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Eating Out
Guide to Drinking and Dining in Vienna

Although the glory of the Empire has long since waned, the Viennese still cultivate the art of good living and good eating. Local specialities abound, served in restaurants of outstanding quality and unique character, from the intimate beisl to the pavement würstelstand. Food is very reasonably priced, especially when compared to other European capitals, and portions are Germanically huge.
Look out for specialities including tafelspitz (tender boiled beef), Wiener Schnitzel (fine, breaded veal) and gulasch (Goulash) (Hungarian influenced beef stew, spiced with paprika). For dessert seek out the famous Sacher Torte (the Hotel Sacher's perfect chocolate cake, flavoured with apricot jam) and strudel (warm, light pastry encasing fruit or cream cheese).
Dealing with thirst has been elevated to an art form in Vienna. Vienna did not invent the café, or kafeehaus, but the city was the site of its perfection. The kafeehaus serves as a venue for quality lunches, invigorating espresso, and late-night drinks. Most of the bars serve varieties of the high-quality Austrian beer, and wine-taverns, known as heurigen, provide chic relaxation. The best heurigen can be found down the side streets of suburban villages such as Grinzing, Sievering and Nusdorf.

PRICE GUIDE: (average cost of a main course):
= less than EUR10, = EUR10 - EUR20, = EUR20+

Austrian

Gulaschmuseum
Schulerstrasse 20
Tel: +43 (0)1-512-1017

Goulash in Austria is pretty serious stuff. In this "museum" the "exhibits" are wholly edible, and freshly cooked. Each night you can sample over a dozen goulashes from a catalogue of hundreds. Other Austrian specialities are also on offer.

Rathauskeller
Rauthausplatz 1
Tel: +43 (0)1-405-1210

Located in the cellars beneath the town hall, this is an elegant restaurant serving traditional Austrian cuisine. Live chamber music adds to the refined atmosphere and guarantees the restaurant is a favourite for tourists.

Griechenbeisl
Fleischmarkt 11
Tel: +43 (0)1-533-1977

Many famous musicians have patronised this cosy inn, including Brahms and Wagner. Traditional Austrian cuisine in a 500-year-old venue gives a real taste of old Vienna.

Café Landtmann
Dr Karl Lueger Ring 4
Tel: +43 (0)1-241-000

Plush, grand café styling sets off this most elegant of Viennese coffeehouses to great effect. Although a lot of visitors only take light refreshment the menu is extensive and the food always excellent.

Altes Burgermeister-haus
Cobenzlgasse 40
Tel: +43 (0)1-320-7223

One of several heurigen situated in the village of Grinzing, this friendly wine bar offers traditional music and is popular with locals and visitors alike.

Zum Bettelstudent
Johannesgasse 12
Tel: +43 (0)1-513-2044

A true Vienna classic, this charming restaurant/bar serves typical and good quality Austrian fare in a relaxed, casual atmosphere. Locals love this place and something about it inspires loyalty.

Fine Dining

Steirereck
Rasumofskygasse 2
Tel: +43 (0)1-713-3168

Widely recognised as Austria's top restaurant, Steirereck boasts two Michelin stars and the prices to go with them. The innovative dishes that draw on a variety of international influences make it all worthwhile. Booking, needless to say, is essential.

Korso bei der Oper
Bristol Hotel, Mahlerstrasse 2
Tel: +43 (0)1-5151-6546
Korso consistently plays second fiddle to Steirereck among Vienna's best restaurants. Excellent food and an exclusive clientele mean booking is a must.

International

Indochine 21
Stubenring 18
Tel: +43 (0)1-513-7660

Currently "the" place to eat in Vienna, this stylish and trendy restaurant in the first district serves food from south-east Asia with a French touch. Reservations are a must, particularly on weekends when tables are booked months in advance. The service is professional yet warm.

Do & Co
Stephansplatz 12
Tel: +43 (0)1-535-3969

Stylish, fashionable and distinctly Viennese. The food is outstanding and the location is ideal, at the top of a modern building overlooking St Stephen's Platz. A mix of international cuisines to eat in or take away makes Do & Co one of Vienna's most popular eateries. There are several other establishments around the city.

Sacher Hotel
Philharminikerstrasse
Tel: +43 (0)1-514-560

Vienna's finest hotel and home of the decadent sacher torte. In the hotel's excellent Red Bar and Anna Sacher restaurants you can sample the famous cake with a coffee or partake of a full meal in sumptuous surroundings. The fabulous menu draws on international as well as Viennese influences.

Isola Im Donaupark
Donauturmstrasse 4
Tel: +43 (0)1-2633-5742-0

Celebrated for its unrivalled views of Vienna, this restaurant sits atop the Danube tower and serves modern Austrian cuisine. If the food and the view don't stick in your memory the bill undoubtedly will.

Asian

Wok (Asian Delights)
Operngasse 20
Tel: +43 (0)1-585-2102

With three outlets in the city Wok is certainly flying the East Asian culinary flag in Vienna. What's more the food is excellent, drawing on the multiple influences of Southeast Asia. Prices are very reasonable for the filling meals, and the ambience and décor are lively and modern respectively. The Operngasse branch is located conveniently close to the naschmarkt. Also at Währingerstrasse 4 (Tel: +43 (0)1-408-0426).

Japanese

Tenmaya
Krugerstrasse 3
Tel:+43 (0)1-512-7397

Excellent Japanese food in suitably austere, minimalist surroundings. Located just off Karnter Strasse, Vienna's main shopping street.

Bars

A good starting point for a night out on the town is the area known as the Bermuda Triangle, centred on Rabensteig near the Danube Canal. It was the first concentrated nightlife zone in the city but tends to be dominated by teens today - especially at the weekends.

Moving out of the Ring, the "musikcafés" and bars of districts 6, 7 and 8 are worth exploring if you are looking for a youthful clientele. This is where Vienna's student population is centred and most bars have a relaxed studenty flavour.

Recently a new hub of activity has emerged around the so-called "Stadtbahnbögen" (between Nussdorferstrasse and Josefstädterstrasse). These arches running underneath Vienna's suburban railway have now been revitalised with numerous bars, musikcafés and restaurants. And in summer - as everywhere in Vienna - the scene switches outdoors.

Der Neue Engel (New Angel)
Rabensteig 5
Tel: n/a
Formally the 'Red Angel', this is the place for cocktails, flirting and sunny discussions on today's "hard life".

Dinos
Salzgries 19
Tel: +43 (0)1-535-7230
A plush American cocktail bar with a tempting line in whiskeys. The smoky jazz accompaniment is only recorded unfortunately, but still makes for a relaxed atmosphere.

First Floor I
Seitenstettengasse, corner Rabensteig
Tel: +43 (0)1-533-7866
Billed as "An elegant and modern Viennese institution" meaning lots of panelling and an aquarium behind the bar. Worth a visit though.

Santo Spirito
Kumpfgasse 7
Tel: n/a
A cosy wine bar hidden in the alleyways of the Bermuda Triangle with a "classical music only"-policy and an interior with a sacred touch (think church paraphernalia, including an old confessional).

Palmenhaus
Burggarten
Tel: +43 (0)1-533-1033
Café, cocktail bar and restaurant located in a beautiful historic conservatory/palmhouse with a view of the Burggarten. Check out the regular DJ nights! The clientele is mixed, but mainly trendy 20- and 30 somethings.

!Más!
Laudongasse 36
Tel: n/a
Great location to grab a cocktail or even a meal in stylish surroundings with a Latin American vibe and music. The clientele is difficult to describe with everybody from businesspeople to students finding !Más! to their taste.

Loop
Stadtbahnbogen 26/27
Tel: +43 (0)1-409-2031
One of the new bars located in Vienna's railway arches, Loop features a jazz and soul music accompaniment to its trendy tipples and classy clientele.
 

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