Rain or shine, Robert faithfully goes to Zum Scharfen René, one of the most famous sausage stalls in the city of Vienna. With one hand, he handles the käsekrainer, a cheese-filled sausage, and with the other, a loaf of bread. Located just minutes from the Opera and in front of a tram stop, this stall, opened in 1968, is one of the most classic and popular venues for this type of food in the Austrian capital.
Despite the seemingly limited food offerings - sausages, bread, potatoes, pickles, beer, and a few more dishes - these street food stalls, known as würstelstände, have a history dating back to the early 19th century when soldiers returned from war, many of them mutilated. Authorities granted them permission to sell this product as street vendors. In the early 20th century, some of these mobile stalls would settle on the streets and become part of the city's identity.
It wasn't until the late 60s that their activities were regulated to be located in strategic locations in the city. They can be found in front of the opera, where it is common to see well-dressed couples struggling to keep mustard from staining their tuxedos, or just a few meters from St. Stephen's Cathedral.
The oldest one, Würstelstand Leo, has been surviving since 1928. Its presence is so ingrained in Viennese society that UNESCO named them Intangible Heritage of Austria in 2024.
"They are the most democratic places in Vienna," explains Basti, one of the city's official guides. In their small bars, you can find workers, members of the Austrian Parliament, students, or celebrities. At René's, famous for his spicy sauces, even Zidane has visited. A photo of the Frenchman stands out among the collage of famous Austrians hanging inside the stall.
Robert serves the classic sausages daily, Bratwurst, Käsekrainer, Waldviertler, or Würstel, while others, like the Wiener Würsterland by Mike Lanner, opt for other preparations, such as lamb sausage or vegan options. "We wanted to offer something for those who cannot eat pork or want alternatives to the traditional," he explains in front of his stall, one of the few with organic certification in the entire city.
With three locations, they use restored stalls from the 70s as a tribute to those who established this way of eating as part of the Viennese way of life.
Their importance is such that they have their own competition to find the best one. The prestigious magazine Falstaff selects the best ones each year, with René and Mike usually among them.
Another popular place for locals are the Beisl, taverns where you can enjoy authentic Viennese cuisine. With Hungarian, Bohemian, and Italian influences, the menu of these cozy venues is dominated by soups and seasonal dishes.
At Gmoakeller, located next to Stadtpark, where the statue of Strauss stands, you can have goulash, tafelspitz (boiled beef with vegetables and spices), or grießnockerlsuppe, a soup with semolina dumplings. During the hunting season, you can opt for venison or wild boar. For offal lovers, in these taverns with modest decor, you can find kidneys, marrow, or liver; and if you don't eat meat, these inns pay special attention to seasonal vegetables like pumpkin or Brussels sprouts.
In these eateries, and in other restaurants, the traditional wiener schnitzel is a must. Its apparent simplicity, a thin breaded veal, pork, or chicken cutlet, can be deceiving.
Zivko Jovanovic, sous chef at Meissl&Schadn, repeatedly pounds the pork piece to make it almost transparent. A dip in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs is the prelude to frying it for a few seconds in oil at "200 degrees," leaving the cutlet tender and crispy at the same time. A bread bubble is a sign that it has been cooked correctly. Zevko himself teaches the restaurant's customers how to prepare it like him, making over "400 of these dishes" every day.
There is also room for fine dining. Steirereck im Stadtpark, recently awarded its third Michelin star, is an example of this. Located in a former dairy, it offers on its ground floor a more accessible venue, Meierei, with traditional food and a hundred cheese references.
Upstairs, Birgit and Heinz Reitbauer develop their haute cuisine proposal, with a rooftop garden and a special focus on freshwater fish, which arrive daily at the restaurant. "We create over 100 new dishes a year," says Birgit in front of about thirty chefs.
A more accessible proposal, based on the product and focused on the connection with the countryside, is Meinklang (my harmony in English), a restaurant connected to the farm that the Michlits family owns in Burgenland, west of Austria.
There, they grow the fruits and vegetables served in the restaurant and sold in the shop, and raise livestock for dishes like Angus rib-eye, cabbage in sauce, or salads. All accompanied by their own bread and white and orange wines, which are highly renowned.
However, when it comes to wine, Vienna itself has an exceptional peculiarity. It is the only major city in the world with a large expanse of vineyards within its city limits.
Just 45 minutes away by efficient public transport —it is one of the most used public transport systems in the world— around 600 hectares of vineyards rest on hills with breathtaking views of the capital and the Danube.
A one-hour walk among the vines reveals how deeply rooted the dozens of wineries and taverns, many of them family-owned, scattered on the hillside are. Known as Heuriger, their origin dates back to the 18th century when Emperor Joseph II granted vine growers permission to sell their wine and simple dishes. Since 2019, wine culture in Vienna is recognized as Intangible Heritage of Austria by UNESCO.
In these taverns, like the Fuhrgassl-Huber family's, only wine produced by themselves is served. Many of their wines follow a traditional cultivation method known as Gemischter Satz. Strictly regulated by Austrian authorities, it involves planting different grape varieties together in the vineyard. This allows them to overcome poor harvests of some varieties and achieve drinks with a dry profile, balanced acidity, and fruity and floral aromas.