Falstaff once again presents the best restaurants in Austria. Among the winners from Vienna, Lower Austria, Burgenland, Styria, Carinthia, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg, for the first time there is a brilliant trio with the highest rating of 100 Falstaff points.
Steirereck, 1030
For connoisseurs, one thing is clear: the Steirereck is as inseparable from Vienna as the "Brot-Andi" or the cheese trolley are from a visit to the Steirereck. But the phenomenon that is this cuisine has many facets: the huge collection of historical recipes is just as much a part of it as his own garden or the fact that Heinz Reitbauer insists on goulash as an integral part of his menu. "The international guest also wants to feel Vienna with us," says Birgit Reitbauer whose warm care and attention in the dining room is just as essential to the overall Steirereck experience. The mix of Viennese classics in the Steirereck version, the signature dishes (Mariazell char in beeswax) and Heinz Reitbauer's vegetable creations may seem unusual - especially in the international top league in which the restaurant operates. But this is what gives Vienna's top restaurant its unique appeal to foodies from far and wide as well as local guests.
Heinz Reitbauer Jr. has been in charge of the kitchen for twenty years, since last year together with "Steirereck veteran" Michael Bauböck, who was promoted to head chef. This consistency at the top alone is worthy of acclamation.
Amador, 1190
Anyone unfamiliar with Juan Amador's cuisine will get a clear impression from reading the menu: beef from the Japanese prefecture of Miyazaki stands alongside Breton turbot, carabineros from the Costa de Huelva and "tandoori chicken". The latter has Viennese accents that can be found again and again in the overwhelming sequence of dishes (up to the Sacher cake homage). However, insisting on top international produce is neither a battle of materials nor a strategy of overpowering. On the contrary! In his most successful dishes, Amador breaks with the rigidity of high cuisine almost with relish. This can happen in the name, as with the "tree frog", or - far more frequently - in the preparation.
Take the Miéral pigeon, for example, which has been transformed into a signature dish with mango and curry accents. The three-star chef now serves them in a "next generation" version. It is precisely this never-ending creativity, the Mediterranean wink instead of worshipping the classics, that characterises the impeccable cuisine in the ambience of a Grinzing wine cellar owned by winemaker Fritz Wieninger. This personality cannot be copied!
Landhaus Bacher, Mautern on the Danube
Is Thomas Dorfer following a secret mission? When you look at the selection of menus at Landhaus Bacher, it seems as if the 49-year-old simply wants to make every guest happy. Nostalgic diners who have already enjoyed the caviar egg at mother-in-law Lisl Wagner-Bacher's can still find it on the classic menu. Those who like to experiment, on the other hand, can enjoy jalapeño foam on their Norway lobster or an aji amarillo velouté with Gailtal polenta in the supposedly so conservative Wachau - a greeting from Dorfer's Carinthian homeland!
When the latter serves wild hare with rouennaise sauce, on the other hand, there is something old-masterly about it; it is no coincidence that the young chef succeeded in the final of the Bocuse d'Or competition a good 20 years ago. Nowadays, however, Maharadja curry accompanies the fig roasted sorbet just one course later. And you can still get Viennese schnitzel and sour cream pancakes in traditional style. With Klaus Wagner's Bordeaux collection and the South American experience of new sommelier Ivana Kuspita, the wine list also moves between tradition and avant-garde with a smooth certainty - even without "Smaragde" it would be a jewel.
Taubenkobel, Schuetzen
Yes, food is also political. You can learn this at the Taubenkobel in Schützen am Gebirge while enjoying the best cuisine in the province. When Alain Weissgerber, an Alsatian who has long since mutated into a Burgenlander, talks about his line of cuisine, he is talking about the region. But not regionalism - because chauvinism all too easily becomes an ingredient on the "Kilometre Zero" plate!
Openness has always been important in this art-oriented house. It's not just the downright funny pop-ups in Vienna that bear witness to this, but the home game at the Taubenkobel also escapes culinary narrow-mindedness with ingredients from the former Austro-Hungarian crown lands. Of course, the ingredients (quite a few of which come directly from the garden of the pretty restaurant) are given a contemporary twist. Weissgerber is thus, quite deliberately, following on from the pioneering achievements of his father-in-law Walter Eselböck, while the family hostess role is in the best of hands with his wife Barbara Eselböck.
Die Weinbank, Ehrenhausen
It has been ten years since Gerhard Fuchs mutated into a "bank director" in Ehrenhausen. In addition to a little help from Manfred Tement, he also had his trusted head of service at his side at the opening of what became the best restaurant in Styria for years: Christian Zach, one of the most profound connoisseurs of the local wine scene.
Of course, the top chef had already made his mark on the Styrian culinary landscape before that: Fuchs provided great moments in the Saziani Stub'n in Straden and in the Kreuzwirt on the Pössnitzberg. However, the culinary work of art in Ehrenhausen is characterised by the partnership between chef and sommelier (although the "Zachinator" is much more than that). "I know my way around wine, and Gerhard's cooking is fantastic," says Zach. Thus friendship and trust allow a perfection in the matching of food and wine that is rightly legendary. And when in doubt, the winegrowers bottle a drop especially for Fuchs and Zach; the "Dotterwein", for example, which accompanies a signature dish that is even older than the wine bank - Gerhard Fuchs' Dotterraviolo. There is no better proof of the consistency of his cooking style!
Gourmet Restaurant Hubert Wallner, Dellach
Children's career aspirations are one of those things. In the case of Hubert Wallner, however, legions of Wörthersee guests - first in Saag, now in Dellach - rejoice that he didn't become a policeman after all. Instead of lurking at traffic circles, he has been the boss at one of the most beautiful spots on the lake for three years now. The kitchen line is characterised by this Genius Loci, from the "Carinthian mackerel", as Wallner calls his neighbour's fish in the menu, to the Vongole from the nearby Adriatic Sea.
It is no coincidence that the "GRHW" (Gourmet Restaurant Hubert Wallner) serves one of the best vegetarian fine dining menus in the country. The lightness of Wallner's plate has become a real calling card in recent years. This fits perfectly with the airy terrace, where you can ideally start your gourmet vacation with the excellent cuisine (and a glass of Krug champagne). Particularly commendable is Wallner introducing young guests to the gourmet world with the specially priced "Reinschmecker-Menu". Who knows, maybe an experience like this will decide another career path in the direction of good food!
Bootshaus Restaurant, Traunkirchen
For more than a decade, Lukas Nagl has been setting the standard at the Restaurant Bootshaus in the lakeside hotel Das Traunsee - and many come from far and wide for his cuisine. This style of the Traunsee magician Lukas Nagl, so personal and so directly determined by place and time, really has a class that can only be found at a few addresses internationally. The in-depth study of Japanese food and lifestyle culture, the intelligence, seriousness and at the same time playful lightness of his cuisine is probably unrivalled in Austria. Settling down for a meal here is a memorable experience every time.
It is important for the guest that the entire team shares this spirit. The neo-sommelière at Lake Traunsee, Katharina Gnigler, for example, "puts a wine on the menu if the quality is convincing". In view of the overall performance of the Gröller family's top company, you could say that you can also reach the top without being dogmatic.
Ikarus Hangar-7, Salzburg
The top institute from Dietrich Mateschitz's rich culinary heritage is entering its 21st year this year - and yet it has remained unique. Just like its "shell", the multifunctional Hangar-7, this landing site for top international chefs has retained its uniqueness. Martin Klein has been the head pilot of the brigade for ten years now, having previously worked as head chef at the Ikarus. This tough job is now held by Martin Ebert, who has been with the company since 2008. In 2003, as today, legend Eckart Witzigmann is the godfather of the guest chef concept. This continuity of personnel is essential in order to adapt the kitchen crew to completely different concepts within a few days.
This year alone, the blockbusters by old master Wolfgang Puck are just as much a part of the menu as the newly interpreted Thai flavours by Thitid Tassanakajohn ("Le Du", Bangkok). Gourmets plan their calendars according to the guest appearances of the global culinary elite. And the Falstaff community also agrees: Dietrich Mateschitz's legacy is in the best of hands.
Stüva, Ischgl
Practice makes perfect if you want to become Tyrol's best chef. It was father Alfons Parth who, as a hotelier (Yscla) and tourism chairman, took his son Benjamin to Europe's top addresses at a young age. It quickly became clear to "Beni" Parth that his passion belonged to the kitchen; the now 35-year-old has been running the family's gourmet restaurant since 2008.
Like his teachers Heinz Winkler, Sven Elverfeld and Marc Haeberlin, it is important to Parth to develop his own style that is not at the expense of the basic produce. Especially with his sauces, but also with the reduced decor of the restaurant, the Tyrolean "frames" the fine cuts. The stars of his kitchen are mainly seafood, with which he is on top form. "Never more than three flavour components" is the credo, but this is by no means boring. The tone is set by his char with gentian foam - an "eternal" greeting from the kitchen of the Ischgl purist. This opening already whispers quietly to the guest: you will rarely find more intensely flavoured soups, more powerful jus or more delicate sauces in a menu sequence.
Rote Wand Chef's Table, Lech
Joschi Walch, the spiritus rector of the Rote Wand hotel, makes a point of ensuring that "every meal that comes out of our kitchen is something very special". The Chef's Table - or more snappily simply called "RWCT" - remains yet another level above this generally high level of cuisine in Zug. Julian Stieger's 19 courses are a homage to his homeland - and like to start with "pine" as an aroma, while mountain cheese foam heralds the last third of the delicacies. In between, the rutabaga with horseradish and beurre-blanc, which other chefs tend to ignore, makes a gala appearance on the plate.
At the same time, the chef, who trained at world-class addresses such as Eleven Madison Park (New York) and Geranium (Copenhagen), incorporates many contemporary cooking techniques. Stieger is an avowedly visual type, and so many of his dishes, such as the apple tartlet with its beautiful colour gradient, are also memorable thanks to their appearance. Julian Stieger calls his line "fine dining with alpine influences"; he has created a stronghold of this style in the old school building in an astonishingly short time.
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