German Restaurant Winter Park, CO

The Gasthaus Eichler is reopening with the original owners taking back over the rains and getting back to the German basics.

Hans and Hannelore Eichler have reopened the Gusthaus Eichler in downtown Winter Park after a year of the longtime eatery being closed as a public restaurant and open only for guests of the Eichler Hotel.

The Eichlers  started Gausthaus Eichler in 1980, in the Conoco shopette on US 40, and then built the current location in 1987.  The restaurant was popular with locals and visitors alike.  The Eichlers later leased out the restaurant and the Gasthaus was run under the Eichler name until last fall.  The leasers left town and the Gasthaus was not open to the public last ski season.

Well, the Eichlers are back in charge and returning the Gasthaus to its grand origins.  Now, 30 years after first opening the Gasthaus, the Eichlers have returned with their original menu and legendary service.

Everything in the restaurant is still made by hand. Their potato pancakes, which could be bought frozen from Denver food suppliers these days, Hanne said, are crafted from scratch with real potatoes. The spätzle is handmade with a machine in the kitchen. Other popular items on the menu include wienerschnitzel, jägerschitzel and säuerbraten.

German food is not just bratwurst and sauerkraut at GE. Although there is that too — all the Eichler’s brats, available in both veal and pork, come from a Swiss butcher in Denver.

For dessert they offer Black Forest cake, chocolate mouse torte and apple strudel, all made from scratch. They’ve added chocolate and cheese fondue, and three German beers are available on tap.

In the summer there is an outdoor patio on the creek’s edge surrounded by potted flowers and space heaters.

The Gasthaus is a Winter Park original and really an institution here in Grand County.  If you are going to have a night out give Gasthaus Eichler a try.