Vienna was long gripped by a schnitzel-and-Sacher-torte complex, but in recent years a group of young chefs with international training has revived the Austrian capital's restaurant scene. Now the eating options in some of the city's most beautiful museums and auction houses have followed suit. Just call it food with a view.
Pictured: Café Leopold, Leopold Museum – Courtesy of Café Leopold
Freyung 4, Kinsky Palace
The Kinsky Palace is one of Vienna's architectural jewels, with huge fresco-covered rooms gathered around a long, narrow courtyard. One of the palace's prime tenants is Am Kinsky, a renowned auction house that's recently been joined by Freyung 4, a restaurant that contrasts the classical setting with neon-pink and lime-green walls. Outside, a courtyard hosts fair-weather tables on a green-and-yellow raised platform. The food on offer—marinated salmon on herb greens and filet of veal with asparagus and yogurt, for example—is more restrained than the decor. There's also a two-course lunch special for 10 euros, which could come in handy after an auction house splurge.
Pictured: Freyung 4, Kinsky Palace – Courtesy of Jurgen Fae
Österreicher, Museum of Applied Arts
Österreicher, the upscale restaurant at the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), is part Hapsburg elegance part modern minimalist. A traditional wood-paneled ceiling plays off an updated massive chandelier and banquette seating. Chef Helmut Österreicher, one of Vienna's local-and-seasonal pioneers, has created a menu which includes lots of game, such as rack of venison with savory layer cake, and duck breast on honey-thyme cabbage. The black salsify salad, composed of vegetables foraged from the fields and forests of central Europe, is perhaps the strongest declaration that guests are eating locally.
Pictured: Österreicher, Museum of Applied Arts – Courtesy of Österreicher
Do&Co, Albertina Museum
Do&Co bistro doesn't even try to compete with the Albertina's outstanding print collection—the walls of this museum restaurant are nearly bare. The decor has a restrained elegance with a leather banquette that runs the length of the dining room. The casual setting mirrors the easygoing, cosmopolitan menu: Besides the inevitable schnitzel, there's steamed rice with oysters and sweet chili sauce, Uruguayan beef, and a baguette stuffed with smoked salmon, cream cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes. In warm weather, Do&Co opens a terrace that looks out to the Burggarten.
Pictured: Do&Co, Albertina Museum – Courtesy of Do&Co
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Museum of Fine Arts is a sprawling late-Hapsburg palace with a grand cupola that demands attention. You can contemplate the gold-leaf dome and rococo archways at your leisure on Thursday nights at the museum restaurant. There's a buffet of crawfish with coriander in a tomato jelly and venison paté as well as less exotic offerings, such as corn-fed chicken served with leeks. Reservations are essential and entry to the weekly dinner is only possible by buying a museum ticket (€39 per person excluding museum admission and drinks). An added attraction is a pre-dinner stroll around the museum (until 9 pm), after it's closed to the public.
Pictured: Kunsthistorisches Museum – Courtesy of Kunsthistorisches Museum
Café Leopold, Leopold Museum
After getting their fill of the artwork of Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, patrons of the Leopold Museum can grab a quick bite, or stay until evening when the Café Leopold turns into a nightclub with international DJs. By day the space is full of light from floor-to-ceiling windows and multiple chandeliers. The menu is simple and relatively inexpensive, such as chestnut soup with chorizo, a falafel plate, and grilled pike perch with pumpkin-seed pesto. As evening falls, the walls become screens for lightshows that may evoke jungle scenes or origami figures, and the emphasis turns to alcohol.
Pictured: Café Leopold, Leopold Museum – Courtesy of Café Leopold
New eating options linked to art institutions go way beyond pastry and coffee