Red Lion Tavern – A Surprise in Silverlake

It shouldn’t surprise me to learn that LA County’s environmental health organization is responsible for checking on food safety for more than 26,000 restaurants.  Orange County has a separate entity for that purpose. That said, I should not feel bad that I was not aware of the Red Lion Tavern, an establishment that has been open since 1959.

Through Groupon, I discovered this German tavern and decided that it would be nice to relive some memories from my vacation in Germany. The groupon was for two draft beers and a sausage platter. I invited a friend to join me that evening.

I had forgotten that the Dodgers were playing that day. Thanks to Waze, we were routed west of Dodger Stadium and drove by beautiful Echo Park Lake. Despite arriving at 4:30 p.m., the place was almost full. It was a bit warm in the upstairs patio and so we sat in the confines of the cool dimly lit tavern downstairs.

A single lady was behind the bar fulfilling drink orders. It soon became apparent that there was no additional person waiting tables. Despite the fact that nine tables were occupied, she made her way around the room and collected our orders.

It didn’t take very long for our beer to arrive. I selected the Weltenburger Barock Dunkel and my friend chose the Pfungstadter Lemon Radler, a lemony wheat beer. My dunkel was smooth, slightly sweet and had notes of caramel.

Inside the Red Lion Tavern

Pfungstadter Lemon Radler and a Weltenburger Barock Dunkel

Sausage Platter with sliced pickles and peppers

The sausage platter consisted of three whole german sausages (bratwurst, knackwurst, smoked bockwurst) cut into bite-sized pieces, served along with pickles, peppers, and mustard.

Knack is the German word for “snap” and this has a really nice snap when you bite into it.  The sausage was juicy with a mild garlic flavor. The smoked bockwurst was slightly spicy and the bratwurst was solid. Both were lean and full of flavor.

For my main course, I selected the “Red Lion Schnitzel”. It came with a generous sized schnitzel, mashed potatoes and gravy, and red cabbage. I thoroughly enjoyed my meal.

Red Lion Schnitzel with red cabbage and mashed potatoes

Smoked bockwurst, potato salad and sauerkraut

My friend surprised me by ordering the Smoked Bockwurst. His dish came with sauerkraut, german potato salad, and mustard.

Despite being overwhelmed, our server Elke, was a delightful person. She was friendly, helpful and efficient and made our visit extremely pleasurable.

In addition to what we ordered, the Red Lion Tavern also has a full line of German entrees, soups, salads and desserts.  

I just checked their website and saw the following: “Dodgers Fans: we are giving Dodger fans an extra 10% off their total bill on Home Game days. Just bring in & show your tickets (or ticket stubs) for the game. Go Blue!”

No wonder it was crowded at 5:00 p.m.

Red Lion Tavern, 2366 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039
http://redliontavern.net/