This magnificient Middle Eastern restaurant comes with a mission: to help refugees who have fled war to integrate in Austria, by hiring them, and helping them get on their feet in their new home country. This has led to the weird combination of Austrian Schmäh and Arabic hospitality coming together, according to the crowd at Habibi & Hawara.
This relatively young first district spot comes with the warm Middle Eastern hospitality; upon entering, you’ll feel like you’ve just been welcomed into somebody´s home. The blue-tinged, funky looking intimate first section of the restaurant will have you mistaking this for a small restaurant, until you find the huge back area. The back room of this restaurant is draped in an exotic decor that is distinctly somebody’s unique take on an Oriental look. Lunchtime here sees a generous buffet served up, packed with oriental fare – grilled vegetables with tahini, hummus, several types of eggplant spreads, fresh salads, börek, cousocus mixes, chickpea salads, falafels, lentil soup, and hot stew-like dishes containing lamb, fish, or veggies. The lunch is an all-you-can-eat extravaganza which is great for those wanting to try new flavour combinations. And it comes complete with a small, but exciting range of sweet, sweeeeeeet cakes.
The dinner here will also have you traveling to the Middle East, as amongst a lively, dimly-lit atmosphere, a set menu of Middle Eastern fare is served in the Middle Eastern way – a bunch of bowls and pots filled with hot and cold oriental dishes are brought to your table to be shared. It’s a bottomless buffet (yes, you still have to wear pants), which means they refill the dishes ‘til eternity (or you know, ‘til closing time). This makes for a unique group dining experience.
For a-la-carte fans, there is a standard menu, with sides and appetisers and a couple of mains. However, if you want the whole experience, we really recommend you go all in for the lunch, or dinner feast.
