Plachutta Wollzeile — Restaurant in Vienna

We were excited for our special occasion reservation for a romantic dinner, celebrating our anniversary. When we arrived on the street outside after exploring the city all day, we realised we were about an hour too early for our reservation. We looked inside the window and it didn’t look busy, so we thought we would just ask if it was okay to be early - if they had have said no, we would have been more than happy to wait and explore some more. The man at the door originally said “you better come in an hour” but then held his finger up to us to wait, then said yes we can seat you. A rude, cold woman gestured to us to follow her, where we passed beautiful candlelit tables by the sparkly Christmas lights, however we were not seated on any of these lovely tables instead she plonked our menus down on a table next to the waiters stand where all the dirty plates are left before they are taken to the kitchen. The table was practically in the middle of the corridor, where the side of our table kept being bumped by passers by and coats were hitting us in the face as guests were coming and going.

We were told we needed to be out in 1.5 hours when we sat down. Well, 125 euros later and we were out within 45 minutes of sitting down. We saw waiters going to tables and checking on their guests frequently, being very attentive. We got no such attention. I have received more care for detail from a fast food restaurant.

Warm bread was also plonked down on our table. We ate it of course, then saw we were charged for it. €9.60 for something we didn’t ask for.

The other detail that made us uncomfortable was that they asked to take my coat away from our table as it was “taking up too much space” being hung on the back of my chair. With this, you can probably visualise how cramped and uncomfortable our position was next to this busy corridor. I said I didn’t want my coat to be taken away as it had all my belongings in it, but they explained it had to be moved. So they took it anyway and then came back telling me to take more out of the pockets to keep with me. I said I don’t want you to take my coat but if you’re going to, I’m sorry but it has items in the pockets.

The food was good - that is the reason for the extra star on my review. But definitely not worth the price. The bowl of soup was very small and the schnitzel was pretty standard schnitzel that you can enjoy anywhere in Vienna. In my opinion, you are paying for the setting, however, the setting, the service, the atmosphere and the general hospitality was among one of the worst experiences we have had, so definitely not worth the hefty price tag. We wrote to the restaurant privately via email to let them know our experience after they emailed us first asking to write them a Google review. They simply replied that the standard we received is not the standard they strive for and they hope we return. Sadly, we will never be coming here again. There are so many fantastic restaurants in Vienna that are warm, welcoming and genuinely happy to receive your custom, why would you return somewhere where you were made to feel like an inconvenience. We wonder whether, if we had turned up later closer to our reservation time, or if we hadn’t have obviously been tourists, if we would have been treated in the same manor.

Visitors, I would suggest you take your special occasion celebrations elsewhere at the risk you suffer an experience...

The worst restaurant in Vienna? Probably.

I’ve visited 28 countries and have never had a worse dining experience anywhere, including in the US. Especially not one that cost me €51. Maybe Plachutta was good once upon a time, but that’s now a fairy tale: i.e. a nice story that isn’t real.

Where to start with how bad this place is, I don’t even know. I started writing this before I even got my food. That’s how bad it is.

Let’s start at the beginning. The hostess was your typical ice cold Austrian. (Obviously the concept of hospitality died when it arrived in Vienna. While this is a city-wide problem, not Plachutta specific, they are certainly making sure to keep the inhospitable Viennese tradition alive and well). My waiter asked how I was, so I asked how he was. He tells me he’s sick. And sure enough, he’s coughing all over the place. I have 7 more days left of my trip and I really don’t want to get sick. He should not be at work. Or at the very least he should be wearing a mask. We all have a drawer of leftover masks from Covid - have some common courtesy buddy.

I get stuck at a table right by the entrance which shouldn’t even exist. I get blasted with cold air every time someone comes in and the waitstaff bump into my table pretty much every time they come to the computer that’s right beside me to enter an order. Including the sick waiter who keeps coming over to the computer and coughing, literally a foot away from my head.

They have five wines by the glass. I ordered the Blaufrankisch and it’s disgusting. I’ve been here for four days and had several glasses of Blaufrankish elsewhere and I know how it’s supposed to taste. This is worse than Two Buck Chuck. It’s flavorless, it tastes like purple watery alcohol with that distinctive super cheap wine aftertaste. You know what I’m talking about. Look, I will drink mediocre wine and have. Many times. Also, I HATE complaining about things at restaurants. I was a waitress for YEARS in a big city and I understand what a thankless job it is. But this wine is undrinkable. I asked if they have any other wines and said the one I have is “disgusting.” The waiter confirmed there were no other wine option and walked away. Um, really? I at least expected “can I get you something else?”

So the food comes out and ok, the broth is pretty good, but very salty. The rest of the meal is foul. The texture of the meat is like overcooked roast beef. It has a bitter flavor and is so salty it’s nearly inedible. The potatoes don’t taste like potato anymore because they’re basically all salt.

At this point I’m trying to cut my losses so I asked if they could remove the couvert because I haven’t - and won’t - touch the bread basket. The waiter replies that he cannot because the €3.50 couvert is for silverware too. THEY. CHARGE. YOU. FOR. SILVERWARE. No other purportedly nice sit-down white-tablecloth restaurant in the world would dare charge you for silverware. But see my comment above about Vienna and hospitality. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

They did at least take the disgusting wine off the bill. That doesn’t make up for the rest of the horrible experience though. There are many other places you can get Tafelspitz in Vienna. Go to one of those. Don’t waste your money in this...

I recently dined here and wanted to share my experience, both of the food and what I learned about cultural norms for fellow international travelers.

The food itself was good — huge portions, with flavors that felt truly authentic to Austrian fine dining (though if it recommenda something to compliment it, I’m confused why it isn’t just apart of it… ie potato salad with the schnitzel). They did bring me a bread basket and charged me for it, even though I never ordered it (and the bread is not worth paying for either).

I told my server how much I enjoyed the meal. Unfortunately, the service was mediocre. My server was polite enough but somewhat inattentive, which stood out given the level of the restaurant. There was also several times the server just stared at me while I was eating… which felt like I was a sideshow.

At the end of the meal, I did not leave a tip because I had been taught that in Austria, servers are paid a salary and tipping is not required, unlike in Canada or the U.S. My intention was not to be disrespectful, but the server was clearly offended and made a comment implying that not leaving a tip meant I thought the meal was bad. This left me feeling awkward and misunderstood. Wanting to improve my cultural competence, I spoke with the manager. He kindly explained that while tipping in Austria is always optional, it is customary to leave around 5–10%, especially in sit-down restaurants, as a gesture of appreciation rather than as a wage subsidy. Even rounding up the bill by a euro or two is seen as polite. This helped me understand why the server reacted the way he did, though I still felt his response was unprofessional.

For fellow Westernized travelers: If you are dining in Austria, expect to tip a small amount, even though servers are not dependent on tips for their income. If your service was mediocre, it’s okay to keep the tip minimal — rounding up by €1–2 is perfectly acceptable. If you choose not to tip, be aware that it may be interpreted as dissatisfaction, even if that’s not what you intend.

Overall, I would recommend this restaurant for the quality of the food, but I hope that staff training improves so that guests from abroad can feel welcomed and understood, even if they’re still learning the local customs. (AND DON’T CHARGE FOR SOMETHING SOMEONE...