Alt Wiener Gaststätte Beim Czaak — Restaurant in Vienna

Absolutely wonderful. Had the classic Wiener Schnitzel, a house beer, and another of the barkeep's choosing. Total damage was 30 Euros - 20 for the Schnitzel (two very large pieces) and boiled potatoes with parsley sprinkled on top, served with a lemon wedge, then ~5 each for the beers (0.5L). Beer was pretty good, but the schnitzel and potatoes were fantastic. It has been a long, long time since I tasted anything as good as the schnitzel. Whereas I refuse to order steak in the U.S. because I can't bring myself to pay $15 for one, I would pay 20€ for that schnitzel again and again and I would keep asking for seconds. It's that good. Service was a little dry initially - but I got a smile out of my waiter eventually, and he definitely appreciated the tip. I walked in just moments after 6:00 PM on a Saturday, and there was a table of 5 and a table of 1 occupied. My request for a table of 1 experienced no resistance; however, shortly after, a few parties of 4 came in without reservations, and it was clear that the waiter wasn't initially sure if they could accommodate them. Though there were plenty of tables to seat 4, reservations seem to be a really big deal here. So, don't do what I did and go "eh, I don't need to reserve a table for one." Reserve your table, no matter the size. At the very least, the staff will appreciate...

For dinner tonight we had planned to go to a different place. On the way out of the hotel we decided to ask the front desk about the new place we were headed to. The response was kind of a frown and "it's OK, but that's where the tourists go so it's always busy". Not exactly a ringing endorsement.

She then said that Beim Czaak was a much better place that wouldn't be crammed with tourists. We laughed and said that we'd been there yesterday, so we understood the recommendation as it was very good. And we decided to go back.

Tonight I ordered what my fiance had yesterday: the "Hausschuhnizel". It's a pork schnitzel stuffed with cheese, ham, mushrooms, and onions, and fried potatoes on the side. It is indescribably good.

She had tonight's special, which was sous vide chicken in a paprika sauce with Viennese butter spaetzl in the side.

After dinner we had a round of schnapps, a very smooth raspberry one for me, and an apricot one for her that would burn the hair out of your nostrils.

For dessert: She had tonight's ice cream dumpling, which was filled with apricot and had a hazelnut crust. I went with the strawberry cremè brûlée which came with a side of whipped eggnog cream and fresh berries.

Seriously cannot recommend this place highly enough. It's not fancy or particularly expensive, and the food and beer...

Ich hielt mich in diesem Lokal im Sommer 2017 regelmaessig auf und brachte auch bei verschiedensten Gelegenheiten Gaeste mit, ich durfte mich also als hervorragenden Gast bezeichnen. In diesem Lokal arbeiteten im Servierbereich 1 Wiener Kellner, 1 Kellner wohl aus Ost - Europe / Suedost - Europa, ein Geschaeftsfuehrer (lt. Website offenkundig Schwager), vereinzelt eine Dame (Schank) und der Eigentuemer / Chef. Eigentlich von Anfang an fiel, aeusserst ueblich in Wien, der Ost - Europaeische Kellner durch katastrophales Benehmen auf (beispielsweise durch Trinkgeld - Forderungen, die generell nicht angaengig sind). Des weiteren war das Benehmen des Geschaeftsfuehrers / Schwagers unter jeder Diskussion (lautstark im Lokal auf und ab gehend zu tel. beispielsweise ist einfach nur letzte Etage). Das Essen war gut, nicht umwerfend, ein wenig zu teuer, aber im "Rahmen" (im speziellen klassische Wiener Dinge). An einem Abend empfand ich Vorkommnisse am Nachbar - Tisch als stoerend und waehlte, noch alleine, jedoch, wie meist, auf eine Person wartend, einen Tisch fuer 3 Personen am linken unteren Ende des Raumes (der Raum war mehr oder weniger leer und man kannte mich). Bei dieser Gelegenheit wurde ich von dem Nicht-Wiener Kellner auf die Tatsache hingewiesen, dass das "nur ginge, wenn auch noch andere Leute mit mir essen" und bezeichnete mein Verhalten als "geschaeftsschaedigend", in entsprechend poebelhafter Form vorgebracht. Ich gab dem Wiener Kellner den Vorfall bekannt, dieser meinte, der "Kollege haette wohl keinen guten Tag", "der Kollege" hielt eine Entschuldigung nicht fuer angebracht. Ein Lokal mit derartigem Personal empfehle ich insbesondere Touristen NICHT aufzusuchen, offenkundig sind diese Umgangsformen von Kellner und "Geschaeftsfuehrer" und auch die doch ueberhoehten Preise auf Touristen und Personen fokusiert, die ohnehin nicht mehr wiederkommen. Bei mir, einem Nicht - Touristen, gelang den Herrschaften das jedenfalls.

Last summer I used to visit respective restaurant on a regular basis, usually bringing other guests with me as well, so I would have been allowed to call myself an excellent guest for quite a long while. In the serving area I found 1 Viennese waiter, 1 waiter probably from East - Europe / Southeast - Europe, a manager (following their website obviously a brother in law), occasionally a lady (counter) and the owner and boss. Actually, right from the start, the Eastern European waiter stood out by disgraceful behavior, quite common across Vienna by the way but nevertheless unacceptable (e.g. by cheeky claims for tipping, generally not tolerable). Furthermore, the behavior of the manager / brother in law was beneath contempt (e.g. he enjoyed noisy phone calls, walking up and down virtually every time I took my dinner) . Food was good, not exceptional, a little too expensive, but within limits (in particular, classic Viennese things one would normally be getting for less). One evening I felt bothered by incidents at the neighbouring table and being alone, but, as usual, waiting for someone else, I picked a table for 3 people at the bottom left of the room (the room was more or less empty and of course staff knew me). On this occasion, the non - Viennese waiter did not hesitate to tell me that "only if other people would join me I’d be allowed to take the table" and described my behaviour as "damaging to their business", applying a rude tone to his inappropriate comment. When I informed the Viennese waiter about the unmannered appearance of his colleague I learned “he might be having a bad day perhaps”, however his colleague did not find it worth the effort to apologize.

A restaurant with such kind of staff I highly discourage to visit (in particular tourists), obviously these manners featured by waiter and manager in relation to their price structure are targeting at foreigners who are not planning to return anyway.

As far as I am concerned, being NO tourist at all, these people have already...