ganbich

dear lx343,
figlmüller is famous for some reason (if not for its grouchy waiters), schnitzel's not bad there admittedly, but really, it's a 100% touristy place. i lived on lugeck - a stone's throw from the restaurant - for years and have always felt sorry for the huge queues of hopeful tourists.
it depends how classy you want your schnitzelplace to be. if the rustic viennese feel is fine for you, i would rush to the airport's s-bahn station and take the 19:18 direct train all the way to traisengasse, then go to 'gasthaus kopp', vulgo: 'koppwirt' on donaueschingengasse 28 - they have the best schnitzel in town as i know it! but again: it's a very working class place!
a decent - and quite huge - schnitzel will certainly also be served at 'zu den 2 lieserl' in burggasse, near 'volkstheater' underground. a bit risky for time with your layover perhaps.
if you would like to go for a more classy schnitzel experience, i would recommend 'oswald und kalb' in bäckerstrasse, just a few yards from figlmüller or else 'zu den drei hacken' in singerstrasse, which is also in the center.
if you go for a city center place, i would take the bus to/from schwedenplatz (frequency 30 mins, travel time 15-20 mins, cheaper than cat).
you can also do some good viennese restaurant research on this site:
http://www.falter.at/web/wwei/home.php
their recommendations are reliable!
and then i can tell you, what i would do with a 4hr layover out for a culinary experience: i would go to restaurant plachutta on wollzeile (a stone's throw from s-bahn and cat airport trains), sit in the garden and order a 'tafelspitz' with ALL trimmings - couldn't get more viennese.
have a very good trip,
RG

Chapel Hill Guy

The original Figlmüller does take reservations, but not sure if for one person. The schnitzel is gigantic (CHLad had it). I had the veal sweetbreads...yum! The waiter we had we a real hoot...I think he was half loaded. We really enjoyed the atmosphere. Very cozy. N.B. You have to go outside to get to the bathroom, which was interesting in the January chill.

I'm down on the MAK right now. Food is good (I've had the schnitzel twice, served with great potato salad with mache lettuce on top), but the last time we were there the service was absolutely atrocious. Staff seems to think a bit much of themselves.

uk1

Both restaurants (and Figls in Grinzing) take reservations by email and web site for one person but they'll have another person join your table.

I agree with all of that .....I've certainly indicated that I think that it would be a shame to go to Figlmuller .... the only purpose being to take a picture of a schnitzel that is too large for one person and is edible but one of the worst in Vienna.

I'm not certain about Plachuta because it is equally a tourist place but just an upmarket one where it's very expensive, the portions are small and everything you'd expect to be on the plate is an extra. It's also much more formal and they tend to sniff at people not "appropriately dressed". To me the highlight of Plachuta isn't the meat but the stock it's cooked in.

Your suggestion of 'oswald und kalb' is a great one and a less known and around the corner is a personal favourite Pfudl - "real" Vienna.

Let's hope he has a good 4 hours!

lx343

thanks everyone for the recommendations. im heading to "oswald und kalb" for a nice dinner. do u guys think that i need to do a reservation to get a table? now i have to figure out how to get there easy and stress free. its always such a pain in the a.. if u visit a new city and never been there before. but i guess the train system in vienna is easy enough.

a nice and hot weekend to everyone..:-)

lx343

uk1

Take the bus from outside the terminal - details linked in an earlier post from me.

The restaurant map is here and the bus stops just to the left of where it shows the blue U on the map by the bridge over the Danube. Zoom the map in .... it's a short walk up Rotenturmstrasse, cheaper, faster and no change compared with the train. Much less hassle. And you'll know which time bus you want to get back so you just wander back to the bus stop. It's much less frantic than the train and you always get a seat .......

It depends on the day and time but if it's important to you - you can try!

Enjoy your meal.

ganbich

uk1: seems like we share a liking for grandma's schnitzel, especially the cold 'day after' version - and transport into town, the bus to schwedenplatz/morzinplatz is definitely a good, hasslefree and inexpensive shortcut. perhaps, you are right about plachutta - i mostly went to their hietzing branch and always liked the food, both stock, beef and the trimmings, but yes i agree, it's pricey and the staff can be stuck up. i thought more, as it's very close to airport transport and the quality of food doesn't fail ...

lx343: 'oswald und kalb' is a nice choice: i would print out timetables both for the airport bus to/from schwedenplatz/morzinplatz and s-bahn to wien mitte from this website: www.oebb.at. after landing, walk through baggage claim to 'ausgang wien' and decide which means of transport gives more sense (both have half hour intervals), but - as uk1 suggests - if in doubt, i would give preference to the bus, which has its stop at arrivals level, just outside the arrivals concourse at a slight left. if you forget to print the timetables, you can call 051717 (the information service of austrian railways, also covering the buses) - choose the option 'connections within one region', then 'vienna, lower austria and burgenland'. if you take the s-bahn, it's the big new black building outside the terminal, clearly marked with 'bahnhof', access from just outside arrivals level - buy ticket before boarding the train. at wien mitte, you need to transfer to u3 towards ottakring (no new ticket needed) and get off after one stop - 'stubentor', leave the stop by exit 'wollzeile', then walk 30m up postgasse and turn left into bäckerstrasse.
for a plan b (wedding at o&k, other reasons), i can warmly recommend the kalbsschnitzel at 'café engländer' in postgasse (300m from o&k), which might be one of the few viennese cafés where it makes sense to order meals. http://www.cafe-englaender.com/ by the way, 'alt wien' opposite 'oswald&kalb' is very famous for its gulyas!
if you get stuck or worried about your plane connection at schwechat, you might like to ring 01-60160 or 01-40100, which are taxi companies offering discounted standard fares to the airport from any viennese address (eur 33), but you'll have to mention 'flughafentaxi' when ordering. there is also a taxi stand on lugeck and one on dr-karl-lueger-platz, here you might pay more. a late evening taxi ride should not take more than 15-20 mins.

also found these, incl. pfudl - thinking about it, the bäckerstrasse area seems like a sort of schnitzel 'milky way':
http://www.falter.at/web/wwei/detail...26teil%3D1%29#
http://www.falter.at/web/wwei/detail...26teil%3D1%29#
http://www.falter.at/web/wwei/detail...26teil%3D1%29#
http://www.falter.at/web/wwei/detail...26teil%3D1%29#
http://www.falter.at/web/wwei/detail...26teil%3D1%29#
http://www.falter.at/web/wwei/detail...%26teil%3D1%29



i hope everything goes smoothly.

glad copenhagen's not so hot, have a great sunday!
rg

uk1

Yes - the newer Heitzing Plachutta is much nicer ... for ladies that lunch when I was last there! Not much good for the OP. The town center one - they have a nasty habit of turning their noses up if you aren't in a suit or blazer and don't seem to like to give you one of the outside tables which I think they like to keep for more elegant customers.

The second link highlighted Pfudl which is an old traditional family run restaurant. The owner is particularly patient with people who aren't at ease with the menu and I believe they have their own vinyards. It's one of my favourite Viennese restaurants, partly because it isn't touristy and the food is "honest".

I see the Life Ball was rained again .......

ganbich

Yes, shame about the Life Ball opening - apparently Whoopi Goldberg was just about to climb out of a globe, when it started to pour down.

Thanks for your inspiring recommendation of Pfudl. I have never been there, although I was often intrigued when passing it, opposite Morawa, right? I will definitely try when travelling home with Chinese friends in 6 weeks.

uk1

It's in Backerstrasse - almost on the corner.

YVR Cockroach

Tried MAK earlier this month for lunch midweek. Quality was good but looks like someone in the kitchen forgot to salt the meat evenly or did not mix the salt in the flour mixture as my partner and I got very salty bites of schnitzel (she's very particular as she is ethnic Austrian). She ate schnitzel 3 times in 4 days and the best coating was at some heurige while the best meat was at the Vienna Hilton.

NG1Fan

I can from experience confirm that the Wienerschnitzel served at Brahms & Liszt is one of the better ones I had. Located airside, on the way to the C-gates on the left hand side. Next to the Senator Lounge.

And they have Zipfer on tap.

Alternative: try the Salmbraeu, located on Rennweg 8. Take the regular S-Bahn (not the CAT) from Vienna airport, get off at Rennweg Station. Head out and down Rennweg, a 5 min walk from the station. And the ticket costs EUR3.60 one-way (not the ridiculous EUR16 the CAT costs).

They also serve a delicious Surstelze (pork knuckle), but those serves are USA-sized heart attack material.

Oh, and did I mention the beer? Brewed on-site...

NG1Fan

Stewie Mac

Had an excellent dinner at 'oswald und kalb', many thanks for the recommendation. Also a not so good dinner at Do & Co (not my choice), which seems like a triumph of style over substance... very slow service and expensive

slawecki

this still the definitive thread for a long layover in vie? we are on OS in C iad-vie-vce. if we miss the 35 min connection(which is supposed to be a piece of cake) our layover is 9 hrs. what to do with 9 hrs. we're old and do not travel so well. what about a nearby room rental? when we get to vce, we would probably sleep for a few hours. could just sleep in vie instead.

does luggage usually make a 35 min transfer?

jspira

Very easy answer for you.

Take the CAT (City Air Train) to Vienna. Very quick ride from airport to downtown. Across the street is the Vienna Hilton (for review and photos, click here) on the Stadtpark.

For a traditional Viennese Kaffeehaus (cafe) experience, walk towards the Ringstraße and head to Café Prückel (review online here).

WilcoRoger

Just opposite the exit of the airport is the NH Hoteles (20 m walk), no need to travel anywhere, if a nap and a lunch/dinner is all you need.