Tasting on Vienna
Yes, Wiener schnitzel is from Vienna, but what else should you be having while visiting the capital of Austria? And did you realize that Wiener schnitzel is specifically made from veal, not pork or chicken? More exciting Wiener food coverage if you keep reading!
The currency in Austria is the euro (€), and at the time of writing, the exchange rate was about €0.9 to US$1. All businesses are listed from most budget-friendly to least within each category.
Desserts & ice cream
Ströck
Wien Hauptbahnhof, 1, 1100 Wien, Austria
Ströck has multiple locations all over the city, so don’t feel limited to this cash-only location. They do make a pretty mean topfenstrudel (€2.40) and apfelkuchen (€2.20) though. (I figure since they were out of apfelstrudel, this would be a suitable substitute.) I preferred the topfenstrudel because the primarily quark filling not as sweet. The crust on both pastries were pleasant, and thinking about them now makes me hungry.
Grocery stores & farmer’s markets
Hofer
Odoakergasse 38, 1160 Wien, Austria
Hofer is the operating name of Aldi’s Austrian locations, so you can expect low prices but not a ton of selection. I enjoyed an apple pastry for not much cash, though. (The photo below also includes a piece of pork schnitzel I got at Interspar.)
Interspar Markt
Sandleitengasse 41, 1160 Wien, Austria
Interspar is a hypermarket version of Dutch grocery chain Spar. Their hot food counter sells stuff like leberkäse and pork schnitzel (pictured above under Hofer). We also found some nuss-eisknödel (hazelnut coating, vanilla ice cream, and soft chocolate center), which were not at all knödels but a fun frozen dessert nonetheless.
Restaurants
Mat’s Würstelstand
Franzensbrückenstraße 2F, 1020 Wien, Austria
Mat’s Würstelstand is one example of many würstelstands scattered around Vienna where you can find sausage-based meals served quickly and cheaply. While a friend ordered a hot dog style meal, I got the gebratene würst option for pusztakäsekrainer (€3.50: spicy sausage with cheese inside), plus curry powder and curry ketchup (€0.30). Mat chopped up the sausage and served it on a paper plate, and he gave me the choice of a roll or slice of bread. What the dish lacked in fiber, it made up for in flavor.
Cafe der Mann
Naglergasse 11, 1010 Wien, Austria
Not many places are open on Sundays, but we stumbled upon Cafe der Mann in between museum visits. I tried the traditional Austrian saltztanger with ham and horseradish sandwich (€4.10), which was pretty tasty if you like horseradish. Both Alice and Tjaša got the pumpkin cream soup (€4.50), which looked nice, too. The shop even gave us 10% back to use in the bakery section, so we got a poppy-seed roll to snack on for dessert at no additional cost.
Fuhrgassl-Huber
Neustift am Walde 68, 1190 Wien, Austria
On a Sunday evening, Anran and Moritz led me to a heuriger. We took the U6 from Josefstadter Strasse station to Nussdorfer Strasse, then bus 35A to Neustift am Walde, which is an area with multiple heurigers to choose from. Anran had heard good stuff about Fuhrgassl-Huber before, so we walked there. It’s just a few minutes from the bus stop.
The seating is all outdoors, some covered, some not. It was pretty crowded, but we found a table that had just been newly abandoned next to the growing grapes.
We started with some sturm, which tasted refreshing (0.25L for €2.80).
I also got a carafe of house white wine (€3) just to compare. It was as you’d expect: tasty!
For sustenance, Moritz helped me order schweinebraten (roast pork loin), sauerkraut, and a knödel, which was charged by weight (total €9.25). It was super filling and satisfying. Anran’s German potato salad (€3, just known as “potato salad” here) was delicious, too! No mayo on this version: just as much potato goodness as possible.
tl;dr: get yourself to a heuriger if you have the opportunity.
Plachuttas Gasthaus zur Oper
Walfischgasse 5-7, 1010 Wien, Austria
On my last morning in Vienna, my last food mission was to try the original Wiener schnitzel, which is made with veal. I tried Amerlingbeisl first, but upon asking one of the waitstaff, they only had pork and chicken schnitzel. Quickly, I abandoned the restaurant and went in search of another.
It’s a good thing I found Plachuttas Gasthaus zur Oper. Yes, it’s near the opera house, which means it’s touristy, in the center, and expensive; but Gasthaus Kopp isn’t open on Tuesdays, so I was out of luck there. To console myself, I had a small glass of a special brew that Ottakringer Brewery makes just for them (€3.30 for 0.3L), which had a light taste.
The bread and spread basket was €2.30, but I think it was totally worth it. Look at the variety!
The star of the show (€19.60) was huge: my waiter was surprised when I finished it all. (Yeah, it was perfectly crispy!)
A bonus was that they brought out a bottle of kernöl (pumpkin seed oil) that I could freely dump on my potato salad. I didn’t think I’d have a chance to try this Austrian specialty before I left, but I’m so happy I did. I loved its nutty flavor.
