I’m going to be in Vienna for a week (!) and wanted to reach out to the board for any suggestions where to eat + drink. I’ll be there on my own for work with relatively quiet evenings…anyone in that neck of the woods the first week of September would be welcomed to join me for a meal.
Thanks for any ideas,
Paul
Steirereck was literally the best meal I’ve ever had.
Thanks. Awesome to know. It was on my radar and now will be on my list if things to do Monday…book a table @ Steirereck.
Totally agree on the Steiereck suggestion - amazing wine selection (let their sommeliers pair wine with each course – and the food and ambience are out of this world.
You should also check out Le Loft. It’s at the top of the Sofitel and while it has a great bar scene, the wine director and his crew have gone to a lot of trouble to find wine that’s unusual and interesting. It also works well with the food.
My favorite small restaurant is Schnattl. Excellent wine list, great food, great vibe. For lunch, go get some schnitzel in the dining room of the Bristol Hotel. I was really impressed with the food and service there. I would also recommend going to Wein & Co (the one close to Stephansplatz is my favorite). They have a great selection of things to drink and the food is quite good, but be aware that the place is crowded every night and a lot of people smoke.
For wine, you can head up into the Nussberg vineyard for an afternoon/evening to hang out among the vines at the Wieninger buschenschank, or you can stay down closer to river level and have a “real” dinner at the Hasjzan-Neumann hueriger (now owned by Fritz Wieninger). There are some amazing wines being made in Vienna these days.
Most important of all, make sure you stop by the Bitzinger würstelstand next to the Albertina Museum. I think they should make it a law that you have to have a käsekrainer and beer to make it through the hot ‘n’ humid Viennese summer weather.
DF
Paul,
I ´m not from Vienna but 200 km South, and I will be in France in early September.
Steirereck is certainly Viennas Top-Adress.
If you would like to experience an absolute fantastic asiatic food, KIM KOCHT is it:
http://www.kimkocht.at/index2.php
Her husband is a wine freak and has selected a fine wine list …
Attention: reservation for dinner absolutely necessary well in advance, at noon sometimes “who comes first”.
If you would like to find interesting bottles to buy:
… but please call him first, when he will be available, and what is still left from his list.
Wow, thank you all very much. I arrive late Sunday and depart early Friday. I think I have enough ideas to fill the week. I really appreciate the small / off the radar ideas as well. I love the Michelin restaurants as well as the next guy but I also really enjoy the local haunts. You guys have provided me with ample examples of both, thanks.
I might need to bump my flight to Friday afternoon to fit in another lunch!
Thanks again for your ideas.
Paul
insider restaurant is Schnattl, in the Lange Gasse, 8th district.
also do not miss having a Käsekrainer at Bitzinger, the Würstlstand right between the Albertina and the Staatsoper downtown…
and of course after writing this I read upwards and see that Fredman got both of them!
Thanks James. Your unbiased additions are appreciated. I prefer redundancy to shotgun. I’ve got a lot of confidence these places mentioned are all excellent thanks to your input. Cheers!
Thanks James. Your unbiased additions are appreciated. I prefer redundancy to shotgun. I’ve got a lot of confidence these places mentioned are all excellent thanks to your input. Cheers!
the place I go when I’ve got one night in Vienna is called Konoba, in the Lerchenfelderstrasse, which is the border between the 7th and the 8th districts. It’s Croatian/Dalmatian cuisine, lots of grilled fish, good marinated stuff, wines from Montenegro and Croatia—no grand wines, but many pleasurable ones.
favourite place downtown is Zu den Drei Hacken, 28 Singerstrasse, sortof behind the cathedral.
Beuscherl and the like—very traditional Viennese cooking, and excellent.
newer and very hot is Konstantin Fillipou, which is near the Schwedenplatz/Franz Josefskai
I think they have one star from Michelin.
expensive, but wonderfully inventive.
Natchmarket is a must stop. Checking out the restaurants, food vendors, and sights.
A quick search in the travel forum will yield many nuggets.
Schildknecht and I had dinner with Dorli Muhr at Umar in the Naschmarkt late in June.
fish restaurant, very good. excellent wine list.
I was only there for 3 days in 2011, but 2 of the places I liked a lot were Zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer and Artner Franziskanerplatz, very close to each other. Zum Weissen has kind of a touristy feel, but the food was very good, and when our server found out I was into wine, he sent over the sommelier and the free tastes started flowing, and there were many, including several after dinner wines. Good thing we weren’t driving.
We went to Artner on a beautiful night in June and sat outside. Our server, Ralph, was a real pro, and he took us on a tour of the wine cellar after dinner. Loved the food and wine there.
Definitely bumping my departure to Friday afternoon.
Thanks again for all of the great ideas.
Ed, you must have loved the bound volumes that are the wine list at Zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer. I had a similar experience a couple years ago and at the end of the night they gave me copies of the red book and the green book. Apparently they have one of the largest cellars in Vienna. I am back in Dec. and will definitely visit again.
As a best effort to keep this thread relevant to “wine talk” I would like to ask you guys which domaines I should be looking for with respect to Austrian wine…I’ve pulled some ideas by searching the WB pages but I would appreciate the advice of the folks who have suggested where to eat.
I know next to nothing about Austrian wine. I know more about the wines from Friuli than those from the eastern empire (sadly…).
Palais Coburg - not cheap, but one of the best cellars you can find in the world: http://palais-coburg.com/wein/weinkeller/
Apparently the best cellar in the world. I’ve already digested their list and have a few French wines (a couple of old Gigondas and a handful of Burgs) on my list of ideas.
But I would prefer to drink the local wines…ideas welcomed!
Paul, aged Gruener Veltliner Smaragd (something like Hirtzberger Honivogl; F.X. Pichler Kellerberg, M, Unendlich; Knoll Vinothekfuellung,…) from very good vintages like 1990, 1997, 1999 is for me by far the best available wine from Austria and among the best whites of the world.
First you have to tell which wines (white, red, sweet - Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot bland and gris, Traminer … Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Pinot Noir etc. ) you are interested in!
2nd: which regions you are able to visit. If you have a (rented) car, all major wine-regions are within some 2-3 hours drive around Vienna, Southern Burgenland and Styria within 1 to 1.5 hours drive from Graz.