Lynn C.
Yelp
I'm not gonna lie, my opinion for this restaurant wavered between a 3-star, 2-star, and then finally I settled on the 4-star. But keep in mind that the 4-star is not because of the food, not at all, because the food is barely a 3-star quality, but of the entire experience.
First, it must be noted that this restaurant is over FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OLD. This is a quote from their site:
"The Griechenbeisl (The Greek Inn) is one of Vienna's oldest inns. Artists, scholars and politicians would congregate in the Griechenbeisl to eat, drink, debate and reflect - often into the early hours. From the world famous balladeer 'Der lieber Augustin' to later figures of the stature of Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner, Strauss, Brahms, the painters Waldmüller and Schwind, the opera singer Schaljapin, writers Mark Twain, Grillparzer and Nestroy, and political personalities such as Karl Lueger and Graf Zeppelin have all appreciated itstraditional Viennese cuisine and creature comforts. The framed autographs on the walls of the famous Mark Twain room ensure that their presence lives on here."
And yes, they have given their autographs - on the celings and walls of one of the vaulted rooms of the restaurant. That, alone, is worth a little visit, no?
Well, I wasn't so sure myself at the beginning, since I am never one to go somewhere because it's ancient. But my boyfriend is, so he dragged me there. The outside of the restaurant is really pretty, so I was already slightly impressed. A little walkway via stone stairs behind the restaurant leads to the Danube river. Nice. As you walk in, you are welcomed by low ceilngs and winding cave-like halls and rooms. Pretty cool. There are framed pictures of the outside of this restaurant from hundred of years ago, and it almost looks exactly the same (see picture). Even cooler.
Nevertheless, when we were seated, we were a bit shocked at the brisk, no-nonsense attitude of our server. My bf and I had lunch at 2pm and we came into this restaurant at 5pm (we had to be somewhere at 7pm) so we weren't very hungry. After ordering a glass of wine and a beer, I asked for the beef broth with semolina dumplings and the boiled rump. My boyfriend wanted to have the appetizer salmon. The conversation went as such:
"Can i get the salmon?" BF points to the menu
The server's reply: "small, cold, appetizer" waits for him to pick something else.
We tried to ask him for more information, but he didnt really provide any, and then walked away to give us more time to select from the menu. When he came back, my bf tried to joke with him on whether he could give us three words to describe the perch pike, he said, "warm, not appetizer" with a hint of irritation. So we made our orders.
The food was expensive and not very tasty. The soup was bland and the dumpling was a piece of dough that was very sandy for 6EUR. The rump was flavourless and the sauces that accompanied was bland. My boyfriend's pike was actually quite good. Each of the main was about 23EUR.
At the end of the meal, we asked for the cheque and another server asked us if wanted to see the autographs, we said yes, and he led us to a room with all the signatures. And then with a giant stick, he tried his best to point out people he thinks we would recognize. He left us there to take pictures. Afterwards, as we were leaving, my boyfriend pointed to a set of staircase leading downwards, and asked where it led to. The server told us it was just the cellar for employees "where the beer bottles go, and wine cellar, and cleaning." As we walked back to our eat to get our coats, the man asked our server to take us downstairs! That was cool Three floors of the oldest part of Vienna! They told us that this restaurant, and the cellar are the only preservations of old vienna (and then he showed us on the map too).
After doing a little googling, i did realize that it's pretty normal for this type of service in Vienna and in comparison, these guys are really really great. Love the experience here.
If you are a first time visitor, come for at least a drink!
