Steirereck in Vienna

Stadtpark isn't Vienna's most beautiful green space, but Steirereck makes it a special place. Chef Heinz Reitbauer, who took over the family restaurant 20 years ago, has forged a unique culinary identity that fuses old-world Austrian charm with contemporary twists.

Reitbauer uses numerous unknown or long-forgotten ingredients, including rare breeds of meat and fish and near-extinct fruit and vegetable varieties. Herbs and vegetables are grown on the building's rooftop alongside its beehives.

Top dishes on the longish tasting menu include white asparagus with fig leaf and rhubarb, pike with young spinach, gooseberries and fava beans, and calf's liver with hop sprouts, celery and blue fenugreek. And don't miss out on the bread trolley. It shows off the creativity of Austrian baking with 25 varieties on offer.


There are also aperitif and tea trolleys, a cheese selection to die for, one national and one international digestif trolley, and during the Christmas season, there is vanillekipferl - that traditional Austrian crescent-shaped biscuit to sink your teeth into. And even if you're full, don't miss the signature embellished cherry sorbet. It's divine.