Austria good eats?

[c1628]

Will be heading to Vienna, Durnstein, Hallstatt and Salzburg in about 10 days, staying 3-4 nights each. Any recs for good, local, authentic food? Or any place we should try? Thanks.

[Derek]

Will be heading to Vienna, Durnstein, Hallstatt and Salzburg in about 10 days, staying 3-4 nights each. Any recs for good, local, authentic food? Or any place we should try?  Thanks.

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I only have information about Salzburg.

My favorite meal in Salzburg was at The Blue Goose (Blaue Gans) -- easily better than any other meal I had there. Very fine Austrian-style main courses, good Salzburger Nockerl (Salzburg's dessert specialty).

Good also was Herzl at Hotel Goldener Hirsch — particularly for regional cuisine.

I was less impressed by Restaurant Goldener Hirsch -- in my opinion, trying too hard to be French.

[prasantrin]

I don't know if it qualifies as "authentic," but my dinner at Steirereck in Vienna was one of the best meals I've ever had.

[Hodad]

Will be heading to Vienna, Durnstein, Hallstatt and Salzburg in about 10 days, staying 3-4 nights each. Any recs for good, local, authentic food? Or any place we should try?  Thanks.

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On the eastern side of the river is a place called Andreas Hofer. The address is Steingasse 65. They serve traditional filling Austrian fair. It's a cool location too in the side of a cliff.

[Rehovot]

Is it still heuriger season? Oh, man, those are... eat-'til-you-fall-off-the-bench happiness.

You might check out this thread, and this one...and this one.

Trezsniewski's sandwiches (on Dorotheergasse, off Graben, in Vienna 1) are cheap and delicious.

My parents raved about Drei Husarein (mentioned in one of those threads), last year. Not cheap, but evidently very delicious.

Mahlzeit! (bon appetit)

[Mark Sommelier]

Is it still heuriger season? Oh, man, those are... eat-'til-you-fall-off-the-bench happiness. 

You might check out this thread, and this one...and this one.

Trezsniewski's sandwiches (on Dorotheergasse, off Graben, in Vienna 1) are cheap and delicious.

My parents raved about Drei Husarein (mentioned in one of those threads), last year. Not cheap, but evidently very delicious. 

Mahlzeit! (bon appetit)

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As a student in Vienna many years ago, Zu dem Drei Husaren was always a special treat. It was the first really luxurious meal I can remember. They had a spectacular rolling buffet that came to the table before you ordered main courses. I cracked up when the waiter carved my knodl (dumpling) tableside.

Great fun was the Augustinerkeller, under the Augustiner museum near the Staatsoper.

[wcmckinney]

The Vienna Coffee House is deservedly a great tradition. Cafe Central is my personal old guard favorite, Cafe Hawelka is my quirky favorite, and Cafe Demel is my desert favorite.

As far as food goes, Figmuller's is perhaps more overrated and touristy than a real echt-Vienna dining experience, BUT the schnitzel is SO huge that it's hard not to be impressed. The hueringen in Grinzig are all fun and I believe the further away you get from where the trolley car ends, the better these wine gardens are....

[c1628]

Thanks for all your recs. Can't wait to get there!!

[ludja]

Thanks for all your recs.  Can't wait to get there!!

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Have a great time on your trip, c1628! The few recs I could have given would have been in Graz... It would be great if you could report back here on your dining experiences upon your return!

One nice place to check out in Salzburg that I remember is the Augustiner Brau a little outside of downtown. It's a famous old (since 1621) brewery run by monks. There is a section of food stalls attached right to it that has hearty, good food for eating while quaffing the beers. Nice seating inside in old paneled rooms or outside in the beer garden.

Today, the Bräustübl Tavern is Austria's largest beer tavern (with a working area of over 5,000 m²), with an additional 1,500 seats in its shady beer garden.

The beer is drawn from wooden barrels and is supplied on a self-service basis. The meals can be found in what is know as the "stands corridor", a reminder of a traditional market hall.

Edited September 10, 2005 by ludja (log)

[Boris_A]

For Vienna, there are a lot of good hints here around.

Dont' miss gelato in Vienna. There are many "Eissalon" (ice saloon) run by Italian expats (somtimes over generations). Two sure bets are:

- "Eissalon am Schwedenplatz", Schwedenplatz (in the center, 1st district)

- "Zanoni & Facincani, Währinger Gürtel, 3, 1180 Vienna" (18th district)

Dürnstein (in the Wachau) is very beautiful, very small and very touristy, which is always a bit problematic for true local food (they fill their tables anyway).

"Nikolaihof" is not only a real top producer of Austrian wine, but runs an excellent, traditional restaurant as well:

- Nikolaihof, Nikolaigasse 3, Mautern (just over the Danube),

Antoher very good, generation-old name (in Krems, though, 10 miles) is:

- Gasthaus Jell, Hoher Markt 8-9, 3500 Krems

The Wachau (that beautiful Danube valley) is full of Heurigens. I know that the locals prefer the ones on the "other", less idyllic side of the Danube in Mautern, Rossatz, etc.

Edited September 11, 2005 by Boris_A (log)

[ulterior epicure]

I'm probably too late - in fact, you and I were probably in Salzburg the same time? However, if you are saving Salzburg for last, you may get this message in time...

I had WONDERFUL meals at Eszimmer and Restaurant Riedenberg - I would actually put Eszimmer a tad ahead on both creativity and presentation.

The real jewel is if you can afford to take a day trip to the sleepy village of Werfen, just an hour train ride from Salburg. There's a fortress you can visit and the ice caves are nearby. The gastronomic attraction is Obauer - a 2-starred restaurant. It was fantabulous - I had there six-course menu and spent a lovely 3 hour lunch on a rainy day savouring Karl Obauer's culinary creativity. It's a quaint 10-room hotel with a stellar kitchen and refined service. The six-course tasting menu was a steal (in my opinion) for 75 euros.

Have a ball!

Oh, I also regret not having tried Magazin... it's a bit pricier than Eszimmer and Restaurant Riedenberg (I believe), but it's supposedly also steller. If you want to go for a lower scale (ie cheaper) version of Magazin - try their outpost in the Contemporary Museum of Art just around the corner from St. Peter's Church and the Dom Cathedral (not the Contemporary Art Museum on the Monchsburg ridge).

U.E.

[John Talbott]

A note for folks headed for Southern Austria (from the Baltimore press): The American chef and owner, along with his Austrian-born wife Melanie, of the well-respected Abacrombie restaurant in Baltimore, Sonny Sweetman, has sold it and is going to work for his old boss, Horst Schultze, who is involved in a new upscale hotel chain, Capella Hotels. Sweetman will be chef de cuisine for the Schloss Velden, opening in June, a spectacularly sited, lakeside hotel in the Austrian Alps, smack up against Slovenia, not too far from Klagenfurt. I’d be interested in how his cuisine is received there.