Best Vienna Cafes and Restaurants
Jun 1st, 2002, 05:33 AM
#2
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Just returned from Vienna. Also lived there in the early 80's. Two that I can recommend:
Griechenbeisel Restaurant on Fleischmarkt (http://www.nethotels.com/restaurants....asp?RestID=4m), and Cafe Central in the Palais Ferstel on Herrengasse (http://www.famouslandmarks.com/leasi...&mode=SMALL360). Neither are too far from St. Stephens's in the center of the old town. Both have a wonderful ambience.
The Grienchenbeisel is above average in price and the food is wonderful, but even dessert and coffee there would be special. Be sure to notice the old Greek Church next door.
The Cafe Central is a great place to have coffee and pastry or a light lunch. Many people will also recommend the Cafe Sacher, home of the Sachertorte. Never cared for Sachertorte -- too dry in my opinion, but if you have the time...
Griechenbeisel Restaurant on Fleischmarkt (http://www.nethotels.com/restaurants....asp?RestID=4m), and Cafe Central in the Palais Ferstel on Herrengasse (http://www.famouslandmarks.com/leasi...&mode=SMALL360). Neither are too far from St. Stephens's in the center of the old town. Both have a wonderful ambience.
The Grienchenbeisel is above average in price and the food is wonderful, but even dessert and coffee there would be special. Be sure to notice the old Greek Church next door.
The Cafe Central is a great place to have coffee and pastry or a light lunch. Many people will also recommend the Cafe Sacher, home of the Sachertorte. Never cared for Sachertorte -- too dry in my opinion, but if you have the time...
Jun 1st, 2002, 06:28 AM
#3
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Betty,
I have been trying to find out what happened to a fabulous restaurant in Vienna that was the site of one of the most memorable meals my husband and I ever had. The restaurant was called the Steinerne Eule (located at 30 Hallegasse) and we ate there in 1985.
Do you know if it still exists or what happened to the chef? I wish I knew his name so I could have followed his career. He had been featured in Travel & Leisure which is how we found the restaurant to begin with.
Any info. would be appreciated! Thanks.
Lisa
I have been trying to find out what happened to a fabulous restaurant in Vienna that was the site of one of the most memorable meals my husband and I ever had. The restaurant was called the Steinerne Eule (located at 30 Hallegasse) and we ate there in 1985.
Do you know if it still exists or what happened to the chef? I wish I knew his name so I could have followed his career. He had been featured in Travel & Leisure which is how we found the restaurant to begin with.
Any info. would be appreciated! Thanks.
Lisa
Jun 1st, 2002, 07:36 AM
#4
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Lisa, found this by doing a search on www.google.com for Steinerne Eule. Looks like you had the street name wrong.
Steinerne Eule
Halbgasse 30, 1070 Vienna, Tel. (+43/1) 93 22 50,93 72 68, Di-Sa 11-14,30 u.18-1
Steinerne Eule
Halbgasse 30, 1070 Vienna, Tel. (+43/1) 93 22 50,93 72 68, Di-Sa 11-14,30 u.18-1
Jun 1st, 2002, 08:09 AM
#5
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Again I will sing the praises of Nordsee. This is a fast food chain in Germany and Austria (one on Kartnerstrasse just beyond St. Stephen's in Vienna) with terrific lox, herring, lobster, shrimp sandwiches and paperbasket type meals. You can eat stand up or sit down. Lobster, etc. is not cheap but everything is total quality and freshness. Best fast food ever.
Another chain that I like--although quality varies from place to place--is Weinerwald. Chicken is their specialty and my favorite is the Hausfrauenart or some such. Potatoes fried in bacon grease with chunks of chicken and a fried egg on top. Sort of middle of the road price wise.
For a more upscale dinner try Rauchenweisee or some such, the White Chimney Sweep. Nice atmosphere and good food. Top of the line would be Drei Husaren--old world elegance and service with a wonderful appetizer cart. High prices. Worth it if you've got it.
Another chain that I like--although quality varies from place to place--is Weinerwald. Chicken is their specialty and my favorite is the Hausfrauenart or some such. Potatoes fried in bacon grease with chunks of chicken and a fried egg on top. Sort of middle of the road price wise.
For a more upscale dinner try Rauchenweisee or some such, the White Chimney Sweep. Nice atmosphere and good food. Top of the line would be Drei Husaren--old world elegance and service with a wonderful appetizer cart. High prices. Worth it if you've got it.
Jun 1st, 2002, 08:52 AM
#7
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I'll second Cafe Central. It's a bit of a tourist haunt - if only they could all be so nice. I was there in December - jazz trio playing cole porter, evergreen everywhere, snow flakes falling outside - and the phariaser and irish coffees were strong and potent.
Dinner at Korso in the Hotel Bristol was incredible - expensive - but perfect. They also serve lunch which is a real bargain. Dress nice.
Dinner at Korso in the Hotel Bristol was incredible - expensive - but perfect. They also serve lunch which is a real bargain. Dress nice.
Jun 1st, 2002, 10:46 AM
#9
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First of all, check today's NY Times for an interesting article on the success of Starbucks in Vienna.
My favorite Viennese restaurant, mentioned above, is The White Chimney Sweep. I have eaten there about a dozen times and never been disappointed with the food, wine or service. Its full name is Restaurant zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer and it's on Weihburgasse, just a few doors down from Drei Husaren. The restaurant has a web site--www.weisser-rauchfangkehrer.at/frames/english/restaurant (note that the "weissen" in the name is "weisser" in the web site--don't know why). Drei Husaren is an "occasion" restaurant--it's a place to celebrate anniversaries, engagements, etc., more than a place just to have a good meal.
Novelli's (11 Braunerstrasse) is a new and very popular, elegant Italian restaurants. It's owned by the same people who run Tavola on Weihburgasse, across the street from Drei Husaren.
For Japanese cuisine, the best place in town is the ANA Grand Hotel. Their Sunday sushi brunch is the favored spot of the Japanese community in Vienna.
I don't have a favorite cafe--lots of good ones. Demel is a classic (www.demel.at) but it's always too crowded and hectic when I go there.
I am not a fan of Sacher torte, too dry for my taste. You should know that the recipe was actually stolen from MRS. Sacher by her ne'er do well son (she had two sons; the "good" one was hardworking and ran a successful hotel in Baden, outside Vienna; the "bad" one couldn't make a living until he took his mother's cake recipe and used it--without permission--to build his fortune).
I stop at Nordsee from time to time too. Cheap and filling. The Nordsee just off the Graben is newer and less crowded than the one on Karntnerstrasse.
Steiereck is one of the "name" restaurants in Vienna; I was there in March and while my meal was good, I didn't find it exceptional. We were seated in the garden room, the decor of which was too fussy for my taste. The other rooms are more attractive and the wine cellar is worth touring if you eat there.
Generally, you will need reservations for Steiereck, zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer, Drei Husaren, Novelli, Tavola and the ANA Grand Hotel's Sunday sushi brunch. However, I have been able to book tables at all of those restaurants just a day or two ahead (with the exception of the sushi brunch).
BTilke (Brussels)
My favorite Viennese restaurant, mentioned above, is The White Chimney Sweep. I have eaten there about a dozen times and never been disappointed with the food, wine or service. Its full name is Restaurant zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer and it's on Weihburgasse, just a few doors down from Drei Husaren. The restaurant has a web site--www.weisser-rauchfangkehrer.at/frames/english/restaurant (note that the "weissen" in the name is "weisser" in the web site--don't know why). Drei Husaren is an "occasion" restaurant--it's a place to celebrate anniversaries, engagements, etc., more than a place just to have a good meal.
Novelli's (11 Braunerstrasse) is a new and very popular, elegant Italian restaurants. It's owned by the same people who run Tavola on Weihburgasse, across the street from Drei Husaren.
For Japanese cuisine, the best place in town is the ANA Grand Hotel. Their Sunday sushi brunch is the favored spot of the Japanese community in Vienna.
I don't have a favorite cafe--lots of good ones. Demel is a classic (www.demel.at) but it's always too crowded and hectic when I go there.
I am not a fan of Sacher torte, too dry for my taste. You should know that the recipe was actually stolen from MRS. Sacher by her ne'er do well son (she had two sons; the "good" one was hardworking and ran a successful hotel in Baden, outside Vienna; the "bad" one couldn't make a living until he took his mother's cake recipe and used it--without permission--to build his fortune).
I stop at Nordsee from time to time too. Cheap and filling. The Nordsee just off the Graben is newer and less crowded than the one on Karntnerstrasse.
Steiereck is one of the "name" restaurants in Vienna; I was there in March and while my meal was good, I didn't find it exceptional. We were seated in the garden room, the decor of which was too fussy for my taste. The other rooms are more attractive and the wine cellar is worth touring if you eat there.
Generally, you will need reservations for Steiereck, zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer, Drei Husaren, Novelli, Tavola and the ANA Grand Hotel's Sunday sushi brunch. However, I have been able to book tables at all of those restaurants just a day or two ahead (with the exception of the sushi brunch).
BTilke (Brussels)
Jun 1st, 2002, 01:54 PM
#11
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Julie, thanks. I just took another peek at the Chimney Sweep's web site and wow! As you go through the restaurant part of the site, you can click to see a photo of every single table! Somebody there REALLY likes fooling with a computer. I had steak when I was there last and feel guilty...the steaks are from Highland Cattle raised in Styria...and I think we stayed in a cabin next to their field last summer in Gaal, Austria. The owner of the cabins and small sports resort (featuring some very challenging grass skiing trails) raised Highland cattle and said he was about the only guy doing it in Styria. Oh dear. Too much "circle of life" for me--we used to talk to the cattle every morning while we had our coffee on the picnic table by the front door (their field was literally 10 feet from our cabin). At least we know they were very well cared for...
Jun 1st, 2002, 08:01 PM
#12
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I enjoyed torte and coffee and Demel's. It was so pleasant just to sit, relax and talk with the locals. It is not a place to go too casually dressed. When I asked the hotel staff for a recommendation for weinerschnitzel, he said Figlmuller's--it is larger than your plate and is good, not great. But, again, you sit with locals and enjoy the scene--they do allow smoking which is a distraction.
Jun 2nd, 2002, 02:12 PM
#14
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Found the website for the Griechenbeisl restaurant. It has a sample menu with prices (http://www.griechenbeisl.at/index_e.htm). With drinks and dessert, you could expect to pay $25 - $30 per person, but could get by for less. The Drei Husaren has a menu posted by the door as do most other European restaurants.
Jun 4th, 2002, 08:07 AM
#15
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Hi Shari,
Missed your post earlier.
I spent a week in Vienna just recently, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the food.
Here's a few places where I had good meals (mostly dinner):
Immervoll - on Weihburggasse (inside the Ring, very close to St. Stephans). Menu is adventurous, a mix of traditional Austrian and international. Their housemade "Mohr in Hemd", chocolate pudding cake with clouds of whipped cream, was worth every calorie.
A Tavola - Just down the street from Immervoll. Good, well-priced Italian food and wines. Had a delicious asparagus risotto for dinner. Vienna is chock-full of good Italian restaurants, BTW.
Boheme - in the Spittelberg neighborhood on a lovely cobblestone street. Fun, opera-themed ambiance. The owner is a wine buff, has weekly specials posted. Wonderful mushroom strudel appetizer, then chicken with chicory stems and of course dessert, which was chocolate mousse very prettily decorated with sauces, fresh fruit and flowers.
Wrenkh - Vegetarian restaurant inside the Ring. Hip, very popular, very inventive food. I only had a salad but there were many menu items that intrigued me. Their dessert and wine lists prove that vegetarian does not equal dreary!
My favorite cafe was the Diglas, a couple of streets away from St. Stephans. There was a pianist in the evenings, playing everything from ragtime to Chopin. The Diglas is on the street where the horse-drawn carriages seem to trek home at night, so it was lovely to sit at the window watching them, listening to music, drinking my "grosser brauner". The Diglas makes most of its high-quality sweets in-house, and also offers a light fixed-price lunch.
Enjoy!
Missed your post earlier.
I spent a week in Vienna just recently, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the food.
Here's a few places where I had good meals (mostly dinner):
Immervoll - on Weihburggasse (inside the Ring, very close to St. Stephans). Menu is adventurous, a mix of traditional Austrian and international. Their housemade "Mohr in Hemd", chocolate pudding cake with clouds of whipped cream, was worth every calorie.
A Tavola - Just down the street from Immervoll. Good, well-priced Italian food and wines. Had a delicious asparagus risotto for dinner. Vienna is chock-full of good Italian restaurants, BTW.
Boheme - in the Spittelberg neighborhood on a lovely cobblestone street. Fun, opera-themed ambiance. The owner is a wine buff, has weekly specials posted. Wonderful mushroom strudel appetizer, then chicken with chicory stems and of course dessert, which was chocolate mousse very prettily decorated with sauces, fresh fruit and flowers.
Wrenkh - Vegetarian restaurant inside the Ring. Hip, very popular, very inventive food. I only had a salad but there were many menu items that intrigued me. Their dessert and wine lists prove that vegetarian does not equal dreary!
My favorite cafe was the Diglas, a couple of streets away from St. Stephans. There was a pianist in the evenings, playing everything from ragtime to Chopin. The Diglas is on the street where the horse-drawn carriages seem to trek home at night, so it was lovely to sit at the window watching them, listening to music, drinking my "grosser brauner". The Diglas makes most of its high-quality sweets in-house, and also offers a light fixed-price lunch.
Enjoy!
Jul 7th, 2002, 07:23 AM
#16
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Highly recommended restaurants:
Regina Margherita (eaten there 4 times) - very good pizza in a beautiful location (courtyard in Palais Esterhazy) and only 5-1ß% more expensive than much more downmarket places.
Do & Co (once eaten there) - very good food, bit expensive.
Le Siecle at Radisson (3 x) - expensive but good
Recommended - cheap Japanese restaurants - Akashi, next door to the Astoria, Naglergasse Akakiko, Kyoto Walfischgasse.
Bettelstudent - great value lunch menu, very popular for office workers.
Awful -Esterhazykeller (inedible); Die Wienerin, Wallnerstrasse - 1.5 pieces meat, 4.5 pieces of pure fat in a goulasch; Che - what a rip off.
Total mediocre - Bierhof in Haarhof, quite a few other restaurants in Vienna
Regina Margherita (eaten there 4 times) - very good pizza in a beautiful location (courtyard in Palais Esterhazy) and only 5-1ß% more expensive than much more downmarket places.
Do & Co (once eaten there) - very good food, bit expensive.
Le Siecle at Radisson (3 x) - expensive but good
Recommended - cheap Japanese restaurants - Akashi, next door to the Astoria, Naglergasse Akakiko, Kyoto Walfischgasse.
Bettelstudent - great value lunch menu, very popular for office workers.
Awful -Esterhazykeller (inedible); Die Wienerin, Wallnerstrasse - 1.5 pieces meat, 4.5 pieces of pure fat in a goulasch; Che - what a rip off.
Total mediocre - Bierhof in Haarhof, quite a few other restaurants in Vienna
Jul 7th, 2002, 07:26 AM
#17
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Highly recommended restaurants:
Regina Margherita (eaten there 4 times) - very good pizza in a beautiful location (courtyard in Palais Esterhazy) and only 5-1ß% more expensive than much more downmarket places.
Do & Co (once eaten there) - very good food, bit expensive.
Le Siecle at Radisson (3 x) - expensive but good
Recommended - cheap Japanese restaurants - Akashi, next door to the Astoria, Naglergasse Akakiko, Kyoto Walfischgasse.
Bettelstudent - great value lunch menu, very popular for office workers.
Achilleus - Greek, Kollnerhofgasse (near Greek church) go for starters (avoid prawn dishes - minuscule prawns, and main dishes - starters much better value)
Awful -Esterhazykeller (inedible); Die Wienerin, Wallnerstrasse - 1.5 pieces meat, 4.5 pieces of pure fat in a goulasch; Che - what a rip off.
Total mediocre - Bierhof in Haarhof, quite a few other restaurants in Vienna.
I am afraid I do not think Nordsee is good value at all - same prices as sit down meals but it is self serve. Microwaved pasta is nothing special although lobster looks good.
Wienerwald is OK value but nothing special.
Regina Margherita (eaten there 4 times) - very good pizza in a beautiful location (courtyard in Palais Esterhazy) and only 5-1ß% more expensive than much more downmarket places.
Do & Co (once eaten there) - very good food, bit expensive.
Le Siecle at Radisson (3 x) - expensive but good
Recommended - cheap Japanese restaurants - Akashi, next door to the Astoria, Naglergasse Akakiko, Kyoto Walfischgasse.
Bettelstudent - great value lunch menu, very popular for office workers.
Achilleus - Greek, Kollnerhofgasse (near Greek church) go for starters (avoid prawn dishes - minuscule prawns, and main dishes - starters much better value)
Awful -Esterhazykeller (inedible); Die Wienerin, Wallnerstrasse - 1.5 pieces meat, 4.5 pieces of pure fat in a goulasch; Che - what a rip off.
Total mediocre - Bierhof in Haarhof, quite a few other restaurants in Vienna.
I am afraid I do not think Nordsee is good value at all - same prices as sit down meals but it is self serve. Microwaved pasta is nothing special although lobster looks good.
Wienerwald is OK value but nothing special.
Jul 7th, 2002, 11:20 AM
#18
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We ate at Figlmuller's last summer and enjoyed it. No, it wasn't the best meal we had - but is was not expensive ant the 'bigger than my face schnitzel' was big enough to take with us and have for lunch on the go the the next day. We liked it because it was quiet, not rushed and we giggled at the gigantor schnitzel. We also went to Demel's - first day, right around the corner from our hotel (Pension Pertschy - HIGHLY RECOMMEND, by the way) and -being from Seattle we were having a caffiene jones - since I knew where it was that's where we headed. Service wasn't great, but sightseeing at the pastry counter was worth it. Later, we came across Aida Cafes (read about them on the Rick Steves website) Friendly service, great coffee, nice pastries and much less expensive.
Jul 9th, 2002, 08:36 PM
#19
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Try Centimeters for good, cheap and pleanty food. It's a place where mostly college age kids go. It's located behind the Rathaus, about a block or so across the main street. I'm sorry I can't remember the name of the street. it's not too hard to find though. Good Luck!!
