L'Osteria — Restaurant in Vienna

I can't comment on the food, as we didn't actually get to order any. We came in as a party of 4, so not big. Inside was mostly empty, but it was hot, so we asked for a table outside. We were told it would be about 15min. We said we'd wait. We were shown to a table in the bar area to wait. After 5 min or so, a server said that we couldn't have a table outside because they were all reserved. As we didn't have reservations, we agreed to stay inside, but a few min later a different server motioned for us to move to a table outside. This is were it gets infuriating. The 1st server that told us we couldn't have a table outside rudely put water and glasses on the table then proceeded to ignore us for the next 45min. Even having not 1, but 2 arguments with the manager about serving us. After both times, making a clear point to go to one of the table on either side of us and ask if they needed anything or get them something, skipping us completely. I spent my time at their table finding another restaurant and ordering a taxi to pick us up, so when the head server/manager finally tried to take our order, I told him no and left. But there wasn't any acknowledgement that we had been made to wait or treated so poorly. I'll finish up by saying it was my son's 15th birthday. He had picked the place. I did lose my temper when I had to walk out on my son's birthday pick, I'm not proud to say, but these guys treated us terribly from the start for no reason that I can see....

The service was terrible, you - the owner/manager, had two people worthy of your restaurant - the barman and the young girl who served us. The service at your establishment was atrocious. We walked in and waited to be seated, when this didn't happen, we ordered a drink from the bar and sat down, he brought out drink, a man came and admonished us and told us to stay seated and he'd serve us. We didn't see him again all night. We sat for 20 minutes before I went to the bar to order food. He said he'd have someone serve us. They didn't appear and we went and asked the barman for someone, anyone. Our orders were finally taken and the food was excellent (the only reason for 2 stars). We then waited to ask someone for the bill. After 25 minutes we went to the barman (along with another gentleman in the same predicament) and begged for the bill. The 'manager' came out and after 10 minutes the other gentleman finally was able to pay. I waited another 10 minutes and walked out without paying. I returned an hour later to pay the bill and asked to speak to the manager. He was 'unavailable'. I spoke to the young girl, she and the barman were so apologetic and we paid the account. How about employing more staff? The two people we met were wonderful - the others couldn't care less. The only people getting served in this place are 21 year old females who the male staff want to chat. If you are like us and are middle aged tourists - look elsewhere...

It was ok, could've been much better. Generally, the food and people were wonderful, as we've always remembered. Why the 3 stars. The service, or lack thereof. The wait staff and cooks were quickly overwhelmed by the influx of the dinner crowd.

Drinks came out 30 minutes after being ordered...why, there's really nothing to do except to pour them into glasses and serve? The beer had lost its head by the time it reached my lips, it was flat and the wrong kind was served. The food, which was ordered 10 minutes after the drinks, came out 30 minutes after ordering (notice the pattern), pizzas were still piping hot, surprisingly. The tardiness was compensated by the quality of the ingredients, except for the pasta. Ordered Spaghetti Rucola Pomodorini; Rucola is the first ingredient, none can be found in the pasta, maybe three or four strands. It was a red mess, no fresh green.

Everyone was doing their "best," thus no one-star rating but a three. Please hire more staff, especially during a dinner rush, the ones that were there tried their best. I saw no one just "hanging out." Make sure the cooks follow the recipe and not make their own version.

Overall a good visit, not the best as I'd remembered, but it could've been...