Old Austria Restaurant — Restaurant in Eastern Cape

This restaurant specialises in German cuisine of the like you won’t find anywhere else in PE. The lighting is warm and beautiful, the background music is a live piano performance running through everything from classic pieces to Frank Sinatra compositions. The food is fantastic! Last night I had a delicious Jäger Schnitzel, which is a veal escalope in a creamy thin brown sauce with tomato and green pepper concassé and mushrooms, served with spätzle (rolled egg noodles). My wife had the Veal Cordon Bleu, which is a crumbed veal escalope wrapped around ham and a cheese filling, served with chips and cabbage salad. There was no better way to conclude the meal than with their perfectly made Apfelstrüdel. Meals like these are their traditional courses, but they also have good old fashion South African steak ranch meals if that’s more to your taste. And now for the ‘BUT!’ The service! Tsk tsk tsk. Before I complain, I must commend our waitress. She was welcoming, professional, friendly, efficient, speedy, had a sense of humour and really made it a pleasure to be there. But I suppose like all things in life there has to be a balance, this restaurant just had too much good to offer. Herald the owner … a man with no people skills whatsoever. We suffered the misfortune of being served by your highness in addition to our wonderful waitress. It was a culinary Jekyll and Hyde experience that has me so confused about whether or not to pay the restaurant a repeat visit. Firstly, the moment our waitress placed my meal before me, he jumped in and turned the plate the other way round as I was about to eat. The look on my face obviously demanded an explanation, so he enlightens me on the subtle nuances of sophisticated dining (something I really couldn't be bothered with). He explained how the meat should be closer to me, and the salad on the far end of the plate, then he turned it to the original ‘upside down’ position and asked me, “Doesn’t that seem wrong to you?” I smiled, shook my head and began eating. He gave me the impression he was judging my breeding, I obviously failed his little test. Naturally, what I should have said only occurred to me moments after he disappeared, I should have told him maybe he’d enjoy food more if he ate it without judgement. Anyway, we ate, we enjoyed, we called for the bill. “Is that a debit card?” he asks me. “Yes, why?” I ask “We’re just used to seeing Visas,” he tells me, examining my overused dirty debit card after his hoity toity swipey, like it was new and interesting, albeit unwanted. I should have told him I don’t need to buy food on credit, I thought to myself as we left the restaurant. My only gripe is that there’s nobody to report this to, the buck stops at the owner and he’s the biggest problem. Final Verdict, Old Austria is a fantastic restaurant and perfect for a romantic evening whether it be a simple night out, marriage proposal, apology meal or anything in between. However, if you see the owner, simply turn around and walk out, go to Spur,...

back2nature74 South Africa 135 Pending review Lockdown Support With the new lockdown restrictions we decided to support a local restaurant. As we drove past Old Austria we decided to stop and see what was available. It was our first time here. We ordered the DAD Shank and the Chicken Schnitzel.

The lamb shank was tender and severed with fresh, crunchy veg (not overcooked). to my surprise it was not served with normal mash but a rather tasty spaetzel. It was clean plates all around.

The chicken schnitzel was nice, juicy and tender on the inside with a covering of a perfectly fried crispy batter and a side order of parsley potatoes and served with a mushroom sauce.

It was great to meet Rupert and the service from the staff was great. When the food was brought out to us the staff gave us a huge thanks for the support.

Looking forward to visiting them again and have a proper sit down meal and...

What an amazing fine dining experience!

The ambience is very special with a live pianist, beautiful chandeliers and antiques.

The food was mouth-watering. The starters were amazing, and my steak (blu on a cold plate) was absolutely perfect. A hard feat to achieve!!!

The prices are well worth the quality of the food and the steak was the best I have had in a very long time.

We had loadshedding but the kitchen still made a plan to get the chips done. As an example when I was in Cape Town during loadshedding I was told that I would have to have mash, so five out of five for amazing service.

The owner is also very hands on and added a personal touch by remembering my name under the reservation I made.

This is a very special place and I will...