ERZHERZOGTUM Naschmarkt by C.C.S. GmbH — Restaurant in Vienna

Unjustified rudeness from the staff!

If you're a foreigner, expect to be treated more like an inconvenience than valued guests and for the waiter to become aggressive if you refuse to tip for a service you didn’t enjoy (despite the fact that service is typically included in meal prices in Austria). As we usually do, we were planning to tip in cash before leaving to ensure that the tip goes to our waiter, but his insistent tone and rude comments completely changed our minds. It's unfortunate, as the restaurant is well-located, and while the food is decent with reasonable portions, it is a bit bland and overpriced for what it is. We were having a great time in Vienna before we came here and will regrettably keep an unpleasant memory of Naschmarkt.

EDIT : Adding to the disappointment, the owner’s response to my initial comment (and seemingly to all negative reviews they get) was both unhinged and unconvincing. They emphasized the inclusivity of their staff, mentioning they employ people from diverse backgrounds, including "Black Africans, homosexuals, and refugees," and asserted that "no one here is against foreigners." While this might be true for some, it’s CLEAR that not everyone receives the same level of respect and hospitality.

Secondly, claiming that you "have never asked for a single cent in tips since we opened" is simply not accurate, as this clearly happened to us and some other foreign guests judging by the reviews! We were directly asked to tip, and after politely declining, the waiter slammed the bill on our table and told us we were "not nice" because "employees live off tips."

I stand by my account of what happened and don’t believe there was any misunderstanding. If you consider that these behaviors do not reflect the company’s policies, I strongly recommend addressing them with your staff. All guests should be able to enjoy their time in your restaurant without feeling discriminated against or pressured into tipping, especially when it’s not required in Austria.

Would...

Such a bizarre experience at this place. When we walked in to the smaller section of the restaurant(which feels like your sat in the cleaning room) we asked politely for a table for 2 and were shown an empty table and told that obviously the table was free to sit at. The waiter then abruptly asked if we wanted to be served in Deutsch or English, and initially I thought he was saying Dutch, so my confusion seemed to make the waiter angry. At no point did we speak in anything but English, so why even ask. He then proceeded to lecture us about what we should and shouldn’t ask for and be more clear. This guy has some very poor communication and we felt anger issues(which seems to be in line with other reviews regarding tourists). He gave us menus and left. We observed him arguing with another waiter in the main section of the restaurant all while ignoring us(and I might add that the only other people seated in this section asked for water when we arrived and weren’t given any during the 10-15 minutes we were there). He came in with a group of 3-4 people and I’m pretty sure he was going to seat them at our table, which made us think he’d forgotten about us, and at that time he went away to seat that group and never came back. We took the opportunity to leave as we felt extremely uncomfortable with the prior interaction and also didn’t like being ignored. I look forward to the usual rude and ignorant response that seems to be the norm form this business, which will very much highlight the fact that rudeness runs in the family! Please, entertain me with your response in which you try to tell me I’m wrong or lying, instead of trying to get the root of the problem, which is the waiter that served us.

Edit: in reply to the owner, I mentioned where I was sitting….in the second little room where the vats/kegs are and the kitchen staff kept coming to retrieve meat. The time would have...

Two days ago, we dined at this restaurant, and everything was fine until the bill arrived. When the waiter brought the card machine and we paid, there was a glitch in their system, and the payment wasn’t recorded. Despite showing them the confirmation on our banking app, they insisted we pay again to ensure it was logged in their system, resulting in a duplicate charge on our account. They assured us the issue would be resolved within 10 minutes or, at the latest, 24 hours.

The next day, with no refund in sight, we returned to the restaurant to claim our money. That’s when things took a turn for the worse. The manager was rude and dismissive. He told us it was a problem with our banks, and since he wasn’t a bank, there was nothing he could do. He casually mentioned that this had happened more than once, and maybe—just maybe—within two weeks, we’d see our money back. We explained that we were only in town for a few days and couldn’t possibly wait two weeks for a refund. His response? “Welcome to Austria.”

At that moment, one of the waiters, realizing that the manager’s condescending and intolerable attitude wasn’t going to get us anywhere, stepped in. He refunded us the money out of his own pocket, putting an end to the matter right then and there.

Given how the manager handled the situation and how they respond to criticism online, it’s painfully clear that customer service is not this restaurant’s...