Stepping into Teske’s Germania Restaurant, with its long wooden bar that stretches along half the entryway, there’s a strong sense of gemütlichkeit, an untranslatable German word meaning “warmth and good cheer.” Co-owner Cynthia Baumann likens it to a Bavarian lodge, where the food is authentic, the beer flows freely and everyone is welcome.
“I think that you get more of a family feel from our restaurant,” she said, “versus so many restaurants owned by corporations that are so structured. That friendliness is what our restaurant really portrays.”
The look and feel of the place is not due to recent construction. The building has housed a variety of restaurants since it was built in 1892. Hanging on the wall is a 1910s-era photo of the bar, complete with spittoons. The adjoining Victorian Room features mounted buffalo and deer heads staring down from beneath an ornate tin ceiling, and its outdoor beer garden can accommodate 120 guests.
It’s the perfect setting for an item like the classic Schweinshaxe mit Kartoffelsalat, a massive pork shank that has been boiled for an hour and a half, then coated with kosher salt and baked for another hour and a half until the skin is crispy and the meat melts in your mouth.
Served with a soft and mellow sauerkraut and a mound of potato salad with a vinegar-based dressing, it’s an elegant and filling presentation and Teske’s signature dish.
Teske’s was founded in 1980 by Ernst and Marianne Teske. According to Cynthia’s brother, co-owner Greg Baumann, the couple had operated the kitchen at Germania Hall, located on Second Street, which was owned by the German club of Santa Clara County.
“When it came time for renewal in 1980,” Greg said, “there was an impasse. They said, ‘Well, forget it. We’re going to move one block away.’ So they started this place, and they ran it until 1990, then my father, Hans Baumann, bought it.”
Greg described Hans as a “fantastic cook at home,” but, as a general contractor, he had no restaurant experience, so Ernst agreed to stay for three months to help with the transition.
Hans took over the kitchen and brought on his children: Greg, who was employed in the electronics industry but had experience as a waiter, Cynthia, who had managed Nicolino’s Garden Cafe in Sunnyvale, and the third co-owner, Scott, who started as a busboy until Hans sent him to Germany to study cooking.
“Scotty is not just some kind of line cook,” Greg said. “My dad arranged a year-and-a-half-long apprenticeship at a high-end restaurant at the Hotel Hohenlohe in Schwäbisch Hall, and he got his degree there.”
The results can be seen in even simpler dishes, like the Jägerschnitzel mit unserer speziellen Pilzsoße, a thin pork cutlet, breaded and fried, and served with a rich and creamy mushroom gravy. It is served on a mound of tender housemade spätzle, which are prepared fresh every morning.
As his health declined, Hans turned over the management of Teske’s to his children in 1990, who had long known the ins and outs of every aspect of the business.
“I’ve been doing this since I was 14,” Cynthia said. “Greg, since he was 16. We know what it’s like to be a dishwasher, a waiter, a buser, and a bartender. I don’t think you can truly run a restaurant properly unless you have done everything.”
Today, Teske’s is a thriving venue, due in part to live music events on Fridays and Saturdays and a schedule filled with corporate dinners. And, of course, the beer garden is primed and ready for Oktoberfest events planned for the entire month.
“You have a lot of German expats in Silicon Valley,” Greg said. “And people who have gone over there and gotten hooked on the tradition. So the festival just kept getting bigger and bigger.”
Besides German beer—the only kind Teske’s stocks—customers can choose from around 20 versions of German schnapps and liqueurs, from blackberry, raspberry and cherry to more exotic flavors like honey and cinnamon, as well as the ubiquitous Jägermeister.
Teske’s will also be serving a special Oktoberfest plate with Bavarian bratwurst, Polish sausage, and knackwurst, along with standards like Kassler Rippchen, a smoked pork chop served with potato salad and sauerkraut and Rinderpaprikagulasch, a beef goulash that gets its heat from smoked paprika, served on a bed of spätzle and red cabbage.
“I think of German food as down-home cooking,” Greg said. “I think about my grandmother and my mother pulling the potatoes out of the dirt and making potato salad for lunch that day. It’s not overly fancy. It’s that kind of freshness and tradition.”
John Wilhelmson, a regular customer for the dinner service, said he thinks Teske’s is underrated as a lunchtime destination.
“The wild boar sausage dish is perfect for the mid-day,” he said. “It’s a smaller dish in just the right proportion and I get really good energy from the the sauerkraut and the potatoes. Everything here is done right.”
Contact Robert Eliason at [email protected].
Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at [email protected].
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