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Hearty German cuisine is one that diners have to be in the mood for. Silver Swan takes that concept a step further. It has to be in the mood for you. Dine late in the rustic dining room (behind the beer-centric bar), and the chef—a Teutonic lady named Renate—is apt to leave before you do leaving the Mexican wait staff at a supreme disadvantage. Even when she’s there, some menu choices can seem as eccentric as Bavarian cuckoo clocks: the Holstein schnitzel, sporting anchovies on the side and a fried egg on top, suggest an Iron Chef random-ingredient challenge; the personal pizza-sized potato pancakes are served not singly but in pairs. While the well-made Hungarian goulash and schnitzel is particularly well plated with crisp, buttery spaetzle, the jaegerwurst platter that arrives with two tired tubes hardly bigger than breakfast links shows this inconsistent eatery at its wurst. — Karen Tina Harrison

Silver Swan’s beer menu covers dozens of brews, mainly European and American.

Prix Fixe
The early prix fixe dinner ($16.95 for three courses) is a great value till 6 p.m. at which time the price about doubles.

Potato pancakes, $8; Hungarian goulash, $22; schnitzel, $23