Dining at Johann's Haus

Our hotel in Vienna, the Austria Classic Hotel Wien, was just outside of the Innerestadt near the Prater amusement park.  It worked out very well for us, being near a couple of U-bahn stations which allowed us easy access to the rest of the city.  After making the 1.5 kilometer walk once, we gravitated to the underground to save what energy we could for walking around the heart of Vienna. 

Breakfast was a rather extravagant production by the hotel, and we fortified ourselves each morning with pastries, cured meats, yogurts, and cheeses before venturing out into the blustery weather which seemed to follow us throughout our visit.  The wonderful, and ubiquitous, Viennese Melange certainly helped prepare us for a day of damp sightseeing.  After stuffing ourselves at the hotel buffet, we would head out for a day of sightseeing and usually tried for an early(for Vienna) dinner somewhere inside the Ringstraße.

One of our last days of sightseeing included the Hofburg palace and Imperial Apartments.  If everyone else who was visiting Vienna hadn't also decided it would be the perfect place to escape the rain, it would have been much more enjoyable for us.  As it was, my Lovely Bride and I both began feeling very claustrophobic and moved through the crowded rooms as quickly as possible.  Later we did avoid some of the crowds by visiting St Peter's church, where we happened upon an unexpected concert rehearsal which allowed us to sit and enjoy some beautiful music.  It turned into a very long day so we just headed back to our hotel, and after resting for awhile decided to find dinner closer to the hotel that night.

Each day on our way to the local U-bahn station, we passed a building which was almost hidden by scaffolding.  It was obviously undergoing a restoration of the external facade, and my main concern was to avoid having anything dropped on my head as we passed each day.  When we starting discussing a spot to eat, my Lovely Bride kept insisting she wanted to try the restaurant we passed every day.  She finally had to lead me into it as I had never even realized there was a restaurant hiding behind the scaffolding.  My observational skills are not always so hot now-a-days.

How it looks without scaffolding.

Once past the door, we discovered a small jewel of a restaurant named the 3/4 Takt.   Everything was paneled in wood, with a cozy bar which was occupied by a single gentleman.  There was a separate room for smokers which we found to be somewhat unusual as smokers and non-smokers tended to be mixed together in most of the eating establishments we visited during our trip.  The kitchen was just off the small dining room, and after placing our orders, I could hear my schnitzel being beaten into submission.  No dishes prepared ahead of time here!

Roast pork, kraut & dumpling

Schnitzel "Cordon Bleu"

Our food was delicious and perfectly prepared.  Earlier in the week I had insisted on a restaurant known for its schnitzel and which had been featured on several cable food programs.  It was crowded with tourists from all over Europe as well as the US, but the food was mediocre at best.  The 3/4 Takt easily had the best schnitzel I encountered during our three week trip.


It wasn't until we were viewing the menu that we discovered the reason for the somewhat unusual name of the restaurant.  Johann Strauss had resided in the building while he was writing his best known waltz, An der schönen blauen Donau, or The Blue Danube.  Like all waltzes, it was written in 3/4 time or in German - 3/4 takt.  If someone(yes dear) had not persistently urged me to dine there, we would have completely missed this historic, and tasty, footnote which was only a block from our hotel.

(I didn't spill the coffee on the menu.)