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First Bite: King's Bierhaus

You'll want to live on the patio at the Greater Heights' new Austrian restaurant.

By Alice Levitt May 5, 2017

When driving on East T. C. Jester, there's no missing King's Bierhaus.

Photography by Alice Levitt

Artist Donkeeboy created a mural featuring Houston and Texas luminaries, as well as Sitter family and friends (those are their dogs on the left). Diners line up there to order at a giant barrel-shaped counter before sitting and waiting for their food and drinks.

Photography by Alice Levitt

King's is sure to be a patio destination. Live music will happen every week, with German tunes filling the space one of those weeks each month. And check out those hammock chairs.

Photography by Alice Levitt

A flight of the Best Biers in the World, suds with exceptionally high ratings. We especially liked the Weihenstephan Vitus, once named the top beer on Earth and made at the world's oldest brewery, which has continuously turned out drinks since 1040. King's is the only place in Texas allowed to carry most of these. There's a total of 31 beers on tap, 26 of which are from Germany or Austria. The rest are local. There are four wines on tap, too.

Photography by Alice Levitt

Ze Gypsy is a light, bright combination of vodka, lemon and fragrant red bell pepper. Bar manager Keith Taylor comes to King's from Hunky Dory.

Photography by Alice Levitt

Pretzels are made for this location by Slow Dough and salted with mild Himalayan crystal salt that the Sitters acquired as part of a previous business.

Photography by Alice Levitt

Not everything is German. The Kale Jalapeño salad is distinctly Houstonian with a refreshing jalapeño-cilantro-lime vinaigrette.

Photography by Alice Levitt

The Inglorious Bastard sandwich makes use of an unlikely combination of chicken schnitzel with both Buffalo sauce and creamy Jaeger mushroom sauce. Does it work? Still not sure, but we like it.

Photography by Alice Levitt

99 Luftballons is "garnished with a helium balloon," but that's not the only thing to recommend the cocktail. Its buoyant flavors come from a blend of vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry and freshly squeezed lime.

Photography by Alice Levitt

Oma's Famous Fried Chicken is stewed in broth before it's coated in bread crumbs and fried. It's served with a warm, bacon-heavy potato salad; green salad; and admittedly un-Germanic cilantro dipping sauce.

Photography by Alice Levitt

Burgers are made from three cuts of meat butchered and ground in-house. Philipp Sitter recommends pairing it with the crispy truffle fries.

Photography by Alice Levitt

King's boasts the largest schnapps menu in Texas. This is no DeKuyper, warns Philipp Sitter. The 18 high-proof brandies are distilled from the fruits that flavor them.

Photography by Alice Levitt

Diners can choose from 14 different sausages, then augment them with the buns and toppings of their choice. Options range from traditional flavors to rabbit-and-rattlesnake with jalapeño, cilantro and chardonnay. Good news for vegans: There are three flavors use no animal products, including apple-sage.

Photography by Alice Levitt

This strudel, stuffed with cream cheese and golden raisins, is served with a mound of homemade cinnamon whipped cream.

Coffee comes from Don Feliciano, Austrian citizen Jose Feliciano's company (no, really), but Philipp Sitter prefers the teas and tisanes he sources from German company Florapharm. We're fans of the World Tea Championship-winning Green Walnut, a buttery green tea flavored with walnut, almond, candied pineapple and coconut.

Photography by Alice Levitt

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The Greater Heights will get its very own Austrian restaurant on Monday, May 8 with the opening of King's Bierhaus at 2044 East T.C. Jester Boulevard. Another location will follow in League City.

What's the difference between the new restaurant and the original King's Biergarten in Pearland? Philipp Sitter, who owns the restaurants with his father Johann, says that while the suburban spot relies on novelty (there's no plaster Quasimodo scaling a tower here) to attract diners from the city, the Bierhaus allows the handcrafted food and sprawling bar menu to speak for themselves.

What else is new? Click through the slideshow to see which dishes and drinks you'll find when you head in for dinner on Monday.

Filed under
King's Bierhaus, First Bite, German Culture, German Food, Restaurant Openings
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