Wirtshaus zum Zirkelwirt | Salzburg Altstadt — Restaurant in Salzburg

We ate here twice; first time was Monday 18 December, when we visited in a party of 5. Food was great, service excellent and very friendly by the waiter on the main floor. Helpful with menu suggestions, drinks, and offered dessert after clearing our plates. A 5 star waiter, and I tipped accordingly. I wish the story ended here. I would have been happy, it would have been a 5 star review, and the restaurant would have been happy.

We enjoyed it so much however that we returned today, Tuesday 19 December as a party of 2 and were seated upstairs. From the moment we sat down, the service from the waitress upstairs was unwelcoming, unfriendly and lacking any warmth or interest. She seemed annoyed to have us there, made no suggestions, practically threw our food and drink at us, and after clearing our plates made no offer of dessert or anything else. We had planned to try the apple strudel, however chose instead to leave.

End result? The food is great, but service is what makes the difference, and today's experience was awful.

Now I understand why in between the reviews saying the service is excellent are some saying it is bad. Not worth the risk in my opinion; you may get lucky (as we did the first time) or you may not (as we did the...

We entered to get out of the snow to the most lovely staff in Vienna and Salzburg both . The atmosphere was great right away wooden furniture, soft lighting, and great music selection that didn't play too loudly.

We ordered and the food arrived in record time. Both the Schnitzel and the Pulled pork burger where inhaled. Tasty, sweet, savory, with sauces given freely, and crunchy fries to dip them in. (The common sauces.)

Then we couldn't resist and bought the chcolate cake. Bitter and hot, with a cranberry sorbe to blow it through the roof and a bit of whipped cream on the side to calm everything down. For something that seemed small at first, it was well worth the price tag. Both the dessert and the main dishes, which where cheaper and better than in Vienna.

Our waiter was great, really great, with a very nice vibe. I appreciate having a person like him after a few awkward expériences so far in this trip.

Overall. A must. So close to the cathedral and st Peter's church that it's truly a must. I can't...

If ENGLISH or AMERICAN AVOID THIS RESTAURANT as you will be treated as second class citizens!

We booked an inside, downstairs table in this restaurant, waiting a couple of days to ensure we booked what we wanted. On arrival we were offered a table outside (no thank-you), then a table upstairs next to a group of 25 (again no thank-you) and then we had an argument as the person seating people said they had nothing else available - which was clearly not true as there were lots of spaces. We SHOULD HAVE JUST LEFT THERE AND THEN, but we were hungry and wanted to eat. We were then shown to a table at the back, under the stairs, behind the bar, and on the path to the toilet ..... again we SHOULD HAVE JUST LEFT!

No more people came in whilst we were eating, so the tables at the front would have been available - but the staff were either ageist or xenophobic!

I had the Roast Pork with Sauerkraut and Potatoes - whilst it was OK, it was somewhat tough, and nothing special - overall however our experience...