Guten Tag! Good Day!
Hermann bleeds German; its German heritage dates back to 1837 when German immigrants settled in the town. Now, fingerprints of the town’s rich history can be found in its architecture, music, shopping, festivals, and, of course, food.
The Tin Mill Restaurant, a comfort food restaurant located downtown, offers time-tested entrées that have made Hermann an epicenter of German cuisine in Missouri. The restaurant, housed in a three-story mill built in the 1840s along the Missouri River and Union Pacific Railroad, makes most of its menu items from scratch. The Tin Mill is part of a larger set of Hermannhof businesses, including The Inn at Hermannhof, a set of luxury rooms in a historic inn along the Missouri River; the Tin Mill Brewery Co., a brewery that produces craft beers and authentic German lagers; and Hermannhof Winery, a producer of both white and red wines and America’s only winery to be a two-time winner of the Brown-Forman Trophy.
• Andrea Kaneko
The restaurant’s star German-American menu item, according to Justin Lieser, the Tin Mill Restaurant’s chief operations officer, is the housemade Pork Schnitzel entrée which features pork cutlet, braised red cabbage, German potato salad, and dill gravy. “Schnitzel is big in Germany and is one of those recognizable German dishes,” Justin says. “German food is very simple but has lots of layers.”
The atmosphere of the Tin Mill is classy and elevated with bud flowers in vases dotting the white-clothed tables, yet it also has a rustic, cozy charm that permeates through the floor-to-ceiling wooden interior. The Pork Schnitzel is a mirror to this juxtaposition of its high-end and homey atmosphere. The entrée may look like a serving of a grandmother’s supper; however, after diving into the meal, diners will find a refined flavor profile. The pork cutlet looks unassuming—a bit like a pork tenderloin served at a rural diner—but as your teeth cut through its golden, encrusted exterior, the flavors of the succulent pork lift in your mouth. The savory taste builds to a peak, then plummets as you swallow. The recipe for the cutlet’s crust is simple: egg, flour, salt, pepper, and parsley. The pork is the definition of home cooking that warms the soul and stomach.
The pork is paired with a dill gravy dipping sauce. The gravy has a bite of sourness that further livens the meat. The entrée is served with a side of red cabbage, which is cooked with apple cider and Chambourcin wine, which is produced by Hermannhof Winery. It is slowly cooked to keep its rich purple coloring. “People just say, ‘Wow,’ because it has lots of color,” Justin says. Served alongside the cabbage is German potato salad. Unlike traditional creamy mayonnaise-based potato salad that we are accustomed to in American cuisine, the German potato salad at The Tin Mill packs a sour punch that awakens the taste buds. For a satisfying mixture of crunchy and soft textures, try eating the cabbage and potato salad
together.
Besides the Pork Schnitzel, the restaurant has a rotating seasonal menu, which has included sauerbraten (a German pot roast), roasted chicken pot pie, a 10-ounce prime rib, and potato pancakes.
If you journey to Missouri’s Germany, guten Appetit!
This article was originally printed in the June 2026 issue of Missouri Life.
