We tried everything at the Donaukanal’s new summer food market and here’s what we discovered

It’s all about the balls at the Ballroom food stand. Sorry about slipping the obvious pun in there, but the crowd behind the Ballroom started it! (their claim is ‘we’ve got balls’).

The Ballroom stand is featuring the balls and the crowd behind the eatery getting super inventive with dumplings in the 7th and 9th districts of Vienna that goes by the same name.

You can grab a small, or big portion, of their extravagant dumplings menu.

We tried their ‘Superball,’ which is filled with smoky BBQ beef, some fancy onion confit, and cheddar. They’re topped with some yummy cranberry cream. We had a chaser of the ‘The Great Ball’ filled with pork belly and topped with cucumber kimchi. And last but not least, their heavenly soft ‘Seasonal Sweet Ball’ was topped with a somewhat plum jam. It was all very delightful.

That being said, they definitely didn’t lie when they said they have some damn good dumplings!

You may have heard of the pizzeria slash restaurant serving up food porn Italian-style in Vienna’s first district – Regina Margarita? Well, the sons of Barbaro, the real deal Neapolitan, have set up a stand at the market and they’re serving up absolutely mouth-watering Pizza Fritta.

As the name may suggest, Pizza Fritta is fried pizza (just in case you were scratching your head).

This Neapolitan gourmet street food concept is one of our favourites of the three currently sitting at the market.

On the menu, you’ll find deep-fried battered fish, calamari and all kinds of weekly specials that fit the mix!

They’re also serving up so-called ‘Pizzaballs’ with Nutella to give your sweet tooth some TLC. We tried those together with the Salty Napoli. Let’s just say, eating these is like biting into a deep fried Italian cloud.

The smoked cheese, tomato bits and basil, combined with the pesto on the side, is a perfect mix. Meanwhile, the Nutella balls are incredi-balls!(we sincerely apologise for the pun).

The idea here is to offer those irresistible Italy by the seaside vibes, and while we’re sorely missing the sea here (you could have tried to build that into the concept, people!) that Fritto by Barbaro Neapolitan Gourmet Streetfood is a solid alternative.

This is the sole bar of the Taste! Food Garden taking care of the drinks side of things. It’s located in the middle of the market, and it’s got comfy sunbeds out the front in an adult-sized sand pit to give you that vacay feeling. 

The co-owner, Clemes, told us the bar stays true to the Tiki Bar concept, meaning you can expect to be making your sucking-on-a-straw face to some elaborate cocktails, especially rum-based drinks.

We got to sip on the mango and berry classic. Both of the cocktails were a light-hearted and went down smoothly (we were sure to pick the lighter ones so we wouldn’t be tipsy on the job – obviously).

The flavour was rich, the drink was refreshing, the guidance of the bartender on what to pick was helpful, and the striped paper straws were a cute eye-catcher.

Swizzle Bar is hosted by the multi-lingual talent, Daniel Schober, and he’s creating cocktails that range from classics to signature special drinks.

Good to know… A ‘swizzle’ is a 40cm long bamboo, or wooden stick that has been used since the 18th century in Tiki bars to mix cocktails.