Scharf’s German Restaurant & Bar

Let’s start this story with our first experience as a family here, upon walking in last summer the hostess rudely said if we didn’t have a reservation we weren’t eating. I’ve worked in the restaurant business for 8 years, my father was a chef, and my mother is also a server; it was rude.
We decided to try it tonight for ash wednesday. I called, even made a reservation just in case. The place was empty, yet they packed us all together towards the back of the restaurant. Our server who also sat us, did not show up to our table for 5 minutes, another server actually apologized and said she would be right over. When Diane finally did arrive she seemed uninterested in serving us, and more interested in side work and clearing tables. She brought our drinks out while holding table cleaner (that’s a no no). My salad with the famous house dressing came from a fridge that is almost in the center of the dining room, and personally tasted like tops Italian. I had a broiled it was delicious, the slaw was good, and the potato pancakes were great and to rival the Polish Vila. But, she checked on us once, gave us the check and began talking with Co workers yet again. My father actually had to wave her down which once again we know it is rude, but we wanted some service and attention.
If the place was busier for the night I would understand the need to clear and prepare tables and side work, but she could have given us more attention than doing work to close the restaurant at 6 pm.
I recommend the food, but get it to go. The service was terrible, and the décor was creepy. I described it as Hitler-​Youth inspired. Most awkward configuration of tables, dusty shutters on the windows, and a creepy window box shrine of beer steins.
All in all, good food horrible service. Maybe she was having a bad day, if that was the case she should have called in.

Rude customer service coming right up at the speed of stupid. We entered Sharf’s October last year it took me a year to get out of my state of depression to write a review of Sharf’s. I was excited to hear that an authentic German restaurant opened in town, then this rapidly turned sour than kraut when we arrived.
When you walk into Sharf’s you see German regalia lining the walls such as beer stines to your right and a pretty active bar to your left. Then were meet by a woman that promptly asked «Do you have reservations?» I said to her I didn’t realize that we needed reservations at 5 o’clock on a Wednesday. The woman then walked away for several minutes. During her leave of absence we looked at her laminated seating chart that clearly had open tables listed. I looked and counted 12 tables that were open that night, several of them were not reserved per the seating chart. When this witch struggled back to her work station she said «I guess we have a table for you» it was at this time my wife and I started to notice that pretty much everyone in Sharf’s was wearing depends and was from planet blue hair. The interaction with the hostess set the stage for Sharf’s.
We ordered the schnitzel and it was nothing but microwaved pork schnitzel! The gravy seemed to be home made but the schnitzel was awful. The noodles and sweet and sour cabbage was decent but the center piece of the entrée was straight out of a freezer bag that resides next to the hostesses heart. I would say to my love lets go have a drink out on the patio but they don’t have one so we would be forced to just pound beers in the parking lot staring at the headstone of the grave yard across the street.
Then I come to a conclusion that Sharf’s is nothing but a loading dock for the dying that understand that they will just be entering a cemetery plot that was reserved for them by the hostess of Sharf’s.
So please if you want to be treated as a subhuman species and truly enjoy microwaved dinners then go to Sharf’s. I would not recommended this place to anyone there truly is something weird about this place.

Second and last time, the heavy set manager is very creepy. Portions are very small. The floors are so dirty and old. Think the sloppy owners would fix the place up and provide some value for the money.

Great food and friendly service! Scharf’s is the last classic German tavern left in Western New York. The schnitze is moist and tender with a light crisp crust, the potato pancakes have that nice crunch you want and the bar has more than a few German beers on tap.
When I was a younger man, back when they were on Crossman, Scharf’s was a go to place for a meal your mother could make. I hadn’t been there in a while, but after they moved the wife and I thought we would try there new place. Located in the old Deer Head Inn, the building has been brightened up with a more German feel to it, and no animal heads. We went on a Wednesday with the dining room slightly more than half full. We didn’t have reservations and it didn’t seem to be a problem. Our waitress was friendly, took our orders and brought us our drinks in a few short minutes. My wife and I split an order of pancakes, which were as good as they were years ago. We each got a schnitze that reminded me of the ones my grandmother would make, well beaten and pan fired. With desert, the bill was over $ 30 but not bad for the size of portions we got.
We will be eating at Scharf’s again

Fun place and very affordable. Great draft selection and we enjoyed the salad bar. The food comez in big portions and is wonderful.

$ 95 for sub par food. Gravy was very watery. Waitress was borderline rude. Well actually rude when we asked for take out container /​bag so gravy didn’t get in car. Go to Black Forest addeler or schnitzels. There are many amazing wonderful restaurants in buffalo. This is not one of them.

Our decision to have dinner at Scharf’s had more than a little to do with fate. You see, my Dad is buried at St. Matthew’s across the street and he made great potato pancakes and my Mom misses him and his potato pancakes, so I took her for some at Scharf’s for her birthday. It was a good call. They weren’t very busy and everything went fine. We had two batter-​fried haddock, potato pancakes for all, three German samplers, Mom got Black Forest cake, and my daughter the adventurous one got fried chicken and garlic mashed. Everyone was happy with what they got. The rouladen, sausage, and fried veal disappeared, as did the rye bread that may be Costanzo’s but what the heck, America the melting pot. The potato pancakes were just as good as Dad’s and are about three times bigger so I would say they live-​up to their reputation. Drinks beer and all came to only $ 157 plus tip for seven adults so I was very pleased. The kids thought everything was home made. Believe it or not they prefer real food over packaged food. Not sure how I pulled that off. Good times!

We decided to go on Good Friday and that was a huge mistake. We got there at 5pm & were told the wait would be at most a half hour. Come to find out they had taken reservations that day so if you were a walk in you waited & waited. We waited an hour & half to get a table. A man at the bar was having a fit about his wait & made other patrons teally uncomfortable. The Service was poor. Another half hour before we were served our food.
The food was good but we decided we would not give the place another chance. They really need to work on service & decide walk ins or reservations only on busy holidays. They could also train some servers better on being more attentive to customers instead of standing at kitchen door avoiding eye contact.

In a city with few German restaurants, Scharfs does a solid job at preparing the German classics.
They have great potatoe pancakes… what more can you ask for.
If you are looking for some German food in a city with few options, definitely head to Scharfs.

Waited for about an hour before our appetizers even arrived. the meal was okay. I ordered Wienerschnitzel. Not much of a fan

Awful! So disappointing! Reservation at 5:30 for 2 and still waiting for dinner at 6:45! Food was lukewarm and bland, poor service, room was so cold we couldn’t wait to leave! 3 tables around us just got up and left without eating after waiting more than 1 hr for dinner! Much better places to eat than here with better service too!

Wow… after hearing all the great praise about the food at the old schiller park location I was looking forward to finally getting to the new location, needless to say it was disappointing. we had reservations and were seated promptly (party of 6), after about 15 minutes we stopped a passing waitress and asked if we could get drinks, seemed like we kind of put her out. we asked for separate checks and were told we were «driving her crazy». we asked for 2 orders of the potato pancakes and were told that they would take forever, we said that would be ok. our order covered the fish fry, sauerbraten, bratwurst, roulade, zigeunerschnitzel and broiled scallops. the scallops were embarrassingly small, I understand food costs are high but holy cow ! The potato pancakes were tasty, but very greasy. accompanying sides seemed like they came out of cans, green beans weren’t fresh but mushy. german potato salad was the worst I’ve ever had, tasted like crushed potatos with vinegar sprinkled on them. Hopefully this was an off night but saturday night isn’t the time for an off night. I wont be going back, I wish them luck.

Finally got to try this place last evening. Fortunately I did make reservations and from what I saw they were needed.
Let me start by saying this place holds no interior resemblance to it’s former incarnation, The Deer Head Inn. Gone are the dead eyes from the taxidermist’s cast off’s perpetually starring at diners. Cute little restaurant.
Food is spectacular. Menu is not excessive and focuses on primarily on German cuisine. There are some American dishes along with the omnipresent «Fish Fry» however why would anyone come here to try anything but the specialty?
I had the Rouladen with spaetzle. Hubby had the Weinerschnitzel with garlic mashed. Sweet and sour cabbage was the veggie of choice (white cabbage as opposed to rote kohl which is red cabbage — same dish though). Food was perfectly prepared and served with a salad and rye bread. My only issue is that I firmly believe the rye is from Costanzo’s. A decent bread however their caraway is ground and incorporated throughout the loaf. I prefer to actually eat the seeds.
Many German beers along with a wine list. The wines are not sold in bottles, only glass or carafe. Wines are somewhat limited but a nice Malbec did the trick in a full carafe.
In addition to all of the above we have dessert. Apple streudel for me and black forest cake for hubby. Cake was TO DIE FOR! I swear there was some type of alcohol component. It was dense and moist and wonderfully tasteful. Streudel was good as well. Wrong choice on my part.
For all of the above our total bill came to only $ 67.00. Great price for a wonderful meal.

the service is deplorable! I arrived at 5:30 pm and at 6:45 I still only had my salad and a slice of bread. I hope the food comes out hot! I have more than 3 people in my party. As I am still waiting! I see a lot of folks with empty v tables. I won’t be back. save your money go elsewhere!!! u were. warned. I was right thee food was sub pare, my mom’s pork chops looked like they fried um twice. Chicken was dry!!!

Thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Scharfs! Potato pancakes as an appetizer were delish! Red cabbage, coconut cream pie everything tasted like good olé home cooking!!!

My family and I have been going to Scharf’s for many years now, and the food and service are always fantastic! The favorite for most of us is the Sauerbraten, which can’t be beat. The beer selection is the best German selection you can find in the area, and the staff is top notch. Jerry and his staff working tirelessly to make the new location bigger and better than the previous location.
Reading the few negative reviews doesn’t give a good view of the restaurant. It seems as if the people who had «issues» either didn’t bother to talk to anyone to resolve the issues at the time, or just felt that they should be at the front of the line for everything. Instead of addressing the issues with the management, most people just hide behind Unilocal as an act of revenge. If any of these reviewers were true «old customers», they would know that Jerry and his staff are working around the clock to serve their clientele in the same fashion as the old location, and to improve along the way. They would also be more tolerant and understanding about the work they are doing.

Huge open room with all tables inside this one room. Bright overhead lighting. Fake plastic fall leaves with battery operated candle for centerpiece. Music was pretty good. Service was really good. Beer was perfect. Portions could have been a little more generous. It was just mashed potatoes and cabbage! 2 dollar a piece for potato pancake. The meat was tasty. Guests seem to be enjoying themselves.

47 years and going strong. Visited the new location in West Seneca on a Wednesday night. Went in without a reservation thinking, its Wednesday after all, how busy can they be? Upon our arrival we were told that they were all booked for the evening but the look of sadness on my face must have made the hostess feel bad and we were seated in about 10 minutes. If you are expecting that hipster modern ambiance, you are in the wrong place, this is old school no frills, very good German food. Our waitress was great, constantly checking out our table and timing each course just right. The potato pancakes are a must, at least as an appetizer. Fluffy potato filling and crispy on the outside, dipped in applesauce makes them amazing. The Rouladen was perfect, two on the plate along with my two choices of sides, authentic German potato salad and sauerkraut. It was cook perfectly, served piping hot and no knife required to cut, it was that tender. Call ahead, plenty of parking.

Great beer on tap, good food, great service. They are doing something right! That must be why the place is always packed. We will definitely be going again!

We used to go the the old Scharf’s Shiller park often when I lived in Cheektowaga. Now we are in Lancaster and I was excited to hear that Scharf’s would be located close to my area.
It seems like they are just not ready for prime time at the new location. We got in without reservations but it sounds like were are among the very few. After being open for over a month, they should be able to get their act together. The wait staff seemed kind of flustered.
The food was still great German comfort food. The value for your money is average. The potato pancakes are unbeatable, I would go back just for those. Plus you can get a fish fry with the potato pancakes instead of fries. Gotta like that.
I will wait until they are fully operational before going back and hopefully I will be able to post a better review.