Every time I go to Walzwerk, I expect to see Mike Meyers, dressed in black with his cheeks sucked in, asking customers to "touch his monkey" or whatever it is he says on that Saturday Night Live skit.

Some of the patrons of this 4- month-old German restaurant aren't far from that. On one visit, we spied a young man clad in skin-tight black from head to toe with a thick rubber band around his neck as a choker. But, over the course of three visits, I've seen a varied clientele, from a fuchsia-haired woman to a loud middle-aged man in an equally loud tropical shirt to older customers speaking in German.

Walzwerk is located in what was once considered a seedy area of San Francisco, on South Van Ness near 15th Street. But the area is changing. Friends who joined me for dinner one night said how they'd looked at a three-bedroom apartment not far from the restaurant that went for $2,700 a month, and that friends of theirs had purchased a house a block away on Shotwell for $450,000.

But the restaurant isn't some glitzy place adding to the neighborhood's gentrification. It's stark in decor and turns out rib-sticking German fare at reasonable prices.

The heavy metal door opens into a small dining room, hung with a few black-and-white photographs. Mismatched tables and chairs look like they've come from a sale of old office furniture. The room is brightened with faded fabric runners one might find at grandmother's house, votive candles in square concrete holders, and beakers filled with cheery flowers.

Behind the main dining room is a small bar area with a velvet couch, and further back is a smaller dining room with a lone table for eight.

Owners Christiana Schmidt and Isabell Mysyk handle the service, speaking perfect English with sultry accents. One says "cool" after taking your order, letting you know you've selected well. And both will scold if meals are not finished. "You didn't eat everything," they accuse, but happily box up leftovers.

They bring little bites of sausage, cucumber and cheese on thin pumpernickel bread to the table for customers to nibble on while they peruse the menu, written in German with English on the flip side.

American-born Jeremy Peckham does the cooking. His starters include soljanka ($4.50) -- a steaming bowl of tomato broth filled with cabbage, strips of salami and rounds of dill pickles, topped with sour cream on a slice of lemon. It's delicious and substantial enough for a main course if paired with another appetizer.

German pancake soup ($3.50), a special one night, featured thin beef broth with peas, bits of carrot and slivers of pancakes floating on top. Lighter than the soljanka, this soup was equally good.

Other starters proved to be big enough to share, like the trio of red cabbage, green cabbage and cauliflower salads ($6), all refreshingly crisp-tender and vinegary. We also liked the big bowl of herring ($7), swimming with apple and onion slices in sour cream.

Three potato pancakes ($6) had more texture than just mashed potatoes formed into ovals, as though the potatoes had been baked, riced, then formed into cakes. The result, topped with chive sour cream, is wonderful.

House-cured salmon ($7) is another winner. Two pieces of the dill- scented salmon twirled into roses are garnished with pungent horseradish cream and sweet beet salad.

For the most part, entrees are as good as starters, although some combination of the same three accompaniments -- mashed potatoes, potato dumplings and stewed red cabbage -- appear with almost every one.

Wiener schnitzel ($11) is as good as you'll get anywhere, a thin piece of pounded pork breaded and pan- fried until crisp. Just a squeeze of lemon adds perfect contrast. Vegetarian Wiener schnitzel ($9.50) -- where the breading and frying technique is applied to portobello mushrooms, celery root and cauliflower -- is an interesting nod to California tastes. It's a great way to please nonmeat eaters and still give them a taste of German tradition.

We were disappointed with the rouladen ($11.50), beef rolled around a filling of pickles, carrots and bacon in a cream sauce turned slightly pink and sweet from tomatoes. The meat hadn't been pounded enough to be tender, and we weren't able to cut it even with a steak knife.

The slices of marinated beef ($12), however, were much better. The meat is almost fork-tender and ever-so-slightly sweet from long cooking in the sauce.

Game hen stuffed with apples and bacon ($11.50) is another success. It's a huge portion of golden- skinned roasted game hen, and the creamy gravy had just enough sweetness to pull all of the components together.

But our favorite dish by far was the special of pan-fried trout ($10.50). The fish is boned, then quickly pan-fried and topped with a dollop of caper butter.

Unfortunately, the kitchen falls short on most desserts. The apple tart ($4) was refrigerator-cold and had a thick, pasty crust. A crust as thick as the filling was also a problem with the otherwise good German-style cheesecake ($4.50), and the chocolate torte ($5) was too dense for my taste, especially with the heaviness of the rest of the meal.

However, red berry pudding with vanilla sauce ($4.50) proved a pleasant surprise. Strawberries and raspberries are cooked down to a syrupy consistency, then thickened with semolina and layered in a sundae glass with sweet vanilla cream. It's a lighter ending to Walzwerk's good German food.

ADDRESS: 381  South Van Ness Blvd. (near 15th Street), San Francisco	 
PHONE: (415) 551-7181	 
HOURS: Dinner 5:30-10:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Beer and wine. 
Reservations for parties of 4 or more. Credit cards accepted. Street parking 
is fairly easy. 	 

   Food:	     TWO STARS	
   Service:	     TWO STARS	
   Atmosphere:       ONE AND A HALF STARS	
   PRICES:	     $	

 PLUSES: Hearty German food at low prices. Friendly staff.	 
 MINUSES: Stark decor. Same accompaniments to most dishes. 
Desserts fall short.

RATINGS KEY FOUR STARS: Extraordinary THREE STARS: Excellent TWO STARS: Very good ONE STAR: Good (box): Fair . $ Inexpensive: entrees under $10 $$ Moderate: $10-$17 $$$ Expensive: $18-$24 $$$$ Very Expensive: more than $24 When entrees fall between these categories, the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar ratings. . ONE BELL: Pleasantly quiet (under 65 decibels) TWO BELLS: Can talk easily (65-70) THREE BELLS: Talking normally gets difficult (70-75) FOUR BELLS: Can only talk in raised voices (75-80) BOMB: Too noisy for normal conversation (80+) . Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous. All meals are paid for by the Chronicle. Star ratings are based on a minimum of three visits.