; K*arl's at the R*iverbend has a much more pleasant ambiance. NAME: SugarSnacker SUBMITTED: 7/11/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/05 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: I've been eating at Rudi's for 18+ years and have always enjoyed the food. I've also planned many corporate parties there over the years as well. Our family was most recently there in April and again in May for birthday celebrations. The April visit was a frustrating in that the hostess was curt and downright rude upon our arrival! I had called ahead to make reservations (as usual) and requested tableside cooking by Rudi (again, a usual occurrence). Upon our arrival the hostess demanded to know what food we would be eating and stated that she didn't know who took our reservations but we should have told them when we made reservations what food we intended to eat since Rudi would be cooking and that they may not have enough for us. I was about to lead our party of 9 out of the restaurant and go across the street to B*ennihanas when another very nice lady who also hosts took over and politely got us to our table. She was excellent and Greta was our waitress that night, she is the BEST! The food was superb, Rudi was entertaining as always and the after dinner coffee was also a big hit! When I made reservations for our May visit, I was again not asked in advance what food we would be eating when tableside cooking was requested (the same gentleman took both reservations Apr and May) and the curt hostess was not there that evening and everything was wonderful. We had hot dogs for the kids and steak diane for the grown ups along with caesar salad prepared tableside by Rudi. Rudi even brought an entire cheesecake to our table in celebration of the birthday that evening instead of the usual birthday persons slice! NAME: loving rudi's SUBMITTED: 5/23/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 05/05 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: We were greeted warmly and seated quickly, despite the place being very busy. The server served our drinks and took our order quickly even though he had 3 tables seated at the same time; one with 6 customers. We really enjoyed the music and toasts. The musicians seemed very friendly and jovial. The food took a little while to arrive but our server kept us posted on it's status. The food itself was absolutely delicious. We both got the "sampler" plate. Took about half of it home there was so much food. The hostess was very friendly on our way out as were other staff members. Recommended!! NAME: J S SUBMITTED: 4/30/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 04/05 FREQUENCY: Visited once MY REVIEW: We've been going to this resturant for 20 years and it's one of our favorites. My husband thinks the salmon here is the best anywhere and I love the bread and pate so much that once I fill up on that I just have room for the soup and salad bar. This is one of the best salad bars in Houston offering fruits, shrimp, cheese, the best crutons I've ever had and more. The french bread is wonderful and the zuchuni nut bread is a real treat. The service is normally excellent and the prices can't be beat. The music on weekends can be a little annoying if you're in the main resturant; I prefer the wine room. I've tried many entrees over the years and some have been disappointing but the salmon and the trout are always excellent and the mashed pototoes are great. This place is popular on weekend nights and it's best to have a reservation. NAME: Vicki and Frank Roberts SUBMITTED: 4/1/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 2/05 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... MY REVIEW: I have dined in Germany, dined in the german communities of the great Texas Hill Country and I find that Rudi Lechner's serves true delicious Austria-German food. I entertain clients monthly in Houston and many times at Rudi's. Rudi is a great chef and gentlemen. Rudi never fails to get my guest and I on each visit. The food has always ben delicious and my guest have always been complimentary. The service is excellent and I look forward to lunch or dinner with Rudi and his staff. NAME: TGoyne SUBMITTED: 3/18/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: 3-05 FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name... More reviews If you don't agree with these comments, agree with them or have additional comments, click here to Add Your Review. Restaurant Owners & Managers Curious about your Activity and Ranking on b4-u-eat? Want to Create or Update your Free Profile Page? Click here to Login. ©Copyright 1991 - 2008 B4-U-EAT.COM. All rights reserved. Design and database by B4-U-BUY