Restaurants

Here’s your chance to discover a brand spanking new Bistro right in the middle of Vienna’s university area: Nascha’s.

Nascha’s philosophy is simple: high quality food, student suitable prices, love for the extraordinary.

Being around university campus a lot of time I’m happy to have known this place right from the beginning and I can say: I am hooked.

When you enter the place you’ll first notice the spot’s sweet and enchanting style, beginning with the American diner-like wall paper and the colorful balloons hanging from the ceiling up to the original English school tables from the 60′s, 50 year old chewing gum beneath the table boards included.

Talking to the very welcoming shop owners I found out about the name’s meaning(s): Firstly it refers to the German expression “Naschen” which means “to nibble”, secondly it hints at the Russian expression for “Ours”. (Psst!..there actually is a 3rd meaning that the lovely staff will be happy to share with you if you ask them.)

And what’s most important, the food. There’s a regularly changing variety of luscious organic soups, bagels and quiches. I tried their soups a couple of times, so believe me when I say: they’re a real treat! Plus they have wide a range of sweet delights such as Fudge in a Cup, Ice cream filled fruits and a lot more of lovingly chosen appetizers. Also try out their new Breakfast special!

Or to put it in the words of Theodor Fontane: “The magic lies within the detail.”

New one in town! Being lead by a Georgian family this place is offering a both authentic and hip atmosphere which you can enjoy while trying out their traditional and international main and side dishes. There’s a great variety of pretty interesting food creations, such as avocado-eggplant salad, cheese filled Kahachapahurri (bread-kinda thing) or, for those that don’t consider themselves as too much of a fan of meat-less food, an exotic appearing veal-apricot-couscous combination. And not to forget about the breakfast offers that are waiting to be explored by you. Also for the lazy (or hung over) ones there’s the possibility of enjoying a late morning (until 2 pm) breakfast.

Another thing I like a lot about this place is it’s shadowy outside dining area filling half of the square in front of the place where you’ll  find white bistro tables under two big trees. Also the spacious inner room deserves being mentioned: being there the first time I really enjoyed exploring some extraordinary details of it’s decoration such as lamps made of paper bags (coming from a nearby bakery)  or Russian/Georgian Samowars.

Personally I really enjoyed sitting on a very classy appearing sofa in front of one of the room’s huge windows, nipping on a glass of the yum-yum-yum delicious homemade passion fruit ice tea and cracking open the crust of my Crème Brulée (one of the international cuisine dishes) that I was happy enjoying together with a friend of mine. Sounds nice? So, what are you waiting for!

Ever felt the wish to abandon fork, knife and spoon for one evening? I for my part wish this quite often, so when I came to eat here the first time I was amazed see that I finally was allowed to do so.

After a long time, when there were not a lot of authentic African restaurants to be found in the city, this place turned out to be a culinary hot spot within the last few years. Situated in a former classic Viennese coffee house, this restaurant surprises with a little weird but enchanting Caféhaus meets Africa atmosphere.

Let’s get straight to business, the food itself! Most dishes are a combination of various appetizers, served on a big round Ethiopian bread that looks a little bit like a huge pancake and tastes rather like classic Austrian rye bread. And the fun’s already about to begin! After some moments of cluelessness how to fit any of these pastes and salads into your piece of bread without messing up the table, your hands and even your outfit completely, you’ll figure out quickly how to get these delicacies into your mouth.

And if you’re still a little bit hungry (unlikely because these dishes come in great portions), there’s also a coffee and popcorn tradition processed as a treat of the house, served by waitresses wearing traditional wardrobes, rounding up this extraordinary food experience completely.

When in Vienna, do as the Viennese do. So, if you’d like to begin your evening with a placid meal, including the probability to get in contact with the local community, this is the place to go.

Due to its great popularity among the Viennese Kolar already inhabits three locations, all in the inner districts. Let me tell you about my favourite one which, as I do believe, not only is the most charming but also the lucky one as it’s right in the middle of Kleeblattgasse (Shamrock street).

Being situated in Vienna’s oldest apartment building (built 1539!), Kolar impresses its guest both with a great atmosphere and history. Over the years, this house hosted all kinds of establishments, some say even Mozart hung out under the spot’s enchanting low-ceiled vault every once in a while.

Since 1987 Kolar has been offering a big variety of “Fladen”, perfect in combination with an ice cold beer. Fladen is a type of thin bread filled with all kinds of delicious stuff, reminding me a little bit of Italian Calzone. What I love about the place is that you even can watch your Fladen turn golden brown in the open fire of the big stone oven.

Within the last years this place has been turning from an insider’s tip into a real hot spot, so don’t hesitate to join the crowd of people enjoying their meal, watching a soccer game or philosophizing over life.

Fladen and beer. So simple, so great.

Once you’ve entered the place you’ll be diving quickly into that lively and yet cosy hustle and bustle inside the place. Waiters suit up and tend to behave, just like in old times, a little bit snotty – not forgetting about spicing up that attitude with a hint of authentic “Wiener Schmäh” (Viennese Charm). So don’t be shy about talking to them when they’re not too busy .

For more than a 100 years now (!) Café Museum has been a part of Vienna’s Coffeehouse Culture. Local creative souls such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele or Otto Wagner came in here all through the years, so this Café distinguishes itself with a certain Viennese authenticity.

Café Museum is located nearby cultural hot spots such as the Vienna Secession and the Albertina, so, also the name is suggesting that, visiting the place goes along great with a museum visit.

There are comfy, red sofa-booths (offering a great opportunity to bounce up and down just like a child, by the way) right next to the window, so you can easily spend one rainy afternoon drinking tea, watching the busy city life passing by and indulge your sweet tooth with one of those many mouth-watering cakes.

Almost forgot about mentioning my favourite detail! If you’re visiting don’t miss looking up at the ceiling. There are some huge Christmas bauble-alike lamps hanging down, and I for my part love them!