The best restaurants Vienna

Timetable

The cafes are generally open on weekdays from 8am to 5 or 8pm, depending on the day, and on Sundays from 10am to 5:30pm. Sunday brunches are served from 10 or 11 am to 3 or 4 pm

In brasserie-type restaurants, food is served from 11am to 10:30pm, midnight, or 1am. The service hours of restaurants are often from 11:30 am to 3 pm for lunch, and from 6 pm to 10:30 pm for dinner, sometimes 11:30 pm. In season, the Viennese taverns heuriger, open their doors from 5pm to 11pm. The pine boughs hanging at the entrance and the sign "Ausg'steckt" tell you that the tavern is open.

Night owls are not forgotten. It is possible to eat after midnight and until 2am or more in some of the downtown establishments and in some of the sausage bars

Budget & Tips

You can pay the big bills with your credit card without any problem. But keep some euros for the bars, the small inns at noon. The cheapest is the sausage stand: sandwich and drink less than 10 €. At lunchtime, in a Biesl you eat a hearty soup for 4 €, a Viennese dish for 10 €. Generally, they kindly wrap up the rest of your meal if you ask for it. In the evening, in a fancy restaurant, the bill often exceeds 50 € per guest.

What costs extra

Service is not included in your restaurant bill. Therefore, you must pay a tip of about 10% of the bill. If you pay by credit card, please specify the amount to be added in euros for the "tip". Bread is extra, cutlery is extra and you will not be offered a carafe of tap water.

The local way

It is common to go to a restaurant for dinner at 6:30 pm or even 6 pm. If you have a Viennese schnitzel, be aware that it is usually XXL and overflowing from the plate, so you need to have a big appetite and/or love Viennese schnitzel. Having an aperitif with friends is very common, in summer in a guinguette on the Danube canal, for example. As for breakfasts, they are often real brunches.

To be avoided

Do not say hello to the cantonade when entering a bar or restaurant. Wait for a waiter to seat you at a table in a café or even a restaurant.

Kids

Viennese establishments do not lack attention for children. High chairs in the restaurants, dedicated menus, sometimes a play area.

Smokers

Austria has joined the other European countries. You can no longer smoke in a bar, hostel or restaurant since the end of 2019.

Tourist traps

Even though Vienna is a very touristy city, you won't be harassed in the street by people inviting you to come and eat in this or that restaurant, just as you can pass quietly in front of cafés without being accosted. In the most touristy streets, however, a waiter can wait outside for you to get in. Of course, restaurants located in the most touristic places tend to inflate their prices.