Cuisine: Austrian
Price: EUR140 per person without alcohol (what I paid for)
Visited: 11 April 2011
Food: 9/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Value for money: 9/10
Services: 7/10
During our visit to Vienna, we had a chance to visit Restaurant Steirereck im Stadtpark, which is of course by its name situated in the heart of central park of Vienna. I could heartedly say that this restaurant has the most beautiful location in the city: elegant yet relaxation. This place offers innovative Austrian menu created by Chef Heinz Reitbauer. To us, we would certainly not be surprised if this place will be awarded with 3 Michelin Stars.
Decoration is warm and grand. The service is also great. Staffs were helpful at the time we visited though we had some difficulty in communication as we do not speak German and they speak broken English. Nevertheless, each course we had there would be a menu card explaining clearly what this dish is and how it is cooked in brief. What we love about this place is the way they manage to cook something, which we cannot imagine it could taste so lovely, perfectly. Innovation, presentation, and selection of ingredients are wonderful here. We would definitely return to this place if we have another chance to visit Vienna.
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| Restaurant Steirereck im Stadtpark @ Vienna, Austria |
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| The Exterior |
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| Chef Heinz Reitbauer and Team in Operation |
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| The Menu Card |
Surprisingly, ranges of bread here are not like others I have tried. There are whole bunches of bread you can choose from, just like a mini boulangerie. All of which were very nice and cream garlic butter was really delightful.
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| Mini Boulangerie |
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| Cream Garlic Butter |
Amuse Bouche here was rather creative. Unfortunately that we only had a chance to jog down 1 of 4 complimentary from the kitchen. It was Lamb Tongue with Green Almond, Lemon and Garlic which was really tender and tasteful.
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| Lamb Tongue with Green Almond, Lemon and Garlic |
The very first courses for us tonight were Char with Beeswax, Yellow Carrot, Pollen and Sour Cream and Meadow Herbs with Wild Garlic Shoots and Free Range Chicken. Char was really splendid. Well marinated piece of tendered fish that went perfectly well with sour cream. This is was delightfully wow (9/10). For meadow herbs, this dish was rather below Steirereck's standard from our perspective. It was too light in taste. It might be nice to have but normal (6/10).
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| Beeswax Being Poured onto Char |
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| Marinated Char with Beeswax |
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| Char with Beeswax, Yellow Carrot, Pollen and Sour Cream |
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| Meadow Herbs with Wild Garlic Shoots and Free Range Chicken |
White Roots with Gillardeau Oysters, Chicory and Spoonwort might seem dull at first bite but it became better and better during next bites. Fresh and crisp on the outside (7/10).
The other dish was Wild Broccoli with Smoked Curd Cheese, Pecan Nuts, Artichoke and Cress Seeds which was another refreshing dish. Crispiness and cracked pecan nuts went great with smoked curd cheese (8/10).
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| White Roots with Gillardeau Oysters, Chicory and Spoonwort |
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| Wild Broccoli with Smoked Curd Cheese, Pecan Nuts, Artichoke and Cress Seeds |
The first of third dish was Danube Salmon with Rice and Peas, Beta Sweet Carrot and Green Apple. This dish was surely great: soft touch with little sweetness. Rice was crunchy like "Kao Mao" of Thai dish (pounded unripe rice) (8/10).
Next was Charcoal Grilled Tubers with Tumeric Caviar and Shoots. Vegetables based dish that came with sour and sweet scent. Tangy and enjoyable with creation (8/10).
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| Danube Salmon with Rice and Peas, Beta Sweet Carrot and Green Apple |
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| Charcoal Grilled Tubers with Tumeric Caviar and Shoots |
Next in line was another amazing vegetarian dish: Emmer with King Trumpet Mushrooms, Lovage Milk and Celeriac. This was really smooth and mild nutty flavour. Cannot believe that vegetarian dish could be this great: just wanna have more (10/10).
Mangalitza Pork with Chervil Root, Ginger and Cress was a piece of art. It was not just so beautiful but a taste of heaven, especially chervil root cream. Best part of this dish was not the super tender piece of port but the great combination of various type of ingredient to give pleasant taste (10/10).
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| Emmer with King Trumpet Mushrooms, Lovage Milk and Celeriac |
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| Mangalitza Pork with Chervil Root, Ginger and Cress |
For our main courses, Morels with Wild Chervil, White Radish, Mocha and Jerusalem Artichoke was beautifully decorated, yet delicious. This dish was another beyond imagination: delightful and plenty of creativity (9/10).
Roast Pigeon with Parsley, Amaranth, Millet and Sesame was heavenly tender served in sauce with sweet scent. I just fell in love with this dish, especially steamed parsley root filled with parsley purée that was undoubtedly delicious (10/10).
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| Morels with Wild Chervil, White Radish, Mocha and Jerusalem Artichoke |
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| Roast Pigeon with Parsley, Amaranth, Millet and Sesame |
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| Puff-pastry filled with pigeon offal, foie gras and button mushrooms |
Desserts here at Steirereck were also unrivalled to none. Bolero Carrot with Oats, Hemp and Tarragon had no green smell presented. Both carrot cake and carrot mousse were soft while oat ice-cream was smooth and crunchy with just right sweetness level (9/10).
Jaina Chocolate with Yoghurt, Finger Limes, Cucumber and Verbena was one of the best white chocolate I have ever had. Hint of yoghurt mixed with cucumber and lemon to finish the touch was excellent (10/10).
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| Bolero Carrot with Oats, Hemp and Tarragon |
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| Jaina Chocolate with Yoghurt, Finger Limes, Cucumber and Verbena |
Additional to the tasting menu, Steirereck also offers tea from the trolley that can be mixed with fresh herbs. I was sure confused what to have due to vast varieties. This was really wonderful with Petit Fours of chocolate and dry slice of citrus fruits.
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| Trolley of Herbal Tea |
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| Tea Set |
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| Petit Fours |
Restaurant Steirereck im Stadtpark @ Vienna, Austria
Am Heumarkt 2A im Stadtpark
A-1030 Vienna
A-1030 Vienna
Austria
Open Hours: Monday - Friday 11:30am - 02:30pm for lunch and 06:30pm - late night for dinner
Tel: +43 (0) 1713 3168
