Experience Vienna. Savour the extraordinary.
Imposing on the table
If you are looking for the aromas and flavours of Viennese cuisine, you will find them in Viennese Beisln, inns, restaurants and coffee houses. Surrounded by art, culture and vineyards (with a view of the Danube), the "Heurige" turns out to be a highlight with a glass of wine. Vienna is the only metropolis in the world that has significant viticulture within its city limits.
Speaking of art: Vienna is a melting pot of different cultures and this inspires chefs to create impressive works of art and bring them to the plate in every hidden corner of the city. In Vienna, timeless and contemporary food culture naturally sit side by side. Whether on wooden benches, coffee house chairs or designer chairs.
In the kitchen, the artists pay attention to ingredients that come from the region. Farmers bring fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and meat from the fertile Danube region to Vienna's markets and restaurants. These valuable foods are especially coveted by the gourmet chefs and are valued as highly as gold.
Gourmet tips in Vienna
This culinary trend is now making its mark in the city of Vienna. Vegetables go straight from the field to the plate. Modern vegetable cuisine embraces regional, seasonal, and sustainable principles. When talented chefs are at work, they draw out the pure and authentic flavours from each vegetable.
One chef who excels in this is the renowned star chef Paul Ivic.
Star chef Paul Ivic
The TIAN Restaurant in Vienna showcases the diversity of vegetarian cuisine at its finest. The menu reads like a walk through a vegetable garden. Star chef Paul Ivic uses fairly produced and organic ingredients, including nearly forgotten varieties of vegetables, fruits, and grains, to create refined dishes. Ivic and his team strive to waste as little as possible, resulting in new ideas, ingredients, and taste experiences. For its outstanding cuisine, TIAN has been awarded a Michelin star, making it one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the world.
Star chef Heinz Reitbauer
Luxury for the palate – Vienna has that to offer too. While Vienna is famous for its Wiener Schnitzel and Kaiserschmarren, its traditional inns and wine taverns, and its classic coffee houses, it also boasts world-class gourmet restaurants. Top chefs in Vienna are bold and innovative, creating a modern take on Viennese cuisine.
One of the best restaurants in Vienna is Steirereck: It holds two Michelin stars, and five Gault-Millau toques, and is ranked 12th in the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants.” Heinz Reitbauer presents contemporary Austrian cuisine at the Steirereck Meierei in Stadtpark – Vienna’s oldest park, right in the heart of the city – offering dining at the highest level.
Stylish: Food, restaurant, garden
At Labstelle near St. Stephen’s Cathedral, everything is spot on – from the cuisine to the design. Many ingredients come from Vienna-based producers: Figs from Feigenhof am Himmelreich, fish and vegetables from blün in the 22nd district, and the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC from Weingut Wieninger. The dishes are presented as impressive works of art on colour-coordinated plates and bowls.
In the courtyard, visitors are immersed in a green oasis amidst the city centre, thanks to the hanging gardens. Inside the restaurant, guests sit on “Y-Chairs,” a design classic by Danish architect Hans J. Wegner. These chairs, combined with polished concrete, black steel, and washed wood, blend seamlessly into the overall design of the restaurant.
Precious as gold: Products from Vienna
At Viennese Heurigen, visitors appreciate the fine wines produced from 700 hectares of Vienna’s vineyards (a third of which are organic) and 140 winemakers. These romantic and cosy Heurigen can be found by the dozen in the wine villages and vineyards on the city’s outskirts, such as Grinzing, Nussdorf, and Stammersdorf. Viennese Heurigen culture is also recognised as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.
Top gastronomy has also been won over by Vienna’s Riesling and Weissburgunder, as well as the Wiener Gemischter Satz DAC. This specialty involves planting and fermenting grapes from at least three white wine varieties together. Approximately 80% of Vienna’s vineyard area is devoted to white wine, with the remaining area used for the Wiener Gemischter Satz. Vienna is the only major city worldwide with significant wine production within its city limits.
Source of figures: Vienna Chamber of Agriculture