Gut Purbach — Restaurant in Gemeinde Purbach

I'm going to be as objective as possible. I was really REALLY rooting for this place and super excited to come here. This is a very controversial establishment, but the controversy surrounding it wasn't one that affected me negatively at all. Max Stiegl has been recognized as one of the best chefs in Austria so of course this was something to look forward to. I am not one to write a review that isn't a positive one, but I'm honestly still bothered by my experience to this day that I just felt the need to get this out there. I'll start with the positives.

We stayed overnight on a rainy Monday. Check in was very straight forward, apart from the fact that the main entrance door was closed so we weren't sure if we were supposed to enter through there or not. After waiting around for a few moments, a friendly woman came and gave us the key to our room. The rooms are really well done and seemed to be newly renovated. The rooms are very clean and spacious as were the bathrooms! Bed was very comfy and complimentary water is included in the room as well. Honestly, we really loved it and have absolutely no complaints at all about the room. The price of the room for 2 was very reasonable at about 70 euros a person, including breakfast.

We had a reservation for dinner and were greeted very nicely by the head(?)waiter. He was the only one in service apart from the kitchen staff that delivered the courses. There were 3 other small tables and a larger party of 6 next to us. The restaurant isn't large so it was rather full. We were not given an option for a la carte as it was a Monday. We were told it was the "Blue Monday Menu" so we took it. "Gedeck" was offered (at 7.50 a person) which was tasty. I especially liked the hummus and my partner, the pork belly slices!

From here it goes downhill.

The courses were imaginative and interesting enough- whether or not everyone will have the same opinion is questionable. The issue was that after the first course, everything was VERY salty. There was a fish stew that was cooking when we arrived and it smelled heavenly. The taste however was so salty that I had to add water to it in order to consume it. This also happened with the "kuttelfleck" stew. Had it not been for the saltiness, I would imagine that this would have been a very delicious dish. My partner had the same opinion.

Now the kicker - the last course was a slow-cooked pork cheek with root vegetables. Immediately I noticed that there was a brown bird feather laying on top of one of the roasted carrots. I mentioned this to the headwaiter after I examined it. His response was "it is not a feather". Perhaps his vision isn't clear. I don't know, but I do know what a feather looks like. Regardless, his solution was to remove a metal crumb remover (that he has been using all evening to remove crumbs from every table) from his front shirt pocket and dig a hole into my carrot to scoop the feather out of my carrot, before walking away. This was appalling. Unprofessional. I was left in shock after this and was absolutely no longer able to enjoy what was the last salvageable moment of my meal.

We were told breakfast "is at 8". We didn't realize that meant that it started at 8 precisely. We thought it meant starting at 8. The communication wasn't clear to us. Upon arrive at 8:35, no one was there to order coffee from. We proceeded to start our breakfast (adequate, but decent) and after 10 or 15 minutes. The owner himself came to our table and asked us if we "wanted to order a coffee real quick". We said yes please and off he went. He then came back with our coffees and left again to return a short while later to ask if if anyone had informed us that the electricity and water will be out soon and that "the guys" were already there. No one informed us at all. He seemed somewhat apologetic about it, but none-the-less we hurried back to our room to gather our things and use the restroom before the water and electricity shut off.

In summary, a very nice place to stay, but unfortunately a disappointing dining experience at 125...

Our much awaited surprise menu turned out to be really surprising. A heavy wintery meal on a hot summer afternoon. The location is beautiful, the service and wine very good. (Each gets a star) The hero of the show, the surprise menu by an acclaimed, award winning chef a total disappointment. With all the fresh summer produce available, we got a plain dried Aubergine as starters and some marinated tofu along with some cold cuts. A warming (quite nice but so wrong for the season) fish soup that left us sweating under the warm shade of the trees in the beautiful Hof. Lard filled dumplings, tripe in chickpeas and a heavy fatting roast pork followed. No cool salads, fresh tangy cooling flavours.

Such a huge disappointment.

Will not be back. Will not recommend. Will avoid awarded...

Das Restaurant „Gut Purbach“ liegt am Ende der Hauptgasse Purbach, in der Nähe gibt es einige Parkplätze, wo man bequem auch mit größeren Fahrzeugen parken kann.||Von außen sieht das Restaurant aber eher unscheinbar aus, nach dem Betreten durch das Tor sind linksseitig gleich viele Informationen wie Falstaff oder ähnliches aufgelegt und sieht man einen wunderschönen Innenhof mit vielen Tischen und Sitzmöglichkeiten. Der Innenbereich besteht aus einem kleineren und einem größerem Gastzimmer, beide sehr hell und modern eingerichtet, übergroße moderne Bilder und stilvolle Lampen in den Ecken geben diesen einen angenehmen Rahmen. ||Die Tischgruppen sind angenehm positioniert, genügend Abstand zum Nebentisch ist vorhanden. Man wird sehr freundlich empfangen und zu dem (vor)reservierten Tisch geführt und gleich über die entsprechenden Angebote informiert.||Als Aperitif einen Rosesekt vom Wagram und einen Südsteirischen Wermut, beide sehr gut, anschließend gebeizter Zander als Vorspeise – sehr schön dekoriert serviert, dann Gansl – sehr gute Portion ebenfalls geschmacklich sehr gut und einen gebratenen Zander, schön serviert aber die Portionsgröße war mehr als fraglich – ein sehr kleines Stück (Vorspeisengröße), das war enttäuschend! Dazu sehr guter Rotwein Blaufränkisch vom Kollwentzl und vom Bichler.||Als Abschluß eine Purbacher Cremeschnitte, Portionsgröße ok, sehr schön zubereitet und geschmacklich wirklich einmalig – könnte man mehr essen.||Dazwischen gibt Max Stiegl immer wieder sein Talent als Unterhaltungsprofi zum Besten und unterhält die Gäste sehr gut. Das Serviceteam sehr freundlich und sehr gut geschult.||Abgesehen vom dem Zander ein gelungener Gourmet-Trip, der unter das hochpreisige Segment fällt.||Sollte diese Bewertung für Sie hilfreich gewesen sein, bitte den "Hilfreich...