Julia Heiligenbrunner (1982)

The Loft is a fairly new spot that opened about two years ago. This bar/cinema/pavilion/… attracted me in the first place because of its attitude. The owners regard themselves as ‘easy & casual’ which also is the kind of customer they want to allure. Given that the musical concept is not put into frame but flexible to differing parties, you get Electro, Hip Hop, Rock and Funk as well as unclassified genres.

Tuesdays are reserved for the movie night called filmloft where one can enjoy great shows for free! The movies’ topic changes every other month, original soundtrack. On Wednesday evenings singer/songwriters get the opportunity to perform – again entry is free of charge. Fridays and Saturdays are open to varied parties, dancing strictly recommended!

Their guiding slogan: “Working hard for better parties in Vienna!” tells you what to expect.

This little restaurant, well actually size wise it’s more of a snack bar, really needs to find a new, more capacious location. Since what started as an insiders’ tip now happens to be really packed, many stop by for taking away the Thai delights.

When I got back from Thailand I had a hard time finding genuine Thai food in Vienna. So going to Thai Isaan Kitchen, I ordered in Thai language. The fact they understood what I tried to order left me proud but mostly surprised. I had found a place that made me feel like being back to the land of smiles after all.

Isaan, or อีสาน, is what the northeast part of Thailand is called; important part of their cuisine is sticky rice & all sorts of meat. The variety of the menu here however has got quite a selection of typical Thai food. From 12:00 – 15:00 you get lunch (2 meals, usually 2 differing ones) for € 6.90. Also in their menu they mark the dishes with 1-3 chili’s to tell you how much spiciness you’ve got to expect.

The restaurant is conveniently located just right next to the bus station “Hirschengasse” of the line 57. For desert I’d suggest to go for some nearby chocolate candies (check out the Blühendes Konfekt article!).

Now it’s finally open again – until October you can enjoy climbing the wall on the flak tower at Esterházypark. This might not be the most interesting spot in Vienna for eclectic rock climbing but it is definitely the one with the best view once you get to the higher parts of the routes – even more incentive to finish instead of giving up halfway. You can rent equipment there. Also there are days when you can try out climbing with an instructor for € 6.00, the next one’s on the 8th of May. Since the climbing wall is all outdoors, it’s closed in case of “stormy wind” & “liquid sunshine”!

If you are with someone who’s not too much into climbing they can hang out in the park and watch you or other future ‘rockstars’ on the wall; or alternatively there’s the Apollo movie theater right across the street, architecturally interesting because of its many hallways which sometimes make you feel like in a labyrinth. No excuses: get high!

And if afterwards you feel like having some delicious falafel at my favorite place Maschu (check the Maschu Maschu article) just walk up Neubaugasse for three minutes.

I like coming here for (late) breakfast or a shake in the afternoon. Here you can mix your own muesli out of fifty different ingredients and add toppings like smarties, gummi bears or marshmallows. They also have a cereal of the day and weekly changing dishes for lunch.

The owner is very much looking out for organic and healthy ingredients for her cakes, bagels, milkshakes and all the other great stuff. For example have you ever heard of sugar that is not exactly sugar but has got less calories and is even healthy? Ask for Birkengold then!

Once summer finally decides to come to Vienna you might want to try their fair trade Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

This really is an awesome place for lunch! Recently I had decided not to eat out all along but Tongues made me change my mind.

Interesting concept: kitchen located right behind the turntables, vinyl records decorating the wall on the right, where you can look through discs you might want to buy after lunch. On the left there are plenty of organic vegetables, herbs, teas, … in case you’re not as short of time as I am & actually cooking in your own kitchen.

Only in the morning that the spontaneous team there chooses the menu for the day. You may then check it on their homepage or on Facebook, though most customers know what to expect: absolutely delicious & varied food. Many fans of Tongues come to take-away their delights which could be because space to sit and enjoy your meal is very limited.

In case you feel like reading a book while having some coffee afterwards, walk down the street to Phil (check out the Phil article!) which is just around the corner.