Austrian Restaurant Guide

This brief guide lists some restaurants, heurigen, and cafés that I enjoyed while visting my family in Austria last year and the year before. It makes no attempt at completeness. This guide is written by an American for Americans; please forgive my lack of knowledge. Corrections or comments (from Austrians in particular) are always welcome. I also have a companion guide to Austrian beer available.

Austrian Cuisine

Schnitzel

A meat cutlet, of veal unless otherwise specified, pounded thin, usually breaded and sautéd with or without sauce. Pork (Schweinschnitzel) and turkey are common alternatives to veal. There are many varieties:

Wiener Schnitzel

The classic, a veal cutlet, simply breaded and sautéd. Superb.

Zigeunerschnitzel

Any dish done Zigeuner ("gypsy") style implies a relatively spicy sauce of tomatoes and mildly hot peppers.

Naturschnitzel

An unbreaded schnitzel.

Schnitzel Parisien-Art

Parisian-style means, I believe, floured but not breaded.

Jägerschnitzel

Hunter-style, implying a sauce of mushrooms.

Rahmschnitzel

A cream sauce.

Surschnitzel

My favorite, usually only found in Heurigen. I got conflicting explanations of this one: sur means sour, and so a Surschnitzel is marinated before cooking. But it also seems to be a pork cutlet, and I sort of suspect the meat is cured or smoked, since it appears slightly pink.

Leberknödel Suppe

Soup filled with big liver-dumplings.

Gulasch

Hungarian-influenced stew, usually highly spiced with paprika. Can be made of any meat. Sometimes has potatoes in it, but more often served with bread or some kind of dumpling. A Viennese specialty is Fiakergulasch, which has an egg in it and is supposedly favored by the Fiaker drivers of Vienna (a Fiaker is a horse-drawn carriage).

Wiener Backhendl (Backhuhn)

Most Americans would be surprised to learn that the Viennese make fantastic fried chicken, and this is it. Popular at Heurigen.

In my experience the average quality of Austrian restaurant food and service is remarkably high. It's hard to get a bad meal, especially if you stick to the specialties. A typical schnitzel is perfectly prepared, even in the most mundane chain restaurants along the highway.

Austrian Wine

Most Viennese Heurigen are in the hills of the Wiener Wald (around Grinzing and Nussdorf) or south of the city (around Gumpoldskirchen). These places are very popular with tourists and attract bus tours. I list some Heurigen in the Vienna section below which are off the beaten track, and which may provide a more authentic experience.

Heurigen also serve food, usually a cold buffet featuring potato salad and pickled meats and vegetables. A very popular Heurigen treat is Schmalzbrot, bread with lard as a spread! The lard is usually homemade rendered pork fat from a roast, and is very flavorful. You should at least try it!

Hot dishes are also available, the two most traditional being Wiener Backhendl and Surschnitzel. Surschnitzel is my favorite schnitzel, and is usually only available in Heurigen.

Austrian wines have a reputation for sweetness, but that's probably because the dry wines preferred by most Austrians are best enjoyed young and don't travel very well. A surprising specialty is Schilcher, a nippy dry rosé from Steiermark. The sweet reputation is validated by fine Beerenausleses and Eisweins from Burgenland.

Austrian Beer

Austrian Restaurants by Province

Wien

Karl Kolarik's Schweizerhaus im Wiener Prater

Brauhaus Nussdorf

Beethovenhaus Bierteufl

Tichy A fantastic ice cream place, serving dozens of flavors at the counter as well as ice cream specialties (like Eis Marillonknödel) in the small parlor. X Bezirk, corner Ettenreichgasse and Davidgasse, Wien. Take the U1 to the end of the line at Reumannplatz.

Heurigen

Weinschenke Alischer My favorite Heurige is located in Simmering. Quiet, nice courtyard, good food. Reservations are a good idea. XI Bezirk, Kaiser-Ebersdorfer Straße 58, 1110 Wien. (1) 76 84 84. From Schwarzenbergplatz take the 71 Straßenbahn down Rennweg (which turns into Simmeringer Hauptstraße) to Kaiser-Ebersdorfer Straße. Walk a few blocks down Kaiser-Ebersdorfer Straße; the Heurige is on the right.

Heurigen-Schank Another nice place, somewhat harder to get to via public transport (in other words, I can't remember how to get there). Oberlaaer Straße 52, 1100 Wien.

Augustiner Keller A different kind of Heurige, the Augustiner Keller bills itself as the Stadtheurige, as it's right in the middle of town. True Keller atmosphere: beautiful brick catacombs that seem to go on and on. Schrammel music nightly. I Bezirk, Augustinerstraße 1, A-1010 Wien. (1) 533 10 26.

Cafés

Most cafés will offer many different types of coffee; here are some of the most common:

Brauner

The closest thing to a "regular"cup of coffee: coffee with cream.

Schwarzer

A cup of black coffee.

Melange

A small cup of espresso with some milk and milk froth on top. The Viennese version of a cappucino.

Einspänner

Black coffee in a glass with whipped cream (mit schlag).

Cafe Hawelka Perhaps the most Bohemian of Viennese cafés, the Hawelka is the only restaurant or café I found in all of Austria that is actually run-down and seedy. But it has a certain character. Dorotheergasse 6, Wien. Just a half-block off Graben.

Hundertwasser Haus While the cafe proper is nothing special, its location in the wonderful Hundertwasser Haus makes it well worth a visit. You can enjoy your coffee on the patio, the floor of which swoops in little hills and valleys, with live trees growing from the walls above your head. Great place for a beer and some card playing. Easily accessible by Straßenbahn.

Steiermark

Die Fischerhütte This restaurant specializes in fresh farm-raised trout from their own ponds. The menu offers several varieties: I recommend the Forelle Zigeuner-Art.

Niederösterreich

Burgenland