Marrika’s has long been on my places in Lexington that I wanted to eat at. My first real experience at a German restaurant was at Hofbräuhaus in Newport, Kentucky which had great food, giant beers, and a very authentic beer hall inside. Needless to say, I had high expectations for Marikka’s.

First thing to note, which I learned personally, is that Marikka’s is only open after 5 p.m. on most days. So don’t think this is the place to go grab lunch. That’s not a demerit against them just something to save you accidentally arriving while they’re closed.

Marrika’s is split into essentially two sections. One is their restaurant and the other is their bar and volleyball pits. The restaurant is designed in a very classic style with dark wood trim accenting white walls. Each wall has paintings of various German landmarks or German-related shields and crests. Hanging from the ceiling are three massive blue and white checkered Hofbräu banners matching the table cloths on the tables.

As I was seated, I was offered some of their rye bread while I looked over the menu. Served with a couple of packaged butters, the bread was both nicely light in taste and density.

I’m not much of a beer drinker but I feel like if you’re at a German beer house you have to at least try something. I asked the waitress for a recommendation for something German and light and she suggested the Stiegl Goldbrau that they had on draft ($6.00). It had a bright crispness, no doubt also helped by the fact it was poured cold. If you’re someone like me who doesn’t really like a dark beer but still wants something with some flavor it’s a good choice.

Perhaps because they have a more traditional bar next door, I was slightly disappointed by their appetizer selection. Save for a massive-looking pretzel I saw another table order and the potato pancakes, most of the choices were standard American bar foods. Still wanting to get an appetizer, I ordered the beer-battered mushrooms ($9.99).

Served with a horseradish dipping sauce, you get a very large portion of fried mushrooms. This is definitely a dish that you should split with others. The batter was good, not having an overwhelming beer taste. The mushrooms were large and fried well. The only downside with fried mushrooms, in general, is that they can render out a hot liquid that when you bite into them can sometimes get on your hands. The horseradish sauce was a great addition to the dish. (6/10)

For my main dish, I ordered the Jägerschnitzel with spätzle in gravy and saurkraut as my two side dishes ($16.99). Working in reverse order, the saurkraut was delicious. It was quite unlike most saurkrauts I’ve had before. I was told that it was cooked with beef bouillon and bay leaves which added a savoriness that I wasn’t expecting yet kept coming back for more (7/10). I quite enjoyed the spätzle which I ordered with gravy on top. The noodles had a nice bite to them but were not overly starchy. The gravy added a nice bit of salt and beef flavor but I enjoyed eating them either way (7.5/10).

Finally to the main star of the night, the Jägerschnitzel. When I saw the words: breaded, fried pork, and covered in gravy I knew that I was ordering this dish. The pork was tender and fried well with the breading still giving a crunch even after being covered in gravy. The mushroom gravy was equally excellent, adding the perfect mixture of salt, savory, and umami all in a perfect sauce. A dish like this is simple yet has so much flavor (7.5/10).

German food might just be one of the ultimate comfort foods out there. Coming out of the sub-freezing temperatures outside and warming up with delicious noodles and fried pork covered in a wonderful mushroom gravy; you can’t help but feel the comfort. Add to that a cozy environment and you’ve got yourself a good dinner. I know I’ll be coming back and trying more of their menu, though I’ll be sure to bring a friend to split those mushrooms with.