If you're looking for a place with good, Austrian cuisine that is centrally located and has a really wonderful atmosphere, I think it's hard to beat Brasserie Palmenhaus.
The Viennese restaurant is right behind Hofburg Palace, the former center of the Habsburg Empire that now houses three of the main museums you'd visit in Vienna. Furthermore, it's so beautiful inside. The "indoor" dining space is this HUGE tropical greenhouse (complete with full palm trees inside, thus the name).
During the summer, the patio is open with views overlooking the Burggarten (garden next to Hofburg Palace).
For us, we were looking for refuge from a crazy freak rainstorm that dumped insane amounts of water on Vienna. The winds were terrible, and we felt so cold just walking down the street. In desperation, we did an internet search and found Brasserie Palmenhaus right behind Hofburg Palace.
We were soooo thankful to find this oasis of a place.
The Food at Brasserie Palmenhaus
The menu includes Viennese classics, such as weinerschnitzel, though it also includes Mediterranean dishes and elevated touches. See, for example, our cute little free amuse bouche, a single cracker on top of a pumpkin puree and yogurt sauce.
It was our first day in Vienna, so OF COURSE we had to get the weinerschnitzel (35 EUROS). The version here is made with organic veal. It was HUGE! Yes, I realize it's pounded flat, but it was still a lot of food. The deep fried and breaded veal cutlets came with cranberry sauce and lemon.
The Weinerschnitzel came with a side of parsley potatoes. I was quite appreciative of the attention to detail and work that it took to peel each one of these little potatoes.
Other parts of the menu are more Mediterranean, with various types of pasta, salads, grilled seafood and meat. In general, many of their dishes are made with organic meat.
A tomato based seafood soup was also extremely satisfying on such a cold, wet day.
We really enjoyed the fresh homemade pasta with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and pesto. The portion size of this one was also very, very generous. (Yes, I realize this is an Italian dish, but Bryan loves pasta.)
Brasserie Palmenhaus Vienna Austria - Thoughts
We really enjoyed this place. The portions are huge (we couldn't finish), the food is good, and I like how they have healthier Mediterranean options so you aren't eating pure Viennese food. The ambiance and location is hard to beat. On a good weather day in the middle of summer, I can imagine this place being packed. Even in the fall, when it was cold and rainy outside, it was still lovely to enjoy good food in an indoor palm tree filled haven.
Brasserie Palmenhaus Vienna Austria
Burggarten 1 – 1010 Wien
T: +43 1 533 10 33
(closed on Mondays and Tuesdays)
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