Vienna Media News 01/2022 Hungry for Vienna

10.1.2022 - Lots of Vienna’s restaurants have used the various lockdowns as an opportunity to develop – and deploy – fresh new hospitality concepts. Numerous new arrivals on the scene are giving the capital’s culinary scene a major lift.

At Motto, a new hotel on Mariahilfer Strasse, Restaurant Chez Bernard is adding a dash of Parisian charm to the capital. Owner and maitre d’ is the “eponymous” Bernard: Bernd Schlacher. But it’s not just the restaurant that takes its cue from the City of Lights: the whole hotel is inspired by “Vienna meets Paris”. Complete with bar and terrace, the restaurant sits high above street level on the rooftop space of a historic 1870s building. Cozy booth seating, lots of greenery and a striking dome above the bar – from which houseplants are suspended – create a special ambience. From breakfast to late-night cocktails, the menu is French-inspired through and through. The rooftop terrace is scheduled to open in early 2022.

Culinary World Tour

Hotel Zola, another new arrival, also brings a new restaurant to the fray. The tasteful ambience running through the boutique établissement is carried on into the hotel restaurant, which goes by the name of Zazatam. Vivid wallpaper depicting paradise gardens and featuring almost sinful amounts of velvet is a real eyecatcher. The casual fine dining restaurant offers top international cuisine. The appetizers are designed to be shared, while the mains take diners on a voyage round the world. It also includes a bijoux bar.

And that’s not the only hotel restaurant to enter the picture: Hotel Gilbert opened its doors in mid-December in the picturesque district of Spittelberg. Gilbert is a very green affair, both inside and out – thanks to a greened facade and thousands of pot plants on the inside. The in-house brasserie has been designed to provide another oasis of greenery – as evidenced by its name, &flora. Here, the focus is on sustainable, vegetarian and vegan Middle Eastern cuisine.

From France to Zimbabwe via Greece

Brasserie Casino Zögernitz is a real aesthetic highlight. Interior architect Denis Košutić styled owner Marco Simonis’s latest venture. Full of color and bold to boot, it features acres of marble, vivid seating, neon hearts and palms on the ceiling. The culinary theme is French, with a Viennese flavor. Brasserie Casino Zögernitz is located in a Biedermeier ensemble built by Ferdinand Zögernitz in 1837, where Johann Strauss once delighted patrons with his waltz music. The building has been refurbished over the course of the past few years, ahead of its grand reopening as the House of Strauss in summer 2022. At its heart is a historic music hall. The brasserie stole a march, having already opened in June 2021.

One of Vienna’s oldest Greek restaurants reopened under new management earlier this year to offer “Hellenic fine dining”. All about contemporary Greek cuisine, Der Grieche is anything but traditional. Top chef Gikas Xenakis (Aléria in Athens) acted as consultant for the new menus. And the results speak for themselves. Here, rather than falling back on hackneyed Greek clichés, the experience is all about broadening culinary horizons.

A captivating blend of Austrian and Zimbabwean cuisine is the order of the day at Belly of the Beast, where creative and perfectly executed vegetable-based dishes have pride of place. Chef de cuisine Marvin Mudenda, who runs the restaurant with his two siblings, shows off his skills with a focus on farm-to-table. The ingredients are organic and locally sourced. Two different tasting menus are available, one of which includes meat options.

A Taste of Austria

Recent arrival Stadler & Thomas is the culmination of a dream shared by two friends – both chefs – who wanted to open their own restaurant. In their restaurant on Burggasse in the seventh district, the pair serve up high-end Austro-Mediterranean cuisine in a pared-down ambience.

Having originally opened during the last lockdown as a deli and take-away, Die Sattlerei now includes a restaurant. Heinestrasse in the second district is not necessarily the first place people think of when it comes to a fine dining restaurant of this caliber, but it is precisely this contrast that fuels its success. Although head chef Lewis Emerson hails from England, it is Austrian food that holds court here (with the exception of an English-inspired breakfast). Die Sattlerei is a family business where sustainability and organic ingredients shape proceedings.

Sagmeister, an old Viennese Gasthaus, is back with a spring in its step under new management in the guise of 575 Sagmeister. Here, classic Viennese cuisine generously garnished with contemporary ideas provides the inspiration. 575 Sagmeister is a combination of old and new elements from a visual perspective, too: some of the original 70s furniture has been retained and given a cheeky new lease on life.

New Attractions at the Prater

There’s also a lot going on at the Prater: the former Eisvogel am Riesenradplatz has been reimagined as Restaurant zum Praterzauber, whose stock-in-trade is Viennese classics and fish dishes, with international specialties thrown in for good measure. Its meat humidor is a one-of-a-kind in the city.

Nearby, café aficionados will find Café Ponykarussell. Located in a striking cupola building dating back to 1887, the pony carousel was once the kids’ attraction at the Prater amusement park. With the ponies put out to pasture in 2016, this unique structure now houses a pretty little café. Ceiling paintings featuring exotic animals and jungle plants adorn the underside of the domed roof, and everything is touched off with plenty of plants. The centrally located Molzer organ provides a hint of bygone days at the Prater.

Tickled Pink on Stephansplatz; Green with Envy on Mariahilfer Strasse

While it’s not exactly new, the branch of café patiserrie chain Aida on Stephansplatz is back to its best after a refit. This Viennese classic first opened at the site in 1959. Following a comprehensive refurbishment project concluded in time for its reopening at the end of October, the branch is now radiant in a vision of pink – the instantly recognizable corporate color – complete with a cult retro design. Spread across two floors, patrons can enjoy a coffee as they take in the buzz of life on Stephansplatz outside.

Early November saw Stadtallee open its doors in a secluded courtyard just off popular shopping street Mariahilfer Strasse. Part of a hospitality group that includes Die Allee at the Prater and Blumenwiese on the Danube Canal, Stadtallee pulls off a culinary grand tour that takes in breakfast and BBQ, steaks and burgers as well as Viennese cuisine and cocktails. The seating is arranged in a light-filled winter garden which can also be opened up in summer. Ideal when taking a break from the shops. A cocktail bar is set to follow in 2022.

Cool Cocktail Bars

A selection of new cocktail bars are all up and running in Vienna. First up is the legendary Barfly’s Bar, which is celebrating its big comeback at the new boutique Hotel Josefine. The bar shot to citywide fame at its original location inside the Hotel Fürst Metternich. But when its host closed for renovations, that meant some downtime for Barfly’s, too. But now the bar is back with a new look after a fit-out. Velvet covered stools and sofa elements, plenty of brass, walls made of green marble and large mirrors recall the kind of space where The Great Gatsby would have felt every inch at home.

Elsewhere, Roberto Pavlović opened his third Roberto American Bar in the former Reiss Bar. Plenty of marble, an opulent red chandelier and a bar menu as thick as a bible – fittingly known as the Barbibel – define its characteristic look and feel. The highlight is the Lobmeyr cocktail. Coming in at EUR 45, this special creation is one of the most expensive in Vienna. The cocktail emerges crystal clear thanks to the clever use of something called a “milk washing technique” before being topped up with champagne and served in a stylish Lobmeyr Candy Dish based on a designed by Oswald Haerdtl dating back to 1925.

Cocktails and electronic sounds have helped Hannelore quickly find its feet as the city’s newest cocktail club. Lots of green plants, floral wall decorations and velvety-soft upholstered furnishings infuse this venue on Dorotheergasse. Although the large tree in the middle of the bar isn’t there for shade, it really adds the missing piece of the green puzzle. Over 24 varieties of gin can be sampled here, while the kitchen offers a range of delicious bar snacks.

A champagne bar has opened in a former studio in the sixth district. Champagne Garden is an attractive option for the summer months in particular thanks to its idyllic courtyard garden. The bar is set up as a day bar featuring sampling sessions and a champagne boutique, where patrons can pick up their favorites to go.

Addresses:

Chez Bernard Restaurant et Bar im Hotel Motto, Mariahilfer Strasse 71a, 1060 Vienna, www.hotelmotto.at/chez-bernard
Zazatam im Hotel Zola, Hillerstrasse 11, 1020 Vienna, www.zazatam.com
&flora im Hotel Gilbert, Breite Gasse 9, 1070 Vienna, www.hotel-gilbert.at
Brasserie Casino Zögernitz, Döblinger Hauptstrasse 76, 1190 Vienna, www.brasserie-zoegernitz.com, www.houseofstrauss.at
Der Grieche, Barnabitengasse 5, 1060 Vienna, www.dergrieche.wien
Belly of the Beast, Wasagasse 28, 1090 Vienna, www.bellyofthebeast.at
Stadler & Thomas, Burggasse 64, 1070 Vienna, https://stadler-thomas.at
Die Sattlerei, Heinestrasse 25, 1020 Vienna, www.diesattlerei.at
575 Sagmeister, Schimmelgasse 11, 1030 Vienna, www.575sagmeister.at
Restaurant zum Praterzauber, Riesenradplatz 5, 1020 Vienna, https://praterzauber.at
Café Ponykarussell, Karl-Kolarik-Weg 1, Prater 86a, 1020 Vienna, www.ponykarussell.at
Café-Konditorei Aida Stephansplatz, Singerstrasse 1, 1010 Vienna, https://aida.at
Die Stadtallee, Mariahilfer Strasse 101, 1060 Vienna, www.litus.at
Barfly’s Club im Hotel Josefine, Esterhazygasse 33, 1060 Vienna, https://barflys.at
Roberto American Bar, Marco-d'Aviano-Gasse 1, 1010 Vienna, https://robertosbar.com
Hannelore, Dorotheergasse 6/8, 1010 Vienna, https://hannelore.business.site
Champagne Garden, Dürergasse 3, 1060 Vienna, www.champagne-characters.com