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    The Forester

    4.0 (327 reviews)
    ModerateGerman, Salad, Seafood
    Open 3:30 pm - 8:00 PM
    Updated 2 months ago

    The Forester Photos

    Business Info

    THE FORESTER ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - The Forester

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    Meatloaf
    Barbara A.

    My 2nd visit to this pub in Camino. I love German food and they have a nice selection. This time I had meatloaf, red cabbage and potato pancake. My companion had the chicken and dumplings. Both dishes delicious! They serve local wines which I love. Keeping it local. Great service even when busy. Love the tavern rooms. Check them out after wine tasting or visiting Apple Hill orchards.

    Beef goulash with spaetzle and red cabbage which
    Samuel H.

    Staff here are wonderful and were very welcoming of our little girl, which is always a relief as a family. The restaurant itself has an awesome cozy vibe and unique decor, which goes great with its location beneath the pines in Camino. If you like Germanic cuisine then you will love it here. And even if you don't, you should still try it. The food we ordered was delicious and so more-ish. The goulash was creamy and flavorful with awesomely tender beef pieces and served with a spaetzle that was a perfect accompaniment. I chose the red cabbage which added a nice little tangy touch to the savory flavors. My wife said that the schnitzel she ordered was the best thing she had eaten in a long time, with a very tasty sauce/gravy. Ordering the side of potatoes AND dumplings was way too much food for two of us but it did provide a tasty snack the next day, and both were deliciously savory. I would highly recommend this place and am grateful that we have a German eatery locally.

    Top Sirloin Steak (large portion) with buttered carrots and spaetzle.

    The place is nice. A little log cabin 5 minutes from High Hill Ranch Apple Hill. We would have liked to come earlier than 3:30pm when they opened. Would have liked to come around 1pm for lunch, but they only open at 3:30pm. The food and service was good, only thing I wish is for more than three carrots for the side meal. Seems like previous people that ate here were given larger portions of the carrots. So what happened? Carrots are such an inexpensive side dish for a meal. Why only three carrots? Also the speatzle was amazing! I would have liked more of that on my plate as well! It was so good! The dumpling in gravy tasted more like a buttermilk milk biscuit in gravy. I was expecting three to four smaller sized dumplings such as Bavarian style potato dumpling with a homemade crouton in the center. Next time I'll try the potato pancakes as an appetizer. All I can say is please offer bigger hungry man proportions for the sides. The main cut of meat is a good size proportion. Just the sides are lacking in size. Good quality taste. But I would redo the recipe on the dumplings to make make them more like traditional Bavarian style potato dumplings with the crouton in the center.

    House salad, blue cheese.
    William D.

    Homey wood trim work and Buck stove roaring made it cozy inside on this cold January afternoon. We split the.. Wienerschnitzel(Vee-Ner-Shnit-Sl). Tender thin breaded pork cutlet,served with a thick white wine sauce, Spaetzl with similar if not the same sauce, red cabbage & a starter salad with blue cheese. Meat was tender enough to cut with a fork,sauce was mild but had a good flavor & consistency. The Spaetzl was my favorite, fresh egg noodles in short thick spaghetti like form with the white sauce. I could have had a full meal of this. Red cabbage was cooked with apples, sweet, slightly bitter OK. Salad was pretty standard fare. Good beer selection, waitress was attentive, but allowed us to relax.

    Meatloaf, small plate
    Donna M.

    food last night was amazing !!! we always enjoy ourselves. everything is just so nicely done beautiful environment. The outside seating looks wonderful..

    Beef Stroganoff with sauerkraut

    First experience here was over 10 years ago, I never forgot about that buffalo burger. So when my husband and I came up to Apple Hill today I was so excited to return here. At first I was apprehensive because it has since changed to a German menu but we decided to embrace it still. And we are so glad we did! The beef stroganoff over spaetzel was so good! Huge portion with plenty of mushrooms & tender beef. My husband got the meatloaf and he loved it! Staff were super attentive and they seemed to be very acclimated with their regulars. Would definitely return the next time we are in the area

    Wienerschitzel with Spatzle and Red Cabbage
    Kristian D.

    After many years of visiting Apple Hill, I finally stopped at The Forester Pub and Grill. Their menu included some familiar German dishes which looked interesting and a nice option for a cool late fall visit. The restaurant was filling up quickly which was a good sign for this place on Carson Road in beautiful downtown Camino. Parking is decent, and they have a lot in the rear. The inside of the restaurant looks like your uncle's old cabin in a wonderful way. It has a warm and comfortable look with authentic wood stoves. I sat down and reviewed the large menu. There are lots of traditional American dishes here that seem to be popular, but I had my eye on the schnitzel. They have Jagerschnitzel and Wienerschnitzel. I chose the Wiener since the sauce seemed intriguing. A generous and loaded salad and a hot cup of coffee were quickly delivered to my table while they prepared my entree. The Wienerschnitzel was simply amazing. The meat was perfectly cooked with a nice thin breading and a sublime sauce. The spatzle were just heavenly - truly homemade and light as air even soaked in gravy. You can get red cabbage too which helps cut through the heavy fare. Towards the end, I finally squeezed the lemon on the schnitzel and was rewarded with a spectacular combination of flavors that made it easy to clean the plate. The location near all the farms in Apple Hill is more than enough reason to visit The Forester, but the amazing schnitzel is worth the drive. If the rest of the food is similar to the German options, I think this place is a true gem in the foothills.

    Menu 6/2022

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    5 months ago

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    10 months ago

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    11 days ago

    Didn't expect to come across German food tucked away here in the mountains. It was delicious. And the outdoor dining was perfect.

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    1 month ago

    Great service with delicious food. We were passing through and decided to give a try and glad we did.

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    2 years ago

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    1 month ago

    Food and service exceptional. Try their dumpling! Experienced husband/wife team up for perfect results!

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    10 months ago

    The food and service is superb. A great stop before or after a trip to Apple Hill. The ambiance is fun and in side and outside.

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    10 months ago

    Average food, nothing spectacular. Service and wait time were very good. Nothing about the food was overly flavorful. Just average.

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    1 year ago

    So the menu is very misleading. You don't get what the menu says and then when you point it out to the waitress she doesn't care

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    1 year ago

    What a great surprise! Terrific food, beer and dessert! Fantastic! We had such a lovely visit we want to move to Camino!

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    Page 1 of 9

    Ask the Community - The Forester

    Is there a bar?

    Yes, within the dining room.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Another trip here, just because the food is awesome and my husband is German…read more 1st we asked to sit in the sunken area with a larger table as we always get sat at this tiny table in the middle of traffic it feels like lol After being seated, we met our waitress. She was the sweetest girl ever. Her name is Jessee S. Go give this girl some business. Well as we are sitting there, we were under the music speaker. They literally had rap music on. I asked her what on earth we were listening to since we are in a German restaurant. She says left me go change it. She put on like piano bar music which we loved for a great meal. We opted for no appetizers this trip, but did get the beer flight again. So refreshing with heavy food. We shared a plate on this trip as we had food planned for the next week. So did not want any leftovers. Opted for the pork shank with ajus, subbed kase spatzeal for the mashed potatoes, it's a 4.00 upcharged, but OMGEEE so worth it. Cheesy noodle deliciousness. Also had saurkraut with it. I do not like this stuff, but I love theirs. It's so mild but amazing flavor. If you love this kind of food, go give them a try. So good

    Yum!!! The pretzel appetizer was amazing and crispy on the…read moreoutside and came with cheese and bacon jam dipping sauces. Belgian Frites with curry ketchup and garlic aioli were double fried and so good. My son said this was one of the best meals he has ever had (Pork Bratwurst, Veal and Garlic Bockwurst, Wild Boar and Cranberry Sausage which was his favorite, Elk Cheddar and Jalapeño Sausage). I had the Smoked Gouda Spatzle with Kielbasa. The service and atmosphere were very good. My only complaint was that there is a lack of parking for the restaurant and we had to park a good distance away, which wasn't so bad walking to it which was downhill, but getting back to our car up the mountain was much harder.

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    Bavarian Hills

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    1.8(29 reviews)
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    I dig German food…read more. I drive for German food.. A lack of German restaurants in the valley...drove me up to Apple Hill to visit Bavarian Hills..again. I have been there in the past. I ate on the patio. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/bavarian-hills-camino?select=oyd28r8_BCl8fVAZbrt_nA#Ehcp3D2TsVuaSMoakqyx-Q The lady proprietor cooks and runs the place. The cooking is pretty authentic but most of the items seem to be pre-made since there is not a lot of turn-over. So it's kind of 'heat and eat'...which dries some food out. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/bavarian-hills-camino?select=oyd28r8_BCl8fVAZbrt_nA#wqa6bAMfvR9FDsKL4WWp8Q Portions are small, so you don't get a lot of bang for your buck. I had to order two extra side dishes to help fill me up. I drove up especially to eat here. But I also stopped at another favorite, Rainbow Farms, to pick up a gallon of fresh squeezed apple juice and a dozen fresh made apple cider donuts! I ordered: Meat Pie A Combination of Vegetables, Chicken and Seasoning with a Cream Cheese Filling Comes with your choice of one side and a dessert. I substituted hot potato salad instead of dessert. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/bavarian-hills-camino?select=oyd28r8_BCl8fVAZbrt_nA#esKqVrD-DhjA-jqzhSj0WA My other choice for a side was red cabbage. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/bavarian-hills-camino?select=oyd28r8_BCl8fVAZbrt_nA#-8XlG1A4hWNSrl_T7n-fUw Both the red cabbage and hot potato salad tasted authentic. They were very tasty...so tasty in fact, that I ordered one more side of each to help fill up my belly. Sides are $3.50 each. The meat pie was literally a slice of pie with the fillings listed above...albeit a small slice. I would compare it to our chicken pot pie without the gravy that we are used to. It had to be pre-made and heated before serving. I might stop here again if I were in the area... They also have picnic tables...I presume that you could bring your own food and enjoy the surroundings. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/bavarian-hills-camino?select=oyd28r8_BCl8fVAZbrt_nA#3EpY9Xqf4bsPaJj6Maretw

    Well having lived in Germany as kid, and having visited Austria and Germany as an adult I truly…read moreappreciate authentic German and Bavarian style food. I love schnitzel, spaetzle, red cabbage, bockwurst, sauerkraut and true german potato salad! So as we made our annual trip to Apple Hill was surprised and very excited to come across this place that from the outside had the look of an authentic Bavarian establishment. As we pulled into the parking lot I could hear the sounds of an Octoberfest oompah band being played over the speakers, which got me more excited that this might be good. So as my family wondered thru the handful of outdoor vendor booths I peeked inside to look at thier menu. What really sold me that I had to try this place is when l heard the woman behind the counter speaking to another family, as it was quite clear based on her accent she was from Germany or possibly Austria! Bingo this place had the look, sound and feel of an authentic German establishment! I then had to convince the family we had to eat here and they would like it! This was not easy as they were skeptical and obviously do not share my love of German food. They have also gotten smart and knew to ask what does Yelp say. However due to my excitement I did not follow my own golden rule and check Yelp, and just told them trust me it will be good! So we order the schnitzel plate that comes with german potato salad and apple strudel, a bratwurst and a kids hot dog. The 1st sign of trouble was our order arrived within minutes of us sitting down. I quickly realized everything including the schnitzel was probably cooked in the morning, had been sitting and was then quickly warmed once we ordered. The 2nd sign was the meager portion of german potato salad that was served on the paper plate. Now I know I can be stubborn and so even with these signs as the family began to question my prediction that it would be good, I still refused to budge and reiterated they needed to be open minded and try it. Well boy did those words come back to haunt me! The schnitzel was dry and lacked any flavor. It tasted like it had been sitting for awhile before it was reheated, which clearly it was! The potato salad was warm but that is were all similarities with authentic german potato salad ended. The bratwurst looked and tasted like it was bulk purchased on sale from a small wholesale restaurant food supplier. The hotdog was clearly no better. Anytime a 7 year old takes two bites of a hotdog, then says I am full and do not want anymore is a sign! So knowing the food was 1 star my reason for giving this place a 2 star rating is the woman behind the counter was pleasant and the lady who brought our food out was very nice, and so am giving them a bump for thier customer service.

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    Kathrin's Biergarten - Large pretzel

    Kathrin's Biergarten

    4.1(819 reviews)
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    Fantastic German food and the best German beer selection in the Sacramento area. These folks are…read morehuge soccer fans, so you can't find a better place to cheer on your favorite world soccer (football ;)) team! The owners are from Germany and try to give you a culinary guide to German food and the incredible selection of beers! Prost!

    I was invited to a get-together after work to celebrate one of our residents graduating to become a…read moredoctor. After a long day, I was looking forward to relaxing with a Piña Colada. When the waiter brought my drink, I immediately noticed it didn't look like a traditional Piña Colada, and after tasting it, I confirmed it certainly didn't taste like one either. I politely asked if I could exchange it for a different drink. The waiter returned and said the manager wouldn't allow an exchange but would offer me 50% off instead. I explained that I wasn't happy with the drink and simply wanted to order something else. The manager came over and explained that the menu includes a disclaimer stating the cocktails are made with soju instead of the traditional liquor. In my opinion, the waiter should have mentioned that when I ordered, especially since it significantly changes the flavor. I hadn't noticed the disclaimer--I simply ordered what I thought would be a classic Piña Colada. Unfortunately, I was still charged half the price for a drink I didn't enjoy and wasn't allowed to order a replacement. The manager emphasized that it was too expensive for the restaurant to remake drinks, which I found disappointing. I've never had an experience like this at any other restaurant. On a positive note, I ordered the Reuben sandwich with fries, and it was delicious. That was the highlight of the meal. However, the service was also lacking. Our waiter was slow and couldn't answer several of our questions without repeatedly leaving to ask someone else. Because of the poor customer service and how the drink situation was handled, I won't be returning.

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    With their second location/expansion venue opening at the Old Sacramento waterfront very soon, they…read moredidn't run any Pride Month deals this year at the Midtown Biergarten. However, through their Facebook page you can sign up for "VIP Loyalty" and get a couple of cool offers. The ones I could claim were a FREE Pretzel or a FREE One Sausage Platter. Older offers included FREE Custom Dog or FREE French Fries. These are available Sunday through Friday only, one offer per visit, not valid with any other offers, dine-in only. Show in person to staff and get a special code to redeem. I love their giant pretzels and sausage platters, and the fruity Starburst grapefruit radler beer with pom cider is such a summer vibe. Most recent visit was also able to catch the Argentina World Cup game on the projector. For my FREE offer I went with the one sausage platter (picked bratwurst and potato salad), then also got a 500mL Starburst and a pretzel with added bier cheese. Judi got the Berliner dog (curry and fries) and a cucumber salad, and we shared an order of the S'mores Belgie dessert! I will be back soon for my FREE pretzel, and I must remember to try the Starburst as a slushie/frozen!

    Atmosphere + beer 4/5 Food 3.2.5…read more It's been years since my last visit and it's a good as I remember. You enter without truly knowing where to go or what to do, so be observant as there may be an actual line to order drinks and food, just don't cut someone off. Ordering was easy. Same window for beer and food. If you order food you're given a number that people deliver food. Came here for happy hour. I got myself a pretzel with add-on cheese, a pulled pork (seasonal) Belgie with fries, and I sampled other food that my friends ordered. Firstly, the 1L beer is worth it. Not happy hour prices., but well worth the volume. It definitely transported me back to my visit to Munich and the beer halls. Oh, I do miss the drunken singing of the Germans lol Secondly, the food was just okay. Pretzels were thankfully cheaper since it was happy hour but i paid $1 for the add-on cheese. The mustard combo sauce was great. I wish the pretzel was a bit bigger. I appreciated the warmth and the salt ratio; not overpowering. The Belgie (waffle sandwich) was also on happy hour. The texture of the waffle was great. Crisp exterior, soft interior. I ordered the seasonal pulled pork which was great in texture and decently portioned. It is a thick boy, so biting into it was a bit of a challenge. Ended up deconstructing the sandwich and used utensils. Sauce maybe would've been better on the side. Fries always win. No complaints though I wish I ordered the garlic fries... the smell was good. One thing I didn't get to try was their famous, Starbust drink which is a mix of beer, cider and some frosty, maybe. The color was intriguing and everyone seemed to order it around me. The misters were on, which was a blessing and a curse. Definitely helped cool me down, but also became a nuisance as the table and all my belongings got wet. Excited for their new location in Old Sac. Maybe a revised review in the future. Stay tuned.

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    MacDuff's Pub - Shrimp & chips

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    4.4(3k reviews)
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    This is definitely one of those places I'll always come back to whenever I'm in Lake Tahoe! The…read morefood was sooo good and tasted incredibly fresh. There's even a slight view of the lake, and it's only about a five-minute walk from the water. There's plenty of parking and both indoor and outdoor seating. We had actually gone fishing with Tahoe Sport Fishing the day before and caught our own fish. We regretted not bringing it in because they can cook your fresh catch for you! Next time, we're definitely doing that. I ordered the fish and chips, and they were SO good honestly some of the best I've had. Definitely adding this place to our must-visit list every time we're in Tahoe!

    MacDuff's Pub on Fremont, the kind of spot you find by accident and go back to every time you're in…read moreTahoe after that. French onion soup alone is worth the trip, generous portion, good cheese pull, served in a bowl that means business. Fish and chips were light battered and fried correctly, one order was more than enough for two. Truffle mac with crispy breadcrumb top was the other standout, ordered it as a side and ended up basically making it the main. Scottish ale on draft was the right beer for all of it. Cozy cottage feel, dog friendly patio, staff was genuinely friendly not just professionally friendly. 5 stars, best pub in South Lake Tahoe, dont miss it

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    The Forester - german - Updated August 2026

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