2 Best Restaurants in Graz, Carinthia and Graz

A tiny old house turned coffee shop in the center of the city, Cafe Schwalbennest serves traditional Austrian cakes such as homemade sweet poppy seed and cheese-curd tort. It's also a great breakfast spot with regionally sourced cheese and meat. Green shutters on a red facade make Cafe Schwalbennest easy to spot, and there is an upstairs patio overlooking the River Mur, which runs through Graz. But beware, with only three tables upstairs, it can be difficult to snag a spot.

This vegan restaurant prepares a beautiful and fresh buffet full of greens, soups, hot dishes, and more. You choose what you’d like and are billed by weight. The Nordic-inspired interiors add to the clean eating ethos that drives the Gilma family, whose roots in vegetarian restaurants date back to the 1970s. There’s a second, smaller location, Ginko Greenhouse, in the Altstadtpassage near the main square—it specializes in superfood bowls and cold-pressed juices.