Restaurant Review: The Strand Cafe (Vienna, Austria)

The Strand Cafe

After our a whole day day tour of some of Vienna's tourist attractions, Vicky recommended we have dinner at The Strand Cafe, a popular beach café, in Vienna’s 22nd district, surrounded by greenery that opens up to the beautiful, blue Old Danube (Alte Donau). 

We entered its garden with its large, 20 year old horse chestnut trees planted here specifically to provide shade for the guests.  

Check out "Natural History Museum," "Kunsthistorisches Museum," "Kunsthistorisches Museum - Picture Gallery," "Kunsthistorisches Museum - Kunstkammer,""Kunsthistorisches Museum - Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection," "Kunshistorisches Museum - Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities," "Hofburg Palace," "Imperial Treasury," "Volksgarten," "Neue BeNeue Berg," "Neue Berg - Collection of Historic Musical Instruments," "Neue Berg - Collection of Arms and Armor," "Neue Berg - Ephesos Museum," "Roman Ruins," "Michaelerplatz," "Graben Street," "St. Stephens's Cathedral"

The cafe entrance

Open in 1921 and redesigned in 1983 by the Viennese architectural firm Markus Bauer, the café, one of numerous Viennese Wirtshaus (a term which includes cafés, restaurants, bars and eating establishments in general) located directly on the water, has been owned, since 2009, by the Yeritsyan family.  

The building by the water is painted with the traditional moss green color, which corresponds to the surrounding nature, seamlessly integrating the building into the cultural landscape. 

The light gray-white color of the roof, on the other hand, allows associations with a parasol

Chicken Schnitzel

The café’s 340 sq. m. dining room, divided into cozy rooms by half-height, wood-paneled walls, has a long glass front, flooded with light, with large, but finely structured windows that create a bright and airy space and thus create an intensive connection to the surroundings. 

Two attached roof hoods structure the hall by different room heights and provide even more natural light.  On its walls are pictures of old views reflecting the history of the Old Danube and its bathing culture. The room seats 290 and has a direct view of the water and the Vienna skyline. 

An array of salads

A spacious staircase led us to the actual "heart" of the restaurant - lovely and spacious seating terraces directly on the water. We decided to dine on this outdoor dining area, a raft made from local oak and larch wood.  

Here, we enjoyed good food (chicken schnitzel, salad, etc.) under umbrellas while gazing at boats, people doing stand-up pedalling or doing other water sports in the river as well as the romantic sunset over the Vienna skyline. The restaurant offers good traditional dishes, such as the Viennese cutlet, schnitzel (pork, veal and chicken), steckerl fish, Vienna-style potato soup plus Czech Budweiser beer, dark beer (Dunkeles Bier), a couple of good wines from Austria and a good choice of vegetarian dishes.

L-R: Vicky (partially hidden), Jandy, Cheska and Manny

Though we didn’t try some, the café serves the most delicious spare ribs (priced around €18) and grilled food in town.  The ribs are classically served, Asterix & Obelix style with two delicious house sauces, crispy roasted apples, fried potatoes, onions and chili peppers, on a big wooden board and the portions are huge. 

The staff was very nice and helpful and, as with other places in Vienna, the prices were not excessive. The nice, simple, no-nonsense and quite relaxed Strand Café, combining holiday flair and traditional Viennese hospitality, was truly very pleasant. 

NOTE:On September 10, 2018, the restaurant was closed due to noise and exhaust air problems. After the installation of a new closed grill kitchen with high-tech filter system for exhaust air purification plus other adaptations and improvements, the restaurant reopened on May 15, 2020.

Strand Café: Florian-Berndl-Gasse 20, 1220 Vienna. Tel: 01/203 67 47. E-mail: servus@strandcafe-wien.at. Website: www.strandcafe-wien.at. Facebook: www.facebook.com/anderAltenDonau/. The Guest Room is open daily, from  AM – midnight; the Promenade from 11 AM – midnight, the Waterfront Terrace from 5 PM – midnight. The kitchen is open from 11:30 AM to 10 PM. €€€

How to Get There: Take U1 subway line to Alte Donau, cross the river and after 200m the restaurant will be on your right.