Vienna Fine Foods — Restaurant in Toronto

There's a lot of great food in Scarborough, and I'll be chronicling it through the election this Fall. Cuisine in Scarborough has evolved with the community. As the Greek and Italian communities have moved on to the suburbs, so has their cuisine. Today's Scarborough food scene reflects today's Scarborough: a lot of Filipino, Hakka, Indian and other South Asian options -- much of it Halal.

But last week, while down a YouTube rabbit hole of Bon Appetit cooking videos, a sudden craving for deli led me to Goggle and to happening upon one of the last remaining outposts of old European Scarborough (apart from several surviving Scottish Fish and Chips reasturants): Vienna Fine Foods.

I've actually gone by this unimpressive from the outside grocer on the bus many times and never noticed it, buried in an industrial area on Birchmount, just North of Eglinton. While they do offer a deli and a wide assortment of imported German foodstuffs that brought back many memories of my years there, what caught my eye was the Imbiss.

Literally translated as snack, Imbiss coloquialy refers to a snack bar or lunch counter, and in the back of this grocer is a small lunch bar serving up a variety of homestyle German specialties. There are a few small tables, but they do a booming takeout businss with nearby workers stopping in for a schnitzel on a bun or other popular offerings.

For my first meal last week I brought back a schnitzel dinner to the office. The traditional lemon wedge was on offer, but I went for the gravy and paired it with two sides: scalloped potatoes and mixed veggies. The schnitzel was large and nicely breaded and fried to order, and the potatoes were. The peas-heavy mixed veg tasted like they may have been there awhile (I did come mid-afternoon, after the lunch rush). Still, a very tasty meal.

This week I returned with a friend, and was pleased to see the special of the day was potato pancakes with sour cream or apple sauce. I went with the sour cream, and paired it with a bratwurst. The wurst could have used a little more flavour, but the pancakes were buttery delicious crispy goodness. I don't usually eat much potatoes anymore, but I could eat these every day.

It's unfortunate that I lived in Scarborough for a decade and never knew of this outpost of German cuisine, but it will be a regular stop when I'm in town from now on. And I'll be bringing some dry Spätzle from the grocery back with me to Ottawa for sure....

I really hate to score such 'mom and pop' type spots, especially those that've been around for decades, so low, but sadly, our experience at Vienna Fine Foods left much to be desired. After repeatedly being recommended this spot for their schnitzel (which is a food we're big fans of), we got both a schnitzel sandwich as well as a plate/dinner... and well, the star of the show, the schnitzel, was so extremely dried-out and without flavour (except for what seemed like an old oil taste), and the sides for our dinner were equally as sad and flavourless... Additionally, most everything in their deli display looks old, just go see for yourself- and the smoked ribs we got were probably the worst we've bought... genuinely didn't know those could vary that much in quality being that they're smoked/cured. Mostly I'm upset because I was looking forward to having a new go-to European market in this part of town otherwise (as far as I know) devoid of them, but will certainly not be back anytime soon. On the plus, the young lady working the back kitchen counter was so...

My family has been going there for the past 30 years. In the past 8 years the quality of their on site meals have gone down big time and the portions have dropped to half.while the price has increase 3 fold. About 10 years ago we got two pieces of schnitzel and two dumplings plus a side for $6.99. Last week we paid 12.99 for one small schnitzel and one small dumpling and paid another 75 cents for a side of red cabbage. The only thing that tasted good was the cabbage. My whole family has decided never to buy a meal there again. Even the donuts we used to love had just a drop of filling in them. Being Austrian born, I am embarrassed by what they are offering their...