If Fritz and Frites is the only thing you know about Alsatia, you're doing fine. Our late-afternoon supper consisted of Altlantic Salmon with haricot verts (green beans) in lingonberry sauce, with Foodie remembering the beans "they were especially good." Vegetarian had a green salad and...(probably) mac & cheese, although F and F appears to have a vegetarian item on the menu - ratatouille tart.More
Admittedly, Galena, IL is not a huge place and there aren't many fine dining restaurants here. In fact, there's only Fritz and Frites. But does that mean that F&F is really worth the hype? I'm here to tell you, Fritz and Frites EARNS their accolades....We ate here on Friday night of our weekend in Galena, and we returned on Saturday. The service was attentive and personal, especially notable at a time where most restaurants are hugely understaffed. The food was delicious. The ambiance, comfortable, homey, with an attention to what really matters. It's a perfect neighborhood bistro.More
I had their flank steak, which was marinated perfectly. The steak was so tender and loads of flavor. If you get the German Chocolate cake, split it with someone else. It's equal to 1/4 of a whole cake. Too much.
We asked our friends, who have lived in Galena for years, to choose the best restaurant in town for a Friday dinner during our three-day getaway. They didn't have to flip a coin. Their choice was Fritz and Frites, their personal favorite, a German/French bistro...that has wowed diners for 16 years. Located at 317 North Main Street, just around the corner from the Jail Hill Inn, our bed-and-breakfast accommodation, it is the pride and joy of the husband-and-wife team of Fred and Karyn Grzeslo. They specialize in such European fare as schnitzel, steak frites and garlic roasted chicken. Wendy, our always-accommodating and friendly and knowledgeable server, guided us through the menu. The second I noticed that wienerschnitzel was all about veal cutlets, I was hooked. With red cabbage or sauerkraut and potatoes. We started with bowls of delicious cream of zuccinni soup. Three of us ordered wienerschnitzel while the fourth, a diabetic, opted for salmon. Dessert? Another no-brainer. Apple strudel was a tasty option. But when Wendy mentioned profiteroles, the issue was settled. How many times do you see profiteroles on a menu? Rarely. And these profiteroles were as good as it gets, chocolate puffs filled with vanilla ice cream. Too often profiteroles come with whipped cream. But Fritz and Frites is the real thing.More
Loved this place! Food was authentic and great wine selection. Our servicer was so sweet and made us feel like we were dining at some one's home rather than at a restaurant. Great service. She knew the menu and described everything accurately. Can't wait to...return.More
Outstanding food and service! Their escargot is incredible! I frequent their restaurant and always leave with a smile.
Everything looked charming, and maybe I just ordered poorly, but I was not impressed with the steak frites. The steak was quite tough and chewy and lacked much flavor. The frites, though very impressive looking, are impossible to eat with anything but your fingers (and...this doesn't feel like a place for finger food), and the thinness of the fries leaves them quite crisp, almost chip-like. Not really bad, just not what I would expect for a classy meal served with steak.More
Excellent food and service. We will definitely be back for our next visit to Galena. French cuisine was outstanding. Also has German cuisine. Make sure to make a reservation.
Service was excellent! Our group ordered rouladen, chicken schnitzel, pork schnitzel and veal schnitzel. Each mouthwatering entree came with incredible sauerkraut or red cabbage and spatzel. We also ordered “frites”, an enormous, delicious mound of freshly fried shoestring fries and German potato salad. Every bite...was incredible. You must dine here!!!More
I took a friend out to Mr. Fritz's at the end of last summer and not only was the pastured waitress (presumed to be the owner's wife???) snooty, she was incompetent as well...completely unconcerned with our dining experience. We waited literally 50 minutes for our...main courses to come out...and when they did, they were lukewarm and largely flavorless. My salmon was an atrocity exhibition, looking and tasting like it had been parboiled before being cooked. Hopefully, the guy'll retire soon and make room for a better place...... (Advice: STAY AWAY!)More
Two of us stopped in here....it reminded us of a sidewalk cafe in Paris. The food was exceptional...especially the mushroom soup that had a little nutmeg and some wine that all flowed into a creamy mouth full of heaven! The Vienerschnitzel--also exceptional! It came with...red cabbage, spaetzel and a sauce with mushrooms, onions and bacon that was fantastic!!! Huge portions of wonderful food. We were delighted to have leftovers of that meal for lunch the next day!!More
We had the escargot, braised pork shank and half roasted chicken. All were amazing, but the braised pork shank was out of this world! The staff were very friendly and efficient. We will definitely be back!
We stopped in for dinner on a Thursday evening. I had the choucroute garnie; she had the chicken schnitzel. My dinner - four different sausages with sauerkraut and potatoes - was delicious. She said that the schnitzel was the best she has ever had (and...we’ve been to Germany and Austria) but that the spaetzle was doughy. This was very solid and well-prepared food. The portions were generous. The beer list has over 40 selections, most from Europe. The service was attentive and friendly. We were very pleased with our experience.More
Given its TA rating, my wife and I expected much more than this restaurant delivered. Service was below what we expect from a highly rated establishment. We had brought our own bottle of champagne as the wine list posted on the restaurant's website was weak...(and the in-person list no better). We called ahead to make sure we could bring our own bottle and pay a corkage fee and were assured that was no problem. My habit is to pay both the corkage fee and add an additional tip for the server as you never know how much of the tip is actually shared with the staff. In this case the server brought a wine bucket for the table and proceeded to open the bottle withuot actually putting champage glasses on the table. She then open our very nice bottle ($200 retail) in a way that caused the wine to bubble uot of the bottle onto the floor. At that point she thought to go get some wine glasses. She poured each of us a third of a glass and then never poured another drop the rest of the meal. (And by the way, the large bucket on the small table was constantly in the way). We were never offered a bread course. The food itself was average. Skipped dessert and got out of the place in 57 minutes. Tipped on the food service; tipped myself for the wine service! Owner spent all his time at the front door checking on reservations. IMHO, he needed to spend some time checking on the quality of his service staff (or do something himself). Disappointing.More
The Staff was very friendly and accommodating. The food was excellent. We enjoyed our anniversary meal. It was a little high priced, but the food very good.
