Many Vienna gastronomes have taken advantage of the lockdown phases of 2021 and have developed and created new gastronomic formulas. Numerous are therefore the places that are now reviving the world of Viennese cuisine.

The Chez Bernard restaurant at the new Hotel Motto on Mariahilfer Strasse offers Parisian charm in Vienna. The restaurant is named after the landlord Bernd Schlacher. The motto “Vienna meets Paris” applies not only to the restaurant, but also to the entire hotel. The restaurant, which is also equipped with an American bar, is high up on the roof of a historic building erected in the 1870s. Cozy tables with sofas, lots of greenery and an impressive glass dome above the bar, where lush plants hang from the ceiling, create a truly special atmosphere. The offer is also inspired by France. A perfect place from breakfast to night cocktails. The roof terrace will open in spring 2022.

A restaurant has also been opened at the new Hotel Zola. The stylish ambience of the boutique hotel also characterizes the restaurant, which bears the name of Zazatam: the colorful tapestries with patterns depicting heavenly gardens and lots of velvet are real eye catchers. The casual fine dining restaurant offers international cuisine. There are appetizers to share, with the first and second courses you can travel around the world. And there is not even a small American bar.

And then at the beginning of December another hotel restaurant has just opened: the Hotel Gilbert in the Spittelberg area. Both the exterior and the interior of the Gilbert are very green, the facade is a vertical garden and thousands of potted plants decorate the interior spaces. The brasserie of the Hotel Gilbert should also become an oasis of greenery and for this reason it bears the name & flora. Here the focus is on oriental, sustainable, vegetarian and vegan cuisine.

The Brasserie Casino Zögernitz is also very refined in aesthetics. Denis Kosutic signs the interior design of the new restaurant opened by the gastronome Marco Simonis: a rainbow of contrasting colors and styles. Lots of marble, brightly colored armchairs, neon lights in the shape of hearts and palm trees on the ceiling. The cuisine focuses on France but with Viennese cuisine accents. The Brasserie Casino Zögernitz is located in a Biedermeier complex built in 1837 according to the plans of Ferdinand Zögernitz; Johann Strauss used to draw guests here with his waltzes. The highlight is the historic music room. The Brasserie opened in June 2021.

One of Vienna’s historic restaurants has changed ownership. Der Grieche now also offers Hellenic Fine Dining. The restaurant serves modern Greek cuisine beyond tradition. For the gastronomic formula we availed ourselves of the advice of the chef Gikas Xenas (Aléria restaurant in Athens) and the result is unmatched. The clichés about Greece have not been placed at the refined restaurant, but rather the culinary horizons are broadened.

The gastronomic formula of Belly of the Beast is also interesting: Austrian cuisine blends with that of Zimbabwe. Belly of the Beast focuses above all on creative vegetable-based dishes made with the utmost care. Chef Marvin Mudenda, who runs the restaurant together with his sister and brother, demonstrates his culinary skills here and has chosen the “Farm to Table” formula for the offer, for which the ingredients are organic and regional. Two different tasting menus are offered here, one is also meat-based.

Here are the addresses and websites to find out more: Chez Bernard Restaurant et Bar im Hotel Motto, Mariahilfer Strasse 71a, www.hotelmotto.at/chez-bernard. Zazatam im Hotel Zola, Hillerstraße 11, www.zazatam.com. & flora im Hotel Gilbert, Breite Gasse 9, www.hotel-gilbert.at. Brasserie Casino Zögernitz, Döblinger Hauptstrasse 76, www.brasserie-zoegernitz.com, www.houseofstrauss.at. Der Grieche, Barnabitengasse 5, www.dergrieche.wien. The belly of the beast, Wasagasse 28, www.bellyofthebeast.at.

[Contributo di Wien Tourismus]

IN THE PICTURE by Colin Cyruz, a table served by Zazatam, in Hillerstrasse.

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