The 19 new food and drink places in Vienna you NEED to try as soon as the lockdown is lifted

People are, and always have been, reeeaally into pasta. But there is the supermarket kind and then there’s real pasta. The kind that carries the taste of Italy in every bite (ok, we’ll stop the advertising talk). Anyway, this is precisely the kind of fresh(!) handmade pasta the folks at SoFàre are dedicated to producing.

Both the pasta and sauces here are made fresh every day, so all you have to do is throw ’em together. And if you’re unsure which sauce goes best with what pasta, simply ask the staff to take care of you. After all, they’re the pasta pros.

Naturally, with a name like Espresso Perfetto, people would expect to be served up a damn fine cuppa at this place, and given the fact that these guys have been in the coffee business for over 20 years, we’re pretty sure that they can live up to such high expectations.

Besides coffee, you can buy up on their trademark bean roasts, and some sweet pastries. Oh, and they’re also selling top quality coffee machines and equipment for those that like to roleplay being their own sexy barista at home.

The moment has arrived all of you meat loving people of pastrami – there’s a location in town serving up to-die-for pastrami sandwiches and it’s called XO Grill.

Do you think it’s called XO because those two letters look like an emoticon with closed eyes and a wide open mouth? ‘Cause that’s exactly the way you will look when taking a big bite from one of their creations.

They have been earning their fame as quality meat suppliers with their stand at the Karmelitermarkt for a while now, and now they’ve opened up their own place (and they’ll soon be opening up another location – stand by).

They are currently doing their burger production at the wood fire restauranbt, Dogenhof, but keep an eye on their website for updates as this is only temporary.

Dampha Kitchen is quite unique. Not only is its cuisine unique to Vienna (a fusion of Gambian and Spanish), but it also has a unique way of operating.

It’s run single-handedly by its founder and chef, Khalifa Dampha, who you order your food from via Instagram DMs. He’s operating every weekend.

By the way, new delicious creations are added regularly to the menu. That means there’s always a good reason to order again.

Check out the full details about Dampha Kitchen in our interview with Khalifa. 

100% vegan, 100% organic – that’s what this new eatery is all about. Das Suess’kind’s regular menu may appear rather minimal, but this is intentional, as they want to be able to serve up everything as fresh as possible.

Plus, in addition to their set menu is an ever-changing menu of the day, which brings in a little more variety.

For their takeaway option (which usually comes with a lot of packaging) they even refrain from any kind of plastic. Kudos to that!

You might ask yourself whether Vienna really needed yet another burger joint. But can you ever have enough burgers in your life? Of course, the answer to that is no.

The famous US franchise burger joint, Five Guys, has set itself up in Vienna’s first district and they’ve had lines out the front of the location ever since. They’ve got huge burgers (apparently made with only the best ingredients) and have 15 free toppings for you to throw on top of them, which according to their calculations makes for a whopping 250.000 possible combinations. Their cajun fries are amazing and their milkshakes will have you doing that cute, desperate slurping face you do. The price tag is high on these burgers, but the hype is real.

Le Firin, the French-inspired café/bakery, has opened up a new bread…uhmm…branch in the 4th district on Operngasse.

If you get that craving for a hot coffee combined with a crispy croissant like we do sometimes, you know where to go.

They also have a whole bunch of other freshly baked goods – French-style–on offer, and they’re open every damn day of the week!

A new addition to Vienna’s multicultural culinary scene is Shin, an eatery in the tasty business of the rich world of Taiwanese cuisine.

Amongst authentic Taiwanese noodle soups in the menu, you’ll find street food classics like baos, alongside a bunch of fried chicken variations (their popcorn chicken is da’ bomb!).

Fresh fish and seafood that’s actually flavourful is kinda hard to come by when you live in a landlocked country, right?

Luckily, the crowd at Lieblingsfisch is now here to help out. This is the latest addition to the 2nd district’s Karmelitermarkt,  and they’re serving up fresh and saltwater fish in their inviting little store at the market there. It’s become one very popular place during lockdown, and we have no doubt once things open up it will get even more of a buzz happening.

Oh crêpe! Pardon our French (and lame joke), but the crêpes at this place look too damn good.

This doesn’t come as a big surprise when you find out that their maker, Israeli chef, Royi Shwartz, didn’t only graduate from the Culinary Institute of America, but has also worked in top kitchens around the globe for many years.

Nowadays, however, he has traded in haute cuisine for street food which he is serving up in his little eatery in Vienna’s 6th district. He has set himself the ambitious goal to make the world’s best crêpes.

Whether you favour the sweet or savoury flavours of the world, the tasty toppings on offer, consisting of exquisite ingredients in creative combinations, are sure to give your tastebuds a proper treat.

Disco Volante, which is probably the funkiest pizzeria in town with its big shiny disco ball oven, has spawned a little sister and called it Pronto Volante.

It doesn’t have a big shiny disco ball oven, but it does have the same authentic Neapolitan pizza being served up PLUS a variety of Italian street food classics, such as Arancini (fried stuffed rice balls) and Pizza Fritta (fried pizza). Better head there – pronto!

It all started as a French-style catering service, and became then came the big C (Corona, that is) and this put a halt to the business. This led to them deciding to open up a shop/bistro that serves up some tasty French treats, like quiches and tartelettes.

As an extra sweetener, you can also find a variety of regional products from France up for sale, including sauces, sardines and pâté, confitures and cookies.

And, of course, no culinary visit to France would be complete without an appropriate wine pairing. But naturally, you can get your French wine fix here, as well. Trés bien we say to that.

All the way from the distant lands of Osaka, Japan, comes the mighty flavours being served up at Makotoya Ramen – a Japanese franchise that has opened up it’s very first European branch in Vienna’s city centre.

And in case you haven’t guessed already via the name of the place, they serve up ramen. But apparently it’s not just any kind of ramen – they’re claiming it’s authentic Japanese ramen (don’t they all?). Chicken, beef, vegan, spicy – whatever you’re craving. The menu is rounded off with a selection of Japanese tapas, rice dishes and desserts.

Oh, and they’re also planning on setting up a private room that you can rent for small events once that’s possible again. That means you could soon be hosting your very own ramen orgy. Just be sure to invite us as well if you do.

It’s always fantastic and exciting news when a lesser-known kind of cuisine hits Vienna’s foodie scene.

The Brazilian kitchen is hard to come by in Vienna, however, Kias Kitchen is looking to see an end to that.

The menu at this place changes on a weekly basis, and it’s all made with organic, local and homemade ingredients. Plus, with his eagerness to experiment, Kias, the Brazilian cook, will be coming up with his own original recipes, with influences from outside of his home country, and beyond.

Die Sattlerei is a handome new addition to the dining scene of the 2nd district. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner or simply sipping something at the bar and throwing down some bar snacks with some good conversation, Die Sattlerei is a new option.

Weekend specials, such as a traditional English Sunday roast and a broad assortment of fine wine, give this place even more of a pull factor.

And a little bonus for all you at-home gourmet chefs out there: the restaurant also has its own small Greißlerei (grocery shop) in which you’ll find all sorts of regional quality products on sale.

Fox Kaffee takes everybody’s favourite two kinds of beverages – coffee and alcohol – and offers them up in the one place.

You could start your day off here with a strong coffee, and be back later to end it with a well-made sweet cocktail in hand. Or you might want to do it the other way round. Who are we to judge?

This narrow little coffee place has opened up on the charming Josefstädter Strasse of the 8th district. Another one for you to try all you coffee nuts out there!

Ahh, how we missed the times where we could spend an entire afternoon just lounging in cafés. Especially in super pretty ones. So if you’re anything like us (which we’ll just boldly assume you are) you’ll feel right at home at the lovely Café Friedl that has just set up shop in the far outreaches of the Sievering Grätzel of the 19th district.

They’ve got coffee (which we guess you knew already with it being a cafe and all), a few sweet snack options like cruffins, a few open-faced sandwich options and a very Instagrammable interior. It makes for a pleasant neighbourhood cafe.

The crowd all about craft beer and pizza, Hefenbrüder, have moved from their location on Mahü to a sweeping big space on Zieglergasse (for those who know the old Brickmakers location, they’re now in there).

Their website announces that they’ll be opening at the end of May in their fancy new location and they’ll no doubt be attracting a crowd from day one of opening (especially those who like variety in their beer).

Whatever Mochi touches in Vienna’s culinary scene turns to gold this has been the case since the whole Mochi outfit turned up in the form of a little eatery on Praterstrasse.

That’s why, they used to disappoint a lot of people – not due to their service and food, yet because their 2nd district location was so small that you would often hear, ‘Sorry, we’re booked out,’ and this may have something to do with them opening a larger location in the funky vibes of the Vorgartenmarkt.

During the lockdown, it’s been their take-away home base, however, with everything opening up they can finally show off their new place. No doubt they’ve expanded and mixed up the menu to mark this momentous new stage in the Mochi story.