The 12 best restaurants in the old city center of Vienna’s 1st district

Figlmüller has definitely become one of the most famous restaurants in Vienna, and it is very well known for their bigger-than-the-plate Schnitzels.

While many locals will disregard this place as an overhyped tourist spot, it really doesn’t get more local and rooted in the Viennese spirit than the Figlmüller name. Their house speciality Schnitzel is made out of pork, unlike the traditional Wiener Schnitzel, which is not on the menu here. Also, don’t you dare ask for ketchup! That sugary tomato chiz is considered a disgrace by the waiters. Instead, go for their also famous potato salad, which is topped with a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil, and dunk your piece of Schnitzel in it’s delicious juices.

Set alongside the Donaukanal, the upstairs café of the Motto am Fluss has a view and a setting fit for an inspiring, yet lazy, start to the day.

Their variety of breakfasts include some international favourites, but with an original name and twist. The All Day Breakfast Sandwich is all your breakfast food favourites packed in a bun (avocado, bacon and scrambled eggs), topped with a scrumptious Habanero mayonnaise. They also serve up some decent detox smoothies if you turn up after a heavy night out.

If you’re up for a fancy dinner experience, also check out their restaurant, which is located right under the café and serves equally as impeccable views of the Donaukanal through giant windows, which is perfect for a dinner date, or any after work shindig you’ve got planned.

Right in the center of good old Vienna, it feels like we are in the midst of a roaring Israeli marketplace in what used to be the old Dom Beisl.

Miznon has taken the Israeli cuisine, and gotten very creative with it. Served up in a no-fuss, street food kind of way, the menu is simple and made to be eaten with your hands.

Most of it will turn up on your table heaped on paper and once you’re digging into it, you’ll understand the paper’s there to catch the mess you’re making while eating the food. From the tasty tahini to be scooped up with flat bread, to the variety of filled pita breads – succulent lamb ribs, steak, ratatouille – to the favourites inspired by the street food found in the Israeli and Arab world, like Malfouf (stuffed cabbage rolls), the food is alive with flavour.

To learn more, read our full write-up about Miznon.

In-Dish takes Indian cuisine to a new insanely inventive level. While the menu contains everything you might wish for when craving Indian cuisine, it’s all done in a very unique way at In-dish.

There are some vegetarian and vegan options, and of course, you can have all the typical homey curries and dal dishes drowned in delicious sauces with a spice level of your choice, all accompanied by traditional Naan bread.

Meanwhile, we love the fun modern takes on the traditional Indian kitchen, like their signature Glorious Korma burger and the OMG butter chicken burger. It all is a refreshing new reinvention of all the good things that make Indian cuisine so loved. To read more about In-dish, check out our full review.

Vietthao opens their doors only in the evening and is full almost every single one of them. It’s safe to say the word is out about the tasty Vietnamese cuisine being served up at this place, and word says they have THE best pho in town. Every dish that leaves the kitchen and lands on the table of every eager guest is prepared by the owners wife, who’s secret ingredient is ‘a lot of love and passion,’ they tell us. The menu is full of Vietnamese classics such as summer rolls, noodle salads, pho (of course) and the tasty Bánh Xeo – Vietnamese crepes filled with fresh ingredients and steamed prawns. While we don’t like to play favourites, the pho here is one flavoursome bombshell, full of all the complex characteristics a good pho soup should involve – a clean beef broth taste, good quality, thinly-cut beef strips, fresh leafy sides, and the bánh phở rice noodles, which just so happen to be homemade.

Lola is a Spanish beauty, and she serves up some of the best tapas we’ve ever tasted. Her restaurant is a small tapas bar that stole our hearts as soon as we walked in.

But what really got our hearts pounding is the food. The toast with marinated salmon, herb cheese and avocado was devoured by someone who usually doesn’t like salmon. The little tower of eggplant, goat cheese and a chocolate-balsamic vinegar reduction had us melt from our seats, and the king prawns in tempura and a passionfruit-mayonnaise made us want to fill our bathtub with it’s uniquely scrumptious sauce.

Those small delicate portions of flavors can also be good conversion starters, which makes it easy to socialize. Good food and conversations in one.

Labstelle is a really cool and well designed place with a comfy atmosphere and a focus on regional and seasonal cooking. You can have anything your foodie-heart desires, from a small Jause with freshly baked bread, to a big hearty meal with all of the best ingredients harvested from around Vienna.

They also have their own wine menu, where you can choose from a giant assortment of wines to sip on while enjoying your evening nosh. Did we mention it makes for a slick place to hand at night over drinks? Well, we did now.

For anybody looking for a new place to lunch at through the week, Labstelle has a lunch menu on offer through the week, from noon until 2:30pm.

Rossini has been around for over 20 years in Vienna and the owner’s hometown in Italy has left a lasting impact on him. When you grow up by the water, you kinda’ get used to a lot of seafood, which is what you’ll find a lot of in the menu.

To ensure that the food tastes top notch, they shop for fresh Italian ingredients and accompany this with some good old quality wine. Luckily the restaurant isn’t overcrowded by tourists and you can eat to your belly’s content.

If you come in often enough, you won’t even have to order for yourself – one of the many perks of being a regular. Another perk is automatically knowing the names of every salad dish on the menu. If you dare to miss out on the pizza and focaccia, you’ll definitely want to think twice. Or simply have some of their bread, which is made twice a day. Our favourite dishes? Vitello Tonnato, Cinghisle and eggplants parmigiana style.

This Italian restaurant has a menu card that almost makes you want to say ‘bellissimo’ while kissing your lips with your hands.

Its name comes from a luxurious hotel in Venice, just to give you an idea of what kind of a setting you’ll be in for when you stop by to eat. The ambiance at Danieli’s makes for a charming evening, and the two-floor restaurant’s interior is what you’d expect from a fancy-shmancy place, which means a white table setting, chandeliers hanging from the top of the ceiling, and very cushy chairs.

Even if lavishness isn’t your taste, maybe the assortment of 600 wines will do it for you. You can find the very tempting international wines and digestive list by the restaurant’s bar.

Danieli’s is also known for specialising in fish and seafood. Their pizza may not be prepared like how the traditional Nepali people do it, but locals still seem to like it. Their dishes are exceptional and can be enjoyed with their vast wine assortment.

On the menu of Shoyu Ramen, you’ll find a plethora of beautiful noodle-filled broths waiting to be slurped up. One of them is the delicious Seafood Ramen, which comes with a mix of prawns and homemade fish balls, also known as fish pie (kamaboko).

One of the vegetarian options, known as the Green Ramen, consists of seasonal veggies, egg and spring onions bobbing about in a vegetable broth. You can also order this as Vegan, in which the egg noodles are supplemented by rice noodles. Anyone who’s feeling extra hungry can upgrade their bowl to XL, but we’d say the normal-sized bowl is already a big serve.

It’s written on the menu that once you go ramen you never go back, you’ll always want more – we’d say this definitely rings true with us. 

Ivy’s Pho & Grill is an extension of their first Pho-fan hangout on Mariahilfer Strasse, and in this Vietnamese eatery, it’s not just about the pho-no-mo.

Just a quick walk from Stephansdom, you’ll already see the fluorescent lights of the sign beaming from this colourful eatery. There’s only a few choices on the menu, including (of course) a few variations of Pho, dim sums and a lovely lemongrass chicken treat of a dish.

Also, while slurping at your pho, be sure to have a good look around at the otherworldly interior of this place. The bar area resembles the street bar set up you’d see at a Vietnamese street market (but thankfully, it is not as crowded).

Yori is a large, low-lit Korean restaurant in Vienna’s first district that has been a go-to for quality Korean cuisine for a while, and a perfect location to impress your next date with.

The atmosphere is chilled and the interior takes care of setting up a special kind of mood. In our opinion, their Bulgogi is one of the best in the city and their barbecue dishes are impressive throughout the menu.

The Korean classics, like kimchi, glass noodles and bibimbap, are all featured in Yori’s menu, along with the steaming stewy bowls of Jjigae, which is a kind of Korean one-pot stew, are a real flavour explosion waiting to blow you and your taste buds out the window.