Cavaliere Pizzeria Ristorante — Restaurant in Vienna

On our fifth night in Vienna we were pretty tired of Viennese food and sausages. Getting off the ferry from Bratislava we found this high-rated Italian restaurant on Google near Stephensplatz and the riverside.

The waiters were very friendly and seated us right away. The restaurant was moderately sized with adequate space between tables. There is a casual but classic feel to the place, complete with a fire pizza oven.

We ordered two glasses of red wine. They were fruity and aromatic, not too dry and moderately bodied.

We then had the shrimps from antipasti caldi, the spaghetti carbonara, and pizza quattro stagioni.

The shrimps were rather small, however the sauce had fresh tomatoes and a nice rich taste with a kick from the chili pepper. It was good with bread, except the bread sticks that came with the dish were small.

Next we tried the carbonara. I would not say the noodles were al dente and the sauce was rather thin to my liking. Overall the dish lacks richness that one would expect from such a classic pasta.

The pizza was decent and on par and that was it. Portion sizes were fairly large and these were a little much for two men.

We finished off with an espresso and a cappuccino. The espresso was strong with low acidity. The foam on the cappuccino was unexpectedly light and fluffy.

All in all, the food was of good Italian standard. The friendly and efficient staff definitely enhanced...

Full disclosure...want to post the caveat that I am rating this on the basis of it being an "Italian" restaurant, and also basing it on the specific items we ordered.

That said, let's start with the good. Great location and atmosphere in the building; it was a short walk from our hotel so if you are anywhere in the old town, getting there is easy. Our waiter was wonderful (and was Italian!) and provided good service. They have an authentic wood fired pizza oven too.

What they need is Italian in the kitchen (I am doing the presumptive as there are do's and don't of authentic Italian cuisine)

Cabonara is not made with cream; it also not made with bacon (guanciale for authentic, or pancetta for reasonable facsimile). Don't call it Carbonara.

I had the Bolognese; it was more like a stew without evidence of a sofrito. don't get me wrong, it was fine, but it was not what was expected from a Bolognese.

The pizza is good, but not Italian good; their pizzaiolo rolls the dough rather than stretch it; the end result is no doubt saved by the wood oven.

Deconstructed tiramisu was ok; looked really good but taste vs a traditional was lacking.

Overall, food was ok. If you're looking for a hearty meal and decent pizza, then Gambero Rossa is for you. If you are looking for true Italian, I recommend a...

Translation:

The food was tasty, but the good impression was completely ruined by the situation that occurred at the end of our visit to the restaurant.

After we had already paid for dinner, the waiter came over and, pretending to be nervous, said that he “forgot there was a reservation for this table and that we had to leave quickly.” Yet, an hour and a half earlier when I called, I was told that they do not take reservations at all, and that you simply need to come and wait if necessary.

It seems we were kicked out of the table because we had already given them our money and were no longer needed :).

For me, this is a completely unacceptable situation, especially since we were about to leave anyway, and we were just waiting for my fiancée to return from the restroom.

Because of this, I had to stand in the aisle holding our jackets. In my opinion, this is unacceptable behavior...