Kochendorfer’s, the new bar and restaurant that took over the former Fish Ladder Lounge location, is officially open at 4910 Leary Ave NW.
Owner John Kochendorfer has 16 years of brewing experience and also currently works as head brewer at District Brewing in Mount Vernon. Kochendorfer told My Ballard he wanted to open an affordable spot in the neighborhood, “a place you can come once a week or more and not break the bank,” he said.
The menu at Kochendorfer’s centers on casual bar food with a mix of German-inspired dishes and Mediterranean-style flavors. Small plates include landjaeger sausage, Bavarian pretzels served with mustard or optional beer cheese, shoestring fries with curry ketchup, German potato salad, and falafel served with garlic sauce and pickles. The menu also lists a rotating soup and a seasonal salad with mixed greens, apples, and pickled onions.
The main food options include sausages and what the menu calls “kebaburritos,” which wrap kebab-style fillings in a flour tortilla. Sausage choices include bratwurst with sauerkraut and a smoked jalapeño cheddar sausage with bacon jam. The kebaburritos come in several variations, including beef-and-lamb, chicken, and falafel, with toppings such as pickled red onions, slaw, fries, curry ketchup, and garlic sauce.
The bar menu focuses on beer from eight taps served in German-style glass sizes, including schooner, half-liter, and liter pours. The draft list includes two house lagers along with beers from Kochendorfer’s own District Brewing, Stoup Brewing, Sierra Nevada, and Georgetown Brewing. The drink menu also includes cider, wine, house cocktails, and nonalcoholic beverages such as soda, coffee, and ginger beer…