Vienna, Vienna, Vienna...
Many thanks, first of all, to everyone - especially Sturml! - who has weighed in recently on restaurants in Vienna. There's a huge amount of information already in threads here, and after spending some time reading them all I'm still not sure I've got much of an idea about it. But that's not exactly why I'm posting.
Next Monday is my girlfriend's birthday, and we'll be spending Saturday-Tuesday in Vienna (we live in London). She's never been to Austria, and is very interested in discovering the food of the region. On Monday evening the agenda is a great meal in sumptuous surroundings. The question is - where?
The obvious choices from what's been posted here seem to be Steiereck (which isn't tempting at all - it looks over-priced and like it's trying too hard), Schwarzes Kameel (which doesn't look very special), Anna Sacher (closed Mondays, a pity because it looks gorgeous!), and Walter Bauer (about which I can find very little information).
We're staying at the new Sofitel, so I'm curious to know if anyone's tried "Le Loft", and whether that could be an option. I have a feeling, though, that she'd prefer a grand, traditionally luxurious dining experience for her birthday - something along the lines of the Anna Sacher, a beautiful room with refined Viennese food or innovative food that is inspired by the local cuisine.
Other meals - Sunday night we'll be at the Staatsoper for the ballet, so any tips on where nearby to eat afterwards - late on a Sunday evening - are much appreciated; for coffee houses - Landtmann? And we'll try Gmoakeller, and look at Rudi Beisl, and Sperl for the garlic soup (maybe at lunch, since it's close to the Belvedere). Meanwhile, a friend has recommended Drei Jacken, Pohl, Figlmuller for schnitzl, Schweizerhaus, Mnozil, Steirerstoeckl, and Friseurmueller for grinzing. I'm also told that Fruth is a fantastic spot for patisserie/viennoiserie.
Any reactions or advice gratefully welcomed...
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The new Le Loft in Sofitel IS a great luxurious restaurant, but it is offering high-end and very expensive French cuisine (only) and is now solidly booked for weeks...
For a dinner a deux celebrating a birthday I actually would prefer Walter Bauer over Anna Sacher, simply because of the more intimate atmosphere in the small, cozy Walter Bauer vs. the more splendid but roomy Anna Sacher.
Sunday night is a big problem, because most of the high-end places - as well as Rudis Beisl and Gmoakeller - are closed on Sundays, with the exception of Anna Sacher, which is just behind the Staatsoper and therefore a good choice for Sunday evening. The alternative selection would be the Cafe Mozart located in the same block, offering less expensive food, and operated by the owners of Cafe Landtmann (which is quite a distance away when leaving the Staatsoper).
Zu den 3 Hacken is a nice traditional beisl (but also closed Sunday), Figlmüller is an interesting experience, even when crowded with tourists, but their Schnitzel is not considered a "real Wiener Schnitzel" by the locals. At least Figl is open on Sunday.
Schweizerhaus is closed till March.
Pöhl is a delicatessen on Naschmarkt and Kutschkermarkt, offering snacks on Kutschkermarkt only.
I never heard about Mnozil, had to google. Seems to be a quite old-fashioned beisl, recently renovated, popular with students of the nearby University of Performing Arts. Might be a good choice for lunch, although I would prefer Immervoll or Zu den 3 Hacken.
Steierstöckl is a very popular place located at the fringe of the city, wonderful when you can go there after a walk through the Wienerwald, but not worth a detour for the food.
Grinzing is a sad experience, totally destroyed. I would avoid Grinzing, rather go to Neustift or even better to Stammersdorf, where you can just drop in into one of the many heurigen.
Friseurmüller is not in Grinzing (!!), but in Neustift am Walde. We used to go there quite often, and AFAIK it is still one of the more authentic heurigen...
Fruth is a wonderful chocolatier, who also makes cakes and patisserie. Definitely a treasure worth looking for, and close to Rudis Beisl ...
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re: gutsofsteel
kukubura
Feb 14, 2011 02:32 PM
I want someplace a local would go. No music, as my understanding is that it's a sign of a tourist trap. It can be modern or it can be traditional but it needs to be a place that would appeal to a local. We haven't stopped talking about Wieninger and Kierlinger since we were there last spring. This was our heurigen experience last year: http://tastytrix.blogspot.com/2010/04...
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re: kukubura
When I was visiting heurigen last spring, we heard live music in an old fashioned shmaltzy place and we were the only non-locals in the place.
We did not step foot in Grinzing.
Vienna is a big city, not every Viennese person has the same tastes and preferences.
My mother was born in Vienna.
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re: kukubura
We love the Stammersdorfer Kellergasse in the warmer seasons, when you can sit outside, in most cases on top of the winecellar, and get real homemade treats served with the wine. The most famous of these heurigen in Stammersdorf is Göbel on the upper end of the Kellergasse http://www.weinbaugoebel.at/ but we also like the Hexenhaus http://www.zum-hexenhaus.at/page4/pag... because of its really romatic garden.
Sorry, these are no locations for visits during winter ...
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re: Sturmi
kukubura
Feb 15, 2011 02:15 AM
Thanks! FYI to Winter visitors, the insides of the ones that we visited were lovely as well. I'm sure sitting in the garden is a singular pleasure but I wouldn't bypass the heuriger experience just because it's cold out. Still well worth a visit.
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re: esharpest
Just back from Vienna and thanks to all for your recommendations.
We had good lunches at Immervoll and Zu den 3 Hacken. Coffees and cakes at the obligatory Demel (touristy but, it must be said, excellent cakes), Landtmann, and Hawelka. Nice post-ballet sausages at the stand between the Staatsoper and the Albertina, along with a good number of other audience members. And, btw, in Salzburg, excellent schnitzel and tafelspitz at the Blaue Gans. Didn't make it to lots of places we hoped to, but there are only so many hours in the day and so much room in the stomach.
As for Le Loft:
We had an excellent experience here. It is a very modern room, as you would expect from a brand-new building, and the views are great, with the psychedelic lit ceiling (look at the Sofitel web photo gallery, http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-6599-..., to see what I mean) appearing to extend out over the city at night because of the reflections through the tall windows. During the day, the reflections of course disappear, but the view is just as good, since Vienna does not have the lit-up skyline of somewhere like Hong Kong. However, for some reason sitting at the table doesn't feel particularly special, and the swivelling chairs feel very casual. Perhaps this is because the bar and restaurant are all in the same large space? Or is it because all the lighting comes from the ceiling, when perhaps some individual lighting at the tables would help foster a sense of intimacy and occasion? (We were told that the ceiling lighting is set at 30% in the evening, so management could make it darker if they wished, and use more candle-lighting on the tables - in my view this would help the ambience change from a business-meeting type setting to something more remarkable.
)The restaurant is still in opening mode, and operating at around 50% capacity, so that the staff can get all the creases ironed out in the first months. Only two things rankled: first, that the music does get a bit louder over the course of the evening (however, we didn't sit down till after 9pm, and were the last table left, while the bar was still going strong - so this is not likely to be a problem for most diners); and, second, that while we were eating dessert, a staff member sprayed an adjacent table with a strong-smelling cleaning fluid (I brought this to the attention of our waiter who said that this was a big no-no and that the staffer should have absolutely known better). Service was excellent apart from that one mishap; all the staff were multi-lingual, friendly, and professional.
And now, to the food. There is a six-course set menu which can also be offered in a four-course version, but we ordered from the main menu. The amuse-bouche was a lentil soup with small pieces of roasted ham topped with a ham-flavoured foam, flavourful and redolent. For our first courses we had a pan-fried foie gras of duck which had been dusted top and bottom with poppy seeds prior to cooking, served melting and pink, on a salad of rocket and with a small amount of a rich reduction; and a warm salad of lobster with sliced carrots, some sort of berry, and a slightly bitter-tasting melon-like vegetable. Both worked very well, with the foie gras being particularly more-ish. For main courses, we had slices of pink pan-fried veal sprinkled with salt with chicory leaves sauteed with some sort of mushroom stems (pleurotes, perhaps), an unidentifiable green vegetable, again like a bitter melon, and some soft, almost sweet gnocchi (they were the highlight of the meal for me - if only I could figure out how to make gnocchi like those!), and a veal jus, slightly salty; and a filet of sea bass topped with a tartare of oysters, with leeks and a very rich chervil-scented oyster sauce/foam, with a teacup of roasted vegetables. The tartare of oysters was a very interesting idea, and the portion was almost too large, the dish being so unctuously flavoured. For dessert we shared a good orange soufflé, with Grand Marnier granita with candied orange and lime peel slivers. The restaurant then surprised us a birthday gift of an orange-Bailey's mousse-cake, which wasn't particularly interesting or innovative but tasty nonetheless. We left after almost 3 hours, happy and stuffed. The food throughout was interesting, very well-executed, and enjoyable.
Neither of us is a drinker of large quantities of wine, but we love it nonetheless, so we asked the sommelier for a glass of Austrian wine - much of which is not available in the UK, where we live - to accompany each course. He obliged with some lovely wines which were very different from the usual French suspects and paired very well with the food.
Total bill was about €200, including drinks and service, for two, which seemed like reasonable value.
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re: esharpest
kukubura
Feb 25, 2011 03:23 AM
Assuming your soft gnocchi are from a similar recipe to the soft gnocchi we had at Wieninger (maybe an Austrian twist on gnocchi?) it's your lucky day...
http://tastytrix.blogspot.com/2010/12...Thanks for the detailed report!
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re: Sturmi
Hi, Sturmi (and all other Chowhound foodies knowledgeable on Vienna) --
Happy Birthday, Sturmi! Have you had a chance yet to dine at Le Loft to celebrate? How did you like it? Was your experience similar to that of "esharpest?" I would appreciate details, if possible.
We have currently decided on the following restaurants when we visit Vienna in September:
1) Korso bei der Oper (pre-Musikverein)
2) Sacher Rote Bar (pre-Staatsoper)
3) Artner Franziskanerplatz
4) We are trying to decide between Le Loft and Fabio's. I know that they are very different, but if you (or any other Chowhound foodies) could lend some guidance on our final decision, I would appreciate it. It will probably be our last dinner, not only in Vienna, but in Europe before returning to the USA, so I want it special!Looking forward to hearing your advice!
Thanks!
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re: MalibuCA
Sorry for the delay, but we were slighty underwhelmed by our experience at Le Loft:
What is quite spectacular is the view from the 18th floor. If the weather is nice you can see a spectacular sunset over the Vienna woods, and it is also quite charming the lights go on all over town. When it is foggy you just see the rather boring interior of a modern restaurant setup...The food is nice, but not as spectacular as the view. We had the tasting menu, and found it to be a quite authentic sample of Alsacian food, including frog legs, pigeon and foie gras. The service was helpful but a little bit understaffed (the location is spacy and the waiters have to go long distances). The wine list is mainly Austrian, which is a welcome surprise.
I would just visit the bar for a sunset drink and then leave for another more Viennese restaurant.
Fabio´s is quite similar.The setup is very fancy, but the Italian cuisine offered is not as spectacular as you would want it to be. And of course, when visiting Vienna you would rather get something more local...
But you can do worse: Korso definitely is no more recommended. I has not yet recovered from Gerers demise and is just another hotel restaurant. Pre-Musikverein you could rather go to the restaurant at Hotel Imperial, which is around the corner from the Musikverein, and get a traditional Viennese dinner. English menu: http://www.hotelimperialvienna.com/assets/u/2011-1Speisekarte.pdf
Artner and Sacher are OK, and conveniently located right in the city. But if you really want something extraordinary right now there is just one place to go: the just reopened Palais Coburg. We have not yet been there, it is simply above our budget, but all critics love the tasting menues of Silvio Nickol.
Chefs menu (English): http://www.coburg.at/_en/downloads/pdf/Chef's%20Menü%20E_170511.pdfOf course there are much less expensive alternatives. I recently visited the new "Martin Stein" in Döbling, were a young couple is offering a very authentic, light Viennese style cuisine at half the price of Palais Coburg. We had the sous-vide menu and were fascinated by the natural taste of the high-quality ingredients:
http://www.martin-stein.at/16-0-A-la-...
This is the German version of their menu, they have an English one as well, but not online.-
re: Sturmi
Thank you, Sturmi, for your frank honesty! I so appreciate your insights! I will definitely look into the Hotel Imperial restaurant -- we are staying at the Hotel Imperial, and that certainly makes it easy. I will check out the other restaurants you recommend as well. I read somewhere that the chef at Korso had left to open another restaurant, but I can't recall the name of the new restaurant. Do you happen to know the name, and would you recommend it? I questioned Korso when I saw their chef had left, but the Hotel Imperial Concierge recommended it so I thought it still would be something special. Perhaps the Concierge's list simply hadn't been updated. If you know anything about Korso's ex-chef and where he is, please let me know.
Thanks again for your fantastic help!
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re: MalibuCA
Reinhard Gerer is now at Magdalenenhof, and offers typical Viennese food at reasonable price levels, quite interesting, but quite far from the city, only recommended for a trip during fine weather.
http://www.reinhard-gerer.at/
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