Süd Länder Bistro — Restaurant in Vienna

On a recent trip to Vienna(traveling from NYC) we had the pleasure of dining at Sud Lander restaurant. It was Christmas eve which is always a special dinner and our families first ever Christmas away from family(Grandparents, cousins, Aunt's and Uncle's) We made reservations a few months in advance making sure we we would be having a nice meal for Christmas eve dinner. We took a taxi from our hotel to the restaurant, upon first arriving we were a little nervous (the place appeared to be closed) but that was not the case we were just a little bit early. We were greeted by a gentleman who seemed to be the owner/host. Our fears about maybe not picking the right restaurant suddenly vanished and we felt at ease as the vibe quickly turned to a very friendly one, as if you were at an old friend's or relatives house. Our host who seems to do everything from wait tables, prepare the food and mix our drinks too. The food tasted homemade and everything was delicious. The whole expirence was wonderful, one where you are seemingly transported to another place where there are no worries about daily life. Just enjoying good food and drink...

The. Worst.

Service is non existent. That’s for starters. Next up, my biggest pet peeve at a restaurant, by far, is when the menu pretends to describe the ingredients and is wildly far off. I really can’t handle chunks and so if something says “tomatoes” or “onions” that’s fine, I can ask for it without. But when the menu just says, “tomato sauce” and fails to mention that it’s going to be 90% something other than tomato sauce, that’s a massive problem for me because then I’m going in with the false impression that I know what’s going to be in the dish. But it’s even worse when the menu doesn’t mention 90% of the stuff that’s going into the dish AND I can’t ever get the attention of the waiter have to sit there for 30 minutes picking all the stuff out of my dish trying to make it match what the menu said. One of the worst meals of my life. Eat at...

The gentleman proprietor was so kind and welcoming during my solo visit on a hot day. The menu has a wide variety of food from the Balkans, and the dish I ordered was so fresh and delicious. He spoke great English, too.

It’s funny that during my week in Austria, I found that the most friendly business owners and service people were almost ALL immigrants! This place is no exception, and it was such a relief to be freely offered a table outside during the summer without being brusquely told that everything was reserved in advance (everywhere else, basically).

Do come and give this place a try! You won’t be disappointed. The owner even said “I hope you enjoy your stay in Vienna!” in the cheeriest way when I paid. It was so kind...