The Viennese eat in the Beisl, where the Gulasch has been on the stove for hours. They also eat standing up, at sausage stands and market counters, and they sit over cake in Kaffeehäuser that tourists skip or pick up pastries at a neighbourhood bakery. Our picks run from Neubau, Wieden and Landstraße out to Ottakring, Brigittenau and Favoriten.
The short list
11 places, in the order they appear below.
- 1SchnitzelwirtAn oversized pork SchnitzelNeubau
- 2Gastwirtschaft StemanSaftgulaschMariahilf
- 3trude & töchterErdäpfelgulaschWieden
- 4StomachA courtyard garden dinnerAlsergrund
- 5Gastwirtschaft KoppBeuscherl with SemmelknödelBrigittenau
- 6Wiener WürstelstandOrganic Käsekrainer, lateJosefstadt
- 7Ashraf-König der Bohnen, Falafel und FattehFalafel and fatteh at the marketOttakring
- 8Pho 84Pho at lunchNeubau
- 9Café JelinekTopfenstrudel and a MelangeMariahilf
- 10Leon 29 Coffee & BakeryMorning pastries and coffeeLandstraße
- 11TichyEismarillenknödelFavoriten
Where do the Viennese go for Schnitzel and Gulasch?
For Schnitzel, the Viennese send out-of-town friends to Schnitzelwirt on Neubaugasse, run by the same family since 1972. The pork Schnitzel is fried in clarified butter and comes big enough for two, with Erdäpfelsalat dressed in pumpkin-seed oil. Skip the Cordon Bleu and order the classic. Whatever you can’t finish, ask the staff to wrap. Bring cash.
Schnitzelwirt
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 11:00–22:00 · Sun closed
Address: Neubaugasse 52, 1070 Wien, Austria
At Gastwirtschaft Steman in the 6th, order the Wiener Saftgulasch. It cooks for hours and comes out a dark, almost mahogany colour. The Tafelspitz is good.
Gastwirtschaft Steman
Hours: Mon–Sat 11:00–23:00 · Sun closed
Address: Austria, Otto-Bauer-Gasse 7, 1060 Wien, Austria
Which neighbourhood Beisl are worth crossing town for?
This female-run Beisl at Karlsplatz cooks with a quiet confidence, from a menu that reads as though its author loves eating more than writing menus. Order the Erdäpfelgulasch, the potato version, whether or not you eat meat. Reserve for a Thursday evening rather than trusting to luck.
trude & töchter
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sun 09:00–23:00
Address: Karlsplatz 8, 1040 Wien, Austria
Stomach takes its name from the former Tomaschek butcher shop it occupies in the Servitenviertel, and Andreas Kern now runs the kitchen after taking over from his grandfather. The weekly menu rotates through Austrian classics, with two vegetarian dishes alongside. Book for the courtyard garden at the back, which is heated once the evenings turn cool. In autumn the pumpkin soup is spiced differently every week.
Stomach
Hours: Mon–Tue closed · Wed–Fri 16:00–23:30 · Sat 18:00–23:00 · Sun 11:00–22:00
Address: Seegasse 26, 1090 Wien, Austria
One host family has run Gastwirtschaft Kopp for more than twenty years, and its regulars are Brigittenau neighbours who come back every week. The Beuscherl, a calf lung ragout, is made from scratch and served with properly puffed Semmelknödel. Cash only.
Gastwirtschaft Kopp
Hours: Mon–Tue closed · Wed–Sun 10:00–23:00
Address: Engerthstr. 104, 1200 Wien, Austria
Where can you eat cheap and quick like a local in Vienna?
Eating cheap and fast in Vienna means a Würstelstand or a market stall. In Josefstadt an organic sausage stand feeds the late crowd heading home, while at the Brunnenmarkt in Ottakring a family-recipe falafel stall cooks for the market crowd through the day. For a sit-down lunch, add a bowl of pho in Neubau.
Wiener Würstelstand in Josefstadt was Vienna’s first sausage stand with organic certification. Its menu is built on bio ingredients, with Käsekrainer from three separate butchers sharing the counter with a lamb bratwurst and a vegan mushroom sausage, each served on sourdough bread alongside beer from Salzburg’s Augustiner brewery. Onions and mustard come in small amounts, so ask for extra on the side.
Wiener Würstelstand
Hours: Mon 12:00–23:00 · Tue–Thu 12:00–00:00 · Fri–Sat 12:00–01:00 · Sun 12:00–23:00
Address: Pfeilgasse 1, 1080 Wien, Austria
Ashraf opened in 2018 around a family falafel recipe and works from stand 64 at the Brunnenmarkt. Start with the falafel. Then order the fatteh; regulars say it’s what keeps them coming back. Hummus and a bean stew are made fresh through the day.
Ashraf-König der Bohnen, Falafel und Fatteh
Hours: Mon–Fri 08:00–19:00 · Sat 07:30–18:30 · Sun closed
Address: Gaullachergasse 4, Brunnenmarkt Stand 64, 1160 Wien, Austria
Locals agree Pho 84 makes the best pho in the 7th. The reason is the bone broth, simmered properly, without stock cubes. Get the Pho Bo Tai with rare beef and the chilli on the side, and share the summer rolls, wrapped in front of you. There are no reservations, so sit down before half past twelve.
Pho 84
Hours: Mon–Tue 11:30–21:30 · Wed closed · Thu–Sat 11:30–21:30 · Sun 13:00–22:00
Address: Neubaugasse 84, 1070 Wien, Austria
Where do locals go for coffee and something sweet?
Café Jelinek, a Kaffeehaus in the 6th that the neighbourhood has long kept to itself, still has its original marble tables and the old-school Viennese service that leaves you alone until you want something. Order the house Topfenstrudel rather than the Apfelstrudel. Its filling is much lighter than in the versions served at the Ringstraße cafés.
Leon 29 Coffee & Bakery on Löwengasse in the 3rd takes its name from its house number. The two women who run it bake through the early hours, and from seven in the morning the counter fills with fresh pastries and warm breakfast plates, with coffee made to order. In the evening the day’s unsold bakes go on the Too Good To Go app, so reserve a surprise bag for the pastries at a fraction of the counter price.
Leon 29 Coffee & Bakery
Hours: Mon–Fri 07:00–18:00 · Sat–Sun 08:30–17:00
Address: Löwengasse 29, 1030 Wien, Austria
Tichy, family-run on Reumannplatz since 1952, invented the Eismarillenknödel in 1967. It’s apricot ice cream wrapped in vanilla and rolled in nuts, handed over a neon-lit counter. Eat it on the spot before it melts, and add a scoop of pistachio.
Tichy
Hours: Mon–Sun 10:00–23:00
Address: Reumannpl. 13, 1100 Wien, Austria
Carry cash: some of these kitchens don’t take cards. Check the opening days on each card too, because a few Beisl close early in the week or at weekends. Book the sit-down dinners and keep lunch for the counters.
