Restaurant Bier & Bierli — Restaurant in Vienna

Update: Owner should consider taking honest feedback vs assuming anything short of positive is a fake review.

They responded claiming I used ChatGPT to write my original review lmao. Why anyone assumes the term “patron” is a term from generative AI only and not a term that people actually use is an indication of how language is used differently in various regions of the world.

I stand my ground that BEEF TARTARE served was grey and concerning, and staff my mother in law complained to (in German) gaslit her and blew off her concerns instead of trying to make it right.

Also while the service wasn’t great , I still tipped 15% bc I used to work in the restaurant industry and understand how hard people work. The staff member came by to thanked my MOTHER IN LAW (not me) profusely for the generous tip. She later said she hoped I didn’t tip much for the bad service, and I lied and told her it “wasnt much”.

Original Review below (not written using generative AI or “chatGPT” (which by the way, is not the only generative AI tool that exists) ===

Beef Tartare seemed unsafe to eat, and service made us uncomfortable.

In August I Visited this establishment with my mother in law and my 2 young children during a busy weekend. The staff shared the food would take a while as the kitchen was busy, however we did not expect to wait 1.5hrs+ for our food which were only 3 dishes. Our server / waiter told us a couple times the food was "coming out now" but it didn't come for another 30-40mins after his claims, so it was weird he'd even share "it's coming now" when the food wasn't even close to being ready.

We ordered a schnitzel, a burger, and a beef tartare.

The beef tartare was an odd mushy texture and the interior meat was GREY. When my mother in law asked about it, the waiter claimed she needed to simply mix the ingredients together (onions , etc) and that it was the "style". My mother in law eats beef tartare often, and decided not to consume the dish for fear of it being spoilt. The waiter never offered her another option but instead, simply gaslit her when she inquired about it / shared her concerns about the quality of the tartare (which is raw beef and must be of high quality).

The same server made a weird comment about my kids not using their ketchup for their fries; I don't understand why he'd care whether or not they consume it, given we pay for the ketchup regardless. My mother in law and I felt the was strange behavior and frankly, not his business to make a comment regarding what condiments we do or don't consume.

My schnitzel was very good, and the burger was passable but one of my kids didn't enjoy his portion (so he barely ate it). I suggest patrons stick with schnitzel and not deviate to try other items on the menu.

Overall the schnitzel is great, service is incredibly slow and lleft us feeling uncomfortable, and we were disappointed the staff ignored our concerns about the safety of the food...

JUST BEFORE I SAY GOODBYE: Thanks for getting presumptuous, but you're way off the mark. Happy to inform you that my wife and I were in the hospitality business for over 12 years, until we sold for a 400% profit, in the financial center of one of the world's great cities, Sydney. Successful, too. You see, with us the customer was always right.

As I specifically said, I had no problem with the prices. The problem is with what we received in return and the falsehood (air conditioning) we were fed when booking the day before. Don't hold out much hope for improvement in your operation as you seem set on faulting only others and offering an avalanche of lame excuses, instead of acting like a professional and making improvements. It's the staff, it's the cook, it's the taxes, the government, it's the economy, the customers and so on and so forth.

Sounds as if you have no real role in the business, apart from finding scapegoats. Good bye and good luck. You'll be needing it. You can have the last word, if you wish, though it won't change a thing. I'm sure there are more excuses to be shared.

RESPONSE TO OWNER'S REMARKS: Perhaps instead of asking, you should instruct(!!!) your staff. That's what owners are for. No good blaming them for what you should have done. Still on the air conditioning, the five of us sat towards the back, it was still unbearable and, yes, it is your fault if you mislead people who actually ask before booking. If the batter recipe kills the taste of the fish, as you admit, change the recipe. I would think that was obvious. The middle of Vienna price excuse doesn't hold, on two counts. a) Plenty of places where good food at cheaper prices are available, and b) The price is less of a concern if the quality of the food justifies it. Bier & Bierli doesn't. I don't need to "learn" about Viennese prices, since I have now lived here happily for the past decade and was a monthly visitor for ten years prior to that. It being a tropical heatwave in Vienna (35C), asked when booking the day before about air conditioning. Was told they have it, no worries. That's the story. The reality? They may have the system installed, but side door is wide open and the place is an oven.

We were cynically and inexcusably misled. Hugely uncomfortable, totally unpleasant. Told it was for the waiters' convenience. Who cares about the customers, eh?

As for the food - 3 x fish and chips very ordinary, tasteless fish, 1 x toast and spread nothing to write home about, 1 smallish cole slaw, 2 x small beers, 3 soft drinks, 10% service charge - 101€+. Not what I would describe as decent, let alone good value. Thanks for having us. Don't believe there will be a repeat. Ever. Recommend you...

I had the most upsetting thing happen to me at this restaurant. We had dinner and beer here. The food was great and the beer was good. We were having such a lovely time but right at the end, our waiter asked if I was Pakistani or Indian (I’m British Indian) and then launched into a racist tirade about how there were too many of my people in the world. He kept going on and on about it. He just wouldn’t shut up. He got quite nasty in his comments. I was so stunned I didn’t know what to say. I left the restaurant after we had paid and I cried. I felt so sad. I was in shock that someone would make such a direct attack against me and “my people”. If you have a problem with Indian people maybe you should not let me and my son into the restaurant. I came as a tourist to eat schnitzel and drink beer, not to be lectured about your irrelevant opinions. I have pasted his response to me from trip advisor.

His response: Well do you speak Austrian? Do you speak German, Czech, Slovakia, Polish, Italian? do you understand Austrian or mid European culture or everyone should only adjust and be sensitive to your existwence and your culture? Becuase of your different skin you should be automaticaly trreated special? Isnt that reverse racism? Or just becuase the waiter was white and from other culture you feel betrayed? You feel culturaly inapropriate? Maybe if youe would speak fluently german and understood culture, maybe it would be understood differently. Anyhow there are 1.300.000.000 Indian peaople and 9.000.000 Austrians. So was he wrong about the math? Or what made you so sensitive? We serve food and beer in a pub restauran, we are not kindergarden....