German Restaurants in Iowa

Iowa is home to some beautiful trails and parks including Yellow River State Forest, Backbone State Park and Ledges State Park. While Iowa has beautiful land for outdoor recreation, it also has a rich history. The Amana Colonies, located near Iowa City, is a landmark community built in 1855 by Germans fleeing religious persecution. The bulk of Iowa's German restaurants can be found in this community and offer the best in German family-style fare. While the Amanas are the trademark location for German food, German restaurants can be found throughout the state.

Brick Haus Restaurant

Featuring American and German cuisine, the Brick Haus serves food family-style--large bowls of food placed at your table. Cold dishes are served first and include cold sauerkraut, salad, cottage cheese and pickled ham. Hot dishes are served next and include green beans, mashed potatoes, corn and hot sauerkraut. Each person selects a meat choice--meat selections include Swiss steak, wiener schnitzel, chicken schnitzel, chicken breast, bratwurst and kassler ripschen. Bowls, except for meat, can be refilled.

Brick Haus Restaurant
728 47th Ave
Amana, IA
(319) 622-3278

Ox Yoke Inn

Ox Yoke Inn, built in 1856, includes a gift shop and museum. Meals are served family-style in large bowls to be shared amongst diners. German home-style food options include wiener schnitzel, sauerkraut and smoked ham served with bottomless bowls of side dishes.

Ox Yoke Inn
4420-220th Trail
Amana, Iowa
(800) 233-3441
oxyokeinn.com

Ronneburg Restaurant

The Ronneburg Restaurant serves family-style German and American entrees. The Ronneburg serves their signature secret recipe sauerbraten among other German favorites like weiner schnitzel.

Ronneburg Restaurant
4408 220th Trail
Amana, Iowa 52203
(888) 348-4686
ronneburgrestaurant.com

Old Hamburg Restaurant

Old Hamburg offers typical German fare such as schnitzels, goulasch, currywurst and sauerbraten. Old Hamburg also provides a large selection of German draft beers and wine.

Old Hamburg Restaurant
1520 Broad St
Story City, IA
(515)733-4307
old-hamburg.com

Hessen Haus

Hessen House, housed in an old train station, serves 21 imported German beers on tap and authentic German food including sauerbraten, weinerschnitzel and schweinshaxe. Enjoy live music on their stage featuring local bands.

Hessen Haus
101 4th St.
Des Moines, IA
(515) 288-2520
hessenhaus.com

Bier Stube

Bier Stube offers German beers and German cuisine including a nice selection of cured meats--braunschweiger, bratwurst, polish sausage, weisswurst, knackwurst, leberkase and landjager.

Bier Stube
2228 E. 11th St.
Davenport, IA 52803
(563) 323-2174
bier-stube.com

Article Written By Sommer Leigh

Sommer Leigh has produced home, garden, family and health content since 1997 for such nationally known publications as "Better Homes and Gardens," "Ladies' Home Journal," "Midwest Living," "Healthy Kids" and "American Baby." Leigh also owns a Web-consulting business and writes for several Internet publications. She has a Bachelor of Science in information technology and Web management from the University of Phoenix.

Editor's Pick

5 Top North American Wildflower Hikes

Springtime brings a sense of new beginnings and new life as flowers begin to bloom and fill the air with their sweet and pleasant fragrance. Luckily we can see wildflowers all summer long, since spring hits at different times throughout North America. See flowering cactu...
More National Parks...
Popular Article

National Park Substitutes: Great Spots Without the Crowds

Coping with crowds at national parks can get tiresome, especially during the peak tourist season. If you want to escape from the herd, or just take a breather from the bustle of bigger attractions, the United States has plenty of less-visited but still worthwhile spots t...
More National Parks...
Featured Destination

Prevent Yourself from Getting Lost While Hiking

When you're hiking you're going to want to make sure you stay found. What I mean by that is that you've put an itinerary in the car, you know the area that you're hiking to, you know the route and the trail you plan on being on, you know what the trail markers are going ...
More Camping Basics...