Burkia Innsbruck — Restaurant in Innsbruck

After finding very positive reviews online for this "slow-food" oriented restaurant on a quick visit to lovely Innsbruck we decided to give it a try. Located in an out-of-the-way corner of town near a tennis club and decorated playfully with sparkling lights like a swingers club gave us a moment pause, but we figured it must be an excellent secret-tipp kind of place with the numerous cars parked outside and a doorful of foodie magazine award decals proudly exhibited. The daily special, a pumpkin cream soup entree followed by calf's liver and then a plum cake with cinnamon ice all sounded tempting and hinted at the restaurant's desired style: Austrian traditional fare with an intenational nouvel twist.

We were graciously welcomed and seated, and the waiter service was very friendly, though there were two rather strange accostings from the kitchen staff: first a high energy gentleman in cooking attire who pointed avidly to the daily specials and rattled off a recommendation brusquely before settling in for some socializing with other guests. A little later into the meal, another fellow leaned in with a somewhat intimate touch on my shoulder to confirm our satisfaction, rather raising our eyebrows than our spirits.

If the food had been excellent all of this gauchery would have been put down to overeager restauranteur inexperience, and we might have forgotten it with a smile. But our test of several of the classic dishes was not entirely convincing. For starters: a veal-vegetable broth with thin sliced crepes (like the South German flädlesuppe) for my partner and a cold aspic of tafelspitz for me. Wow, sounds great, right?

Unfortunately, the soup arrived microwaved just short of boiling and once cooled to a palatable temperature resembled nothing more than bouillion cube brew confused by an excessive overlay of pink pepper from the waiter's mill. Not really a fine veal broth, the masterful challenge of Austrian cuisine which can be so absolutely mouth-wateringly complex, pure and straight at the same time. This, not so much. And my aspic. Wonderfully textured and low on jelly, drizzled with steirisches pumpkinseed oil it certainly looked very enticing, though my heart sank at the obligatory sprigs of lettuce on two sides sidling a pair of quartered cherry tomatoes. Why does a fine classical food need nasty decorative nonsense no one wants to eat? This is not a complaint unique to Burkia, but it seems a lot of medium level places don't recognize the power of a great simple thing done well and have to gussy it up with decor. I can live with this, but unfortuntely the poorly balanced dressing turned out to be a thin sour overpowering of the delicate oil - too much vinegar, and not a fine one at that. The poor meat, which might have been OK, didn't stand a chance.

Then came a side salad, doused with the house dressing, which the staff eagerly offered us to take home after our dinner. Unfortunately this product was a similarly unpalatable swill so we graciously passed on the generous offer.

The mains, our last hope, turned out similarly pretentious in presentation and disappointing to the palate. My zwiebelrostbraten (onion roast meat) was smothered in slimy unsatisfying thick cut onions, and tasted of greasy fat. The side dish of rostkartoffel was overcooked and mushy, and would not have passaed my friend's grandmother's kitchen table in a second. Her calf liver, on the other hand, was OK, though not amazing, rather on the tough side. Just a few weeks ago in Berlin I had Italian style calf liver with sage butter at a simple local restaurant which blew the top off this puppy.

Well, there you have it. If you like the looks of things, sort of, and the taste of the food is not so important, this place may be OK for you. But at its rather high price point, and compared to how amazing good Austrian cuisine can be, this new place doesn't offer twists that really bring dishes to a new level. Sorry, but the best part of our evening was the company.

Not...

In Zeiten von Convenience und Fastfood ist es gar nicht so einfach selbst unter gut bewerteten Restaurants eines zu finden, das unseren Vorstellung von "gut" entspricht. Wo noch selbst gekocht wird und der Service stimmt. Im Burkia stimmt einfach alles. Als wir ankamen, waren wir erst einmal skeptisch, denn von außen machte es auf uns eher den Eindruck eines türkischen Schnellimbisses. Doch das wird hoffentlich am neuen Standort besser. Der Parkplatz voll. Aber wir haben dann drinnen gefragt, wo wir parken können und wurden auf den Parkplatz eines Hotels 50m weiter verwiesen. Und dort war dann auch jede Menge Platz. Im Inneren wurden wir unerwartet von einem sehr gemütlichem Ambiente empfangen. Rote Lederpolster, auf denen man sehr bequem sitzt. Vom Empfang bis zur Verabschiedung wurden wir von Petra sehr nett betreut. Man merkt ihr an, dass für sie ihr Job nicht nur ein Brotjob sondern eine Berufung ist. Das gibt es in dieser Branche leider viel zu selten. Das Essen war ebenfalls sehr gut. Fast hätte ich gesagt hervorragend. Doch leider habe ich einen winzigen Kritikpunkt, der dem entgegensteht. Wir hatten die gebackenen Hühnerfilets. Positiv: großzüge Menge an Preiselbeeren. Auch die Panade war sehr gut gemacht. Und endlich mal ein Koch, der das Geflügel nicht totbrät sondern nur vorsichtig mit der Hitze umgeht. Leider hat das dann dazu geführt, dass den Filets 1 bis 2 Minuten Wärme gefehlt hat, denn in der Mitte, an der dicksten Stelle, hatte ich 3 Bissen, die noch leicht roh geschmeckt haben. Optisch war nichts zu sehen, aber geschmacklich war es grenzwertig. Ich finde es gut, wenn ich nicht nur "PnP" auf dem Teller habe, ganz so dick hätten die Filets aber nicht sein müssen, dann wären sie auch sicher ganz durch gewesen. Kann passieren. Und für mich kein Weltuntergang. Der Besuch im Burkia war jedenfalls der seit langer Zeit schönste Restaurant-Besuch für uns. Wenn uns unser Ausflug wieder einmal in die Gegend führt, werden wir sicher wieder hier einkehren. Danke für eine schöne...

In one word? Incredible. The space, with unique modern decorations and a nice ambience along with a spacious floor allowed for a nice, quiet conversation. The staff was incredibly nice, accommodating, patient and organized. And the food... The food was just amazing. Be it the entre, the soups, the main course, the deserts and even the coffee, each one was great and unique offering some of the best bites we have had. Strongly recommend to anyone passing through the area. Paid 60€ on avg per person for entre, main course,...