The quick answer
Eat a Wiener Schnitzel, Tafelspitz (beef in broth), beef goulash and a Käsekrainer from a sausage stand. Finish with Apfelstrudel or Sacher-Torte in a coffee house.
Vienna's best food experiences are its institutions: a Würstelstand at midnight, a Beisl (traditional tavern) for lunch, a Heuriger wine tavern in the evening. And, as any local will tell you, a döner: Ferhat Döner in Favoriten has queues around the block.
10 dishes to try in Vienna
Prices are typical for traditional restaurants (Beisln) in 2026; first-district restaurants charge more.
Wiener Schnitzel
Veal pounded thin, breaded and fried in lard or clarified butter until the crust puffs away from the meat.
How to eat it: Served with lemon and potato salad or parsley potatoes. A real Wiener Schnitzel is veal; pork is listed as "vom Schwein".
Tafelspitz
Beef simmered in a rich broth with root vegetables, served in its pot.
How to eat it: Drink the broth first, then eat the beef with apple horseradish, chive sauce and roast potatoes.
Rindsgulasch
Beef stewed slowly in onion and paprika until the sauce is thick and glossy. Thicker and richer than Hungarian goulash soup.
How to eat it: Mop up the sauce with a Semmel roll or a bread dumpling. Often better at lunch, when it is a set menu.
Käsekrainer
A smoked pork sausage with pockets of cheese that melt as it grills. The classic late-night snack.
How to eat it: Order it at a Würstelstand with sweet or hot mustard, bread and a pickled pepper.
Leberkäs-Semmel
A thick slice of warm Leberkäse (a fine meatloaf with no liver despite the name) in a crusty roll.
How to eat it: Bought at butchers and supermarket counters. Ask for mustard and pickles.
Zwiebelrostbraten
A seared slice of beef in a dark onion gravy under a pile of crispy fried onions.
How to eat it: Comes with fried potatoes. A traditional Beisl dish more than a tourist one.
Frittatensuppe
Clear beef broth with thin strips of savoury pancake and chives.
How to eat it: The standard starter in any Beisl. Good on a cold day.
Salonbeuschel
Finely sliced veal lung and heart in a creamy, slightly sour sauce. Classic old-Vienna cooking.
How to eat it: Always served with a bread dumpling. For the adventurous.
Schinkenfleckerl
Small square noodles baked with ham, egg and sour cream until the top is crisp.
How to eat it: Comfort food Viennese grew up on, with a green salad.
Apfelstrudel
Paper-thin pastry rolled around apples, raisins and cinnamon.
How to eat it: Order it warm with vanilla sauce in a coffee house.
10 places worth the trip
Institutions with a reason to visit, from a döner with a 50-metre queue to a 1740 wine tavern. We checked every listing on Google Maps.
Ferhat Döner
10th district, Favoritenstraße 94The döner Vienna queues for: Austrian beef seasoned with just salt, cooked over a wood fire, in flatbread baked to order. Falter calls it the city's cult döner.
- Order
- Döner or dürüm with homemade ayran; Iskender if you eat in
- Price
- €8.50–16.90 depending on size
- Tip
- Open daily 11:00–22:00. There is always a queue; mid-afternoon or late evening is quickest. Toppings are deliberately simple.
Berliner Döner
7th district, Zieglergasse 33aFor the loaded style: homemade bread stuffed with meat, plenty of vegetables and sauces, and a lunchtime queue to prove it.
- Order
- Döner with everything and extra sauce
- Price
- About €8–12
- Tip
- Busiest at lunch; go mid-afternoon for a short wait.
Bitzinger Würstelstand Albertina
1st district, behind the State OperaVienna’s best-known sausage stand, built for opera crowds, where you can order champagne with your Käsekrainer.
- Order
- Käsekrainer with mustard and a roll
- Price
- About €7–8
- Tip
- Open from morning until the early hours. The perfect stop after the opera or a night out.
Figlmüller Wollzeile
1st district, near St Stephen’s CathedralThe schnitzel that hangs over the edge of the plate, served here since 1905.
- Order
- The Figlmüller schnitzel (pork) with potato salad
- Price
- About €30–40 per person with a salad and a drink
- Tip
- Reserve ahead. Wollzeile serves the pork version; for veal Wiener Schnitzel, book their Bäckerstraße branch.
Gmoakeller
3rd district, next to the KonzerthausA vaulted cellar tavern serving Vienna since 1858, still cooking the old-school dishes most places have dropped.
- Order
- Zwiebelrostbraten, liver dumpling soup, Wiener Schnitzel
- Price
- Weekday lunch menu about €15; à la carte more
- Tip
- Closed Sundays. The weekday lunch menu is the best value. Book by phone for dinner.
10er Marie
16th district, OttakringCalls itself the oldest Heuriger in Vienna (since 1740): a vaulted wine tavern pouring wine from its own vineyards.
- Order
- A Viertel of house wine with the hot and cold Heuriger buffet
- Price
- Moderate; wine by the glass, buffet priced by the plate
- Tip
- Tuesday to Saturday from 15:00. Open in winter, unlike the seasonal vineyard taverns.
Naschmarkt
6th district, Linke & Rechte WienzeileVienna’s biggest market, about 120 stalls and eateries, plus a new market hall of regional producers opened in late 2025.
- Order
- Cheese, bread and fish from the market hall; lunch at a market restaurant; a glass at a standing wine bar
- Price
- About €10–25 per person
- Tip
- Closed Sundays. Go in the morning. Agree prices for dates and nuts by weight before they fill a bag.
Café Sacher Wien
1st district, opposite the State OperaThe birthplace of the Original Sacher-Torte, served in a red-velvet café.
- Order
- Sacher-Torte with unsweetened whipped cream and a Melange
- Price
- €11.50 a slice; about €25 with a coffee
- Tip
- Book online to skip a queue that can run over an hour in summer and at Advent.
Trzesniewski
1st district, Dorotheergasse 1A standing-counter institution since the early 1900s: bite-size open sandwiches with two dozen spreads and a tiny glass of beer.
- Order
- Three or four sandwiches, including the bacon and egg, with a Pfiff of beer
- Price
- A few euros for a snack
- Tip
- A fast stand-up stop between sights.
Schweizerhaus
2nd district, in the PraterA huge Prater beer garden famous for crackling pork knuckle and Czech Budvar beer.
- Order
- Schweizerhaus Stelze to share, a Krügerl of Budvar, potato pancakes
- Price
- About €20–30 per person
- Tip
- Seasonal: open mid-March to 31 October. Pair it with the Riesenrad Ferris wheel next door.
Ratings and review counts are from Google Maps as of October 7, 2026. Opening hours change; check the map listing before you go.
Tips for eating in Vienna
- A Beisl is a traditional tavern; the weekday lunch menu (Mittagsmenü, soup plus main) is the best-value way to eat Viennese food.
- Wiener Schnitzel must be veal by law. Schnitzel 'Wiener Art' or 'vom Schwein' means pork.
- Tipping: round up or add about 10%, and say the total when you pay rather than leaving cash on the table.
- Many traditional restaurants close on Sundays; check before you go.
- Tap water in Vienna is mountain spring water and excellent. Ask for 'Leitungswasser'.
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Download FeedMii freeFrequently asked questions
What is the most famous food in Vienna?
Wiener Schnitzel, a thin breaded veal cutlet, is Vienna's best-known dish. Other classics are Tafelspitz (beef boiled in broth), beef goulash, Käsekrainer sausage from a street stand, Apfelstrudel and Sacher-Torte.
Where is the best döner in Vienna?
Viennese media most often name Ferhat Döner on Favoritenstraße (10th district), which cooks Austrian beef over a wood fire in bread baked to order; expect a queue. For the loaded style with lots of vegetables and sauces, Berliner Döner on Zieglergasse (7th district) is a popular pick.
What is a Heuriger?
A Heuriger is a Viennese wine tavern that serves its own young wine with a buffet of cold and hot dishes. Many are on the vineyards at the city's edge and open seasonally; 10er Marie in Ottakring, which dates from 1740, is open year-round.
Where can I eat Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna?
Figlmüller has served its plate-sized schnitzel since 1905; its Wollzeile restaurant serves pork and the Bäckerstraße branch serves veal, so book ahead. Traditional Beisln such as Gmoakeller also serve it, often for less.