What to eat in Vienna
The schnitzel always hangs over the plate, Tafelspitz has a restaurant built around nothing else, and Kaiserschmarrn is almost always shared.
- Wiener Schnitzel
- €22–29, pork or veal
- Tafelspitz
- €35.60 at Plachutta
- Beef goulash
- €20–26
Viennese food is heavier and slower than its neighbours': the schnitzel is deep-fried and served larger than the plate, Tafelspitz is boiled beef with its own vocabulary of sides, and Kaiserschmarrn is a dessert big enough for two. The prices below follow specific addresses: Figlmüller for the schnitzel, Plachutta for Tafelspitz and Landtmann for Kaiserschmarrn, all per portion.
Wiener Schnitzel — pork or veal
Wiener Schnitzel (€22–29) is thin-pounded meat in breadcrumbs, deep-fried until the crust turns brittle. At Figlmüller, one of the best-known addresses for it, the menu carries a pork version larger than the plate it arrives on; the veal one, which other restaurants hold to be the original, comes with cranberry or potato salad.
Tafelspitz — boiled beef, a whole ritual
Tafelspitz (€35.60) is boiled beef served in its own broth, with a horseradish sauce, apple-horseradish and fried potatoes — a dish important enough that Plachutta built an entire restaurant near the Opera around it alone. This is not a quick meal: it arrives in two stages, the soup first and then the meat, and an hour at the table is normal.
Goulash and Kaiserschmarrn
Beef goulash (€20–26) is thicker and hotter than the Serbian version, heavy on onion, and always comes with dumplings or bread for dipping. Kaiserschmarrn (€15.70) is shredded pancake dusted with icing sugar, alongside stewed plums — the portion is built for two, and Landtmann's own menu says so.
A sausage and a quick bite
A sausage from a kiosk (Würstelstand) is €3.50–6 — no sitting, paid on the spot, eaten standing. For a sit-down lunch during the day, the set lunch (Mittagsmenü) in a coffee house or Beisl is €10–15, usually with soup and a main; for dinner with no drinks a Beisl main course is €12–20.
Apple strudel and melange
Apple strudel (€10.70) arrives warm, with vanilla sauce poured over it — a dessert ordered alongside an afternoon coffee. A melange (€4.20–6.90) with it is the whole Viennese ritual of sitting in a coffee house, which the Naschmarkt and the three century-old coffee houses on Vienna's hub page hold as their main reason for existing.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
What to order first in Vienna?
A Wiener Schnitzel (€22–29) — pork at Figlmüller, or veal, which other restaurants hold to be the original.
How big is a Kaiserschmarrn portion?
Built for two. Ordering one per person as an individual dessert is a common visitor mistake.
Is Tafelspitz a quick meal?
No — it arrives in two stages, soup then meat, and an hour at the table is normal.
Ready for Vienna?
Where to next
The best time to visit Vienna
→Vienna is a central European city where December is a reason to come rather than an obstacle.
The Wachau · 60 km
→Thirty-six kilometres of Danube, terraced vineyards and an abbey on the rock above
How well does Vienna suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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