We like the name Zweitbester (aka. second best). It’s cheeky as it kinda’ says – who needs 1st place when you’re as confident and sexy as we are?! Being humble is attractive. But there’s nothing to be humble about at this typically packed bar-bistro setup.
Zweitbester is the work of two young passionate dudes, Florian Egger and Vladimir Petrovic, who took over the space in the Freihausviertel in 2011 and made it into what it is today: a hip, trendy, and industrial chic looking mix between restaurant, bar, and art gallery.
Upon entering Zweitbester, you’ll immediately get this stylised shabby hipster-y vibe that sees a healthy disregard for refinement. The place is sporting a copper and concrete combo with a polished concrete bar and open kitchen, copper pipes everywhere and bare brick walls. The interior is dark, noir and moody and somehow feels incomplete because of the exposed exhaust system hanging from the arched roof, but that’s the rough and ready look that turns people on these days.
The restaurant is usually bustling with people, especially on the weekends and during dinner hours. But in the early afternoon hours, you’ll easily get one of the popular window-nooks.
Their menu shoots out in all directions. They offer both a lunch and evening menu, which they apparently change up every day. The choice is rather limited, but in this case less does mean more – a limited number of dishes in the menu means that you’re only getting served fresh food. Plus, they’ve got enough choices to keep both meat eaters and veggie lovers happy! And it doesn’t only taste great, but damn is it pretty food.
Their cheeseburger is one of the go-to dishes for hungry people and their beef tartare is, supposedly, a bit of super alright too. We went for the savoury Strudel stuffed with spinach, potatoes, feta and salad, and a baked sweet potato. These choices might sound stock standard, but when your eyes lock on to it as the waiter brings it towards your table, you’ll be quickly corrected. Even the homemade lemonade gives both the eyes and the tastebuds a kick!
They are more than happy to let you know where they source their ingredients. Let’s just say the focus lies on creating diverse, healthy and delicious dishes here.
You can also feast your eyes on some pretty funky art at Zweitbester, as well – its walls serve as a gallery, lending the place a creative edge. They rotate the artwork up on the wall every other month, with different local artists being featured.
Being in first place is never good – too much pressure we’d say. Now being ‘Zweitbester’ on the other hand, well, there’s always a drive to be better than, isn’t there? This certainly can be said about this casual and comfortable bar and bistro, Zweitbester.
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