Restaurant Al Borgo — Restaurant in Vienna

If you’re in Vienna and love Italian food this is the place to go! I had a reservation for my girlfriend and I and Al Borgo far exceeded our expectations. We were both seated promptly and the waiters took our coats and sat us at a perfect table for two. The restaurant has a classy atmosphere that isn’t overwhelming and all the staff are extremely friendly. The staff and the owner/manager are very Italian which just added to the fun atmosphere and they had us both laughing a lot of the time! The calamari appetizer is delicious and split between two people it is ideal for a small starter. The bread and breadsticks provided are also a lovely precursor to the meal. I had the waiter get us his recommendation for a bottle of white which turned out to be perfect paired with the rest of the meal. For the main I had the prawns with spinach that were very delicious, not a large dish so if you’re hungry don’t get it but it was perfect for a medium appetite. My girlfriend had the pasta seafood which was a good portion size and very very tasty. Would highly recommend that to anyone! We finished out our dinner experience with dessert, I had the tiramisu and my girlfriend had the soufflé, both tasty and perfect portion size. We also tried the dessert wine and that was absolutely delicious and a perfect after dinner treat, very worth enjoying that! And on top of all this amazing food the service was amazing, our glasses were always full and we never felt neglected in the least. The value of Al Borgo is amazing, the total came out to 101 Euros, which for the quality of everything and the experience, we felt was well worth it! I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for great food, it is not touristy and would be perfect for date night or a small...

UPDATE: Now that I have cooked risotto myself, in retrospect, I have no clue what was going on with theirs. It was more watery then creamy and somewhat bland. It was my first time I ate risotto that wasn't a ready-meal, so I thought that's just how it is. But no, with risotto rice (they might have just used regular long grain) and parmesan, it should be creamy. So I'm decreasing my rating from 4 to 3.

I'll start with the negative aspects. You'll have to tolerate their humor which consists of ribbing the guests. Maybe it's an Italian thing? Anyway, the East-Asian guy on another table who got a shoulder massage from the owner as a joke seemed quite uncomfortable. That kind of behavior might be acceptable or even desirable at a restaurant with down-to-earth food and prices but they clearly have higher aspirations and I think their attitude should match that. Also, the bread was dry and tasted stale - like day-old store-bought.

But overall, the food was very good in relationship to the price. Unique creations with appealing presentation and decent portion sizes. Hence the high rating and so I will have to think hard about whether I let those negative aspects keep me from trying more of their dishes.

(Note that the meat dishes are about 90% meat. It is obviously expected that you order vegetables or whatever on the side if you want...

The Ritz sent us over for dinner, it was 6:15 when they said we had reservation, we arrive at 6:30. Owner seemed annoyed telling us reservation was at 6p. We tried to explain we came as soon as notified about dinner. We were rushed over to table, rushed to order. Manager seemed annoyed with my gluten allergy and having to have separate olive oil. The owner brought out wrong dish to my friend and she stated she ordered risotto. This dish takes a while to cook, and 5 minutes later a dish arrived. Risotto is not suppose to be hard. I his was hard and not throughly cooked. My friends food was undercooked and ask owner about it. Owner got defensive which then made matters worse. Horrible experience. To make worse he was yelling at wait staff. I have lived and dined all over globe, and this was awful. Manager/owner kicked my friend out for stating risotto was under cooked …. Owner made a scene. I sat there quietly, my friend was asking about food. He seemed annoyed and offended from the start. Don’t go. Not relaxing and better...