Dagmar's Restaurant and Strudel House

Traditional German Home Cooking – in Albuquerque! Over 55 varieties of strudel ($3.50 per slice), fresh, home-made spaetzle noodles with Jeagerschnitzel ($13.95) and, of course, bratwurst ($11.95) are among the favorites with the loyal customers at Dagmar's Restaurant and Strudel House.

Dagmar's serves completely home-made German food without any processed ingredients. They cut their own meat, pound out their own schnitzel and painstakingly make Christmas Stollen from scratch every year. Dagmar grew up in Berlin and some of her family-owned restaurants there. The menu consists of many of her favorite authentic childhood recipes.

"We have had customers from all over the world," said Barbara Cano who has worked at Dagmar's doing a bit of everything for 16 years,  "even some from Germany--who said it was better than home." The Christmas Stollen ($18.99 for a one and a half pound loaf) sells out every year, Cano said.

Stollen is a dense, rich, yeast bread filled with raisins, currents, orange peel, lemon peel and more which takes three days to make. Dagmar's makes  the original style of Stollen that originated in Dresden, Germany -- not one of the many variations sold elsewhere. Order early, Cano warns, because they start the process in September. "The longer it sits, the better it tastes," Cano said.

Dagmar's has moved locations five times during their 16 years in business due to a variety of complications, but customers always hunt them down and find them. The restaurant has been at the current location since July of 2008. "One time we had just put up the temporary sign when a lady ran in all excited and told us how happy she was that we moved so close to where she lives," Cano said.

Despite the moves, consistency is an important reason customers keep coming back, Cano said. Most of the staff has been with the restaurant since it opened 16 years ago.

"If you have too many cooks in the kitchen and one tweaks the recipe," Cano said, "people notice. You have to have consistency."

- by Julie Medina, Albuquerque Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Julie Medina

Julie Medina has experience as a reporter at the Albuquerque Journal and has written freelance articles for the Albuquerque Tribune, Albuquerque the Magazine, New Mexico Magazine and New Mexico Kids Magazine. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in print journalism from the University of New Mexico in 2008. She has lived in Albuquerque since 1984 and believes it is best to remember to play like a tourist in your own hometown so you don't forget the vast culture around you.