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Writer's pictureEddie & Megan

Vienna Restaurants: The Gasthaus

Updated: Dec 13, 2019

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As some of you know, a large portion of what we do when traveling is eat EVERYTHING. Well maybe not everything, but we thoroughly enjoy trying new food in new places and Austria was no exception.


One type of traditional restaurant in Vienna is called a gasthaus. Per wikipedia, a gasthaus is...

"a German style inn or tavern with restaurant and rooms to rent."

They are typically family owned and operated and you can often find multiple generations working working together to run the gasthaus.



We can’t validate the part about rooms for rent or the family connections between employees. However, we can validate that the three Vienna gasthauses we ate at were very much styled like German inns or taverns and were quite wonderful all around.


This desire to try new things is absolutely, 100%, irrevocably not what caused us to eat at our first gasthaus in Vienna, Austria.


We had just finished a push bike tour (think Razor scooter with giant dirt bike style wheels) and were absolutely famished. A couple of hours scootin' around town will do that to about anyone!


Because both of us were on the verge of hangry, we took our tour guide’s first lunch suggestion and went to a gasthaus just down the street from where our tour had ended.


NOTE: Price scale ($, $$, $$$, $$$$)


Gasthaus Quell


Gasthaus Quell provided a very authentic Austrian atmosphere along with some very tasty, authentic Austrian food. Since we were new to Austria at this point, we were quite pleased with our spur-of-the-moment decision.

  • Price: $$ - Not rock bottom pricing, but still very affordable. Our meal with beer and wine (pictured below) came out to €26.

  • Location: Reindorfgasse 19, Vienna 1150 Austria - A little off the beaten path so it’s not full of tourists. Easy enough to find if you are looking to leave the tourism comforts of city center.

  • Ambiance: Quaint and cozy. It was a bit rainy so we sat indoors and it seriously reminded us of an old home. The rooms were small and divided up, giving you a very cozy feeling on a gloomy, rainy day.

  • Food: Very good. We ordered a Vienna goulash, frankfurter, and a bratwurst on top of fried potatoes. The food came out fast and everything tasted amazing.

  • Service: A+ The wait staff provided us with menus in English and were very helpful and attentive.


Traditional Viennese goulash (looks like beef stew or chili), a Frankfurter with mustard and shaved horseradish, and a bratwurst on top of a bed of fried potatoes.  A beer and some wine to wash it all down!
Traditional Viennese goulash (looks like beef stew or chili), a Frankfurter with mustard and shaved horseradish, and a bratwurst on top of a bed of fried potatoes. A beer and some wine to wash it all down!

Gasthaus Rebhuhn


Megan suggested gasthaus Rebhuhn for dinner one night while some family was visiting from the states, and boy were we all glad. I (Eddie) can say that this was my favorite dinner in Austria. As of this writing, we have 2 more dinners before we leave for our next city, but I don’t think this is getting dethroned. We also had a blogger fail here as we didn’t get any photos of the food… Spending time with family trumped us getting content...so sue us.


  • Price: $$$ - Once again, middle of the pack on pricing and well worth it. Our meal, for 4 people with booze, came out to €80. €40 for 2 people is one of the more expensive meals we had in Vienna but is still well within reason (for us).

  • Location: Berggasse 24, Vienna 1090 Austria - A few blocks north of the Ring Street on the west side of the river. Afterwards, walk south along the river to find some fun bars to have a post dinner drink. There's even a bar set up like a beach with sand and all.

  • Ambiance: Clean and inviting. We sat indoors, in a wide and spacious room... because we didn’t make a reservation (which you should). Luckily, about 2 minutes after sitting down, someone finished their meal outside and we were moved to their table. The weather made for a lovely night to dine outside.

  • Food: Absolutely fantastic. We don’t have photos and can’t accurately remember what we got, but we remember it being amazing. Megan and I both had beef-based meals and had a wonderful experience.

  • Service: A+ Wait staff provided us with English menus once again and were very helpful and attentive.

Wonderful outdoor seating area at Gasthaus Rebhuhn.
Wonderful outdoor seating area at Gasthaus Rebhuhn.

Gasthaus Elsner


At this point, we had tried a few gasthauses and enjoyed them so we purposefully tracked down one near our flat and were lucky enough to find Gasthaus Elsner. Once again, we were bad bloggers and didn’t get any photos other than the menu.

  • Price: $ - Our bill came out to €28 which included a beer and a glass of wine! Megan’s house red only cost €1.60 (which was amazing) and Eddie got the most expensive meal on the menu for €14.

  • Location: Neumayrgasse 2, Vienna 1160 Austria - This is in the Ottakringer district (16) so it’s a bit outside of city center but a tram does run right in front of it. Plenty easy to get to.

  • Ambiance: Quaint and cozy yet again. We sat indoors as it was a little chilly and luckily found a table in the “no smoking” section. Yes, you can still smoke indoors in Vienna to our dismay.

  • Food: Good, but nothing to write home about. Eddie got a cordon bleu and Megan got a chicken schnitzel. Both were very tasty and we would definitely go back again, but you can get a tasty schnitzel/cordon bleu about anywhere you go in Vienna.

  • Service: A+ Elsner also had an English menu which helped us tremendously. The waitress that helped us also had a great attitude and joked around with us a bit.


Menu at Gasthaus Elsner
The menu at Gasthaus Elsner was simple and straight forward (which we love).

All in all, we highly suggest you eat in at least one gasthaus while you are visiting Vienna. In our experience, you can’t pick a bad one. Great prices, tasty food, pleasant atmosphere, and fantastic service.


Cheers! Eddie & Megan


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