I waited in line outside the restaurant for 40 minutes on a sunny afternoon to get in. I read about unfriendly staff in the reviews and thought it was a one-off thing, but it wasn't. While I was almost at the front of the line, a guy from the back asked the waiter how long the waiting time is. The waiter remarked '5, 10, 30 minutes, 1 hour, I don't know'. The customer got frustrated and I think he left. And when another wanted to sit in empty tables outside, a waiter said they are not serving outside in the afternoon as it's hot. Surely, people will prefer to eat under the hot sun compared to standing under the hot sun, won't they?

I got in and was seated. I asked to start with a dessert and said I'll have my main course after. My waiter, an middle aged lady, rolled her eyes, annoyingly, when I asked for the vegan version of schnitzel. I asked her to remove ice-cubes from my water during my meal, and she was kind in doing that. I guess some things just irritate the staff about which all customers seem to have complains.

Now, about the food. I had the following in that order.

1. Original Sacher Torte -- They name their cake `original' as it was first made here some centuries ago. The cake was delicious -- muddy grainy, lemony sour (perhaps from the middle thin layer, which I later understood was apricot jam), and mildly moist. The icing on the top and outer rim was a like a solid chocolate bar and yummy. I couldn't even cut through it and I had to put it down sideways to cut it with a knife. The accompanying whipped cream is actually essential to give it a complete feeling, a bit more of moisture.

2. Vegan Schnitzel -- This was very normal. Two thin layers of some vegan protein covered with bread crumbs and supposedly fried. Despite being fried, it was not dripping with oil. The accompanying potato salad was perfectly salted and warm. The salad leaves combination was good, broken biscuits of grains, and grated radish. The second schnitzel started to become boring, not much of a `taste' in the whole thing.

3. Vanilla ice-cream -- While it was not in the menu separately, only available with the ice coffee in strudel, I asked for it separately, and the waiter said it can be done, and brought it in a drinks glass. It was smooth and creamy, but I was not able to describe the flavour or get a mental picture of it.

Overall, the food is good, but not so worth the high price and the waiting, in my opinion. Perhaps the motto is 'If you want somebody to enjoy the food, starve him first.' 31st July, 2024.