Zum Straba - Straßenbahnerbad — Restaurant in Vienna

So first things first, getting here was tough without a car, especially if like me you’re a black female solo traveller. I wouldn’t have been here had a lovely lady at a cafe in Vienna City Centre not suggested I go to Donauinsel hub as it’s not packed with tourists and I’ll get a local feel of Vienna’s entertainment scene, i.e. restaurants, pubs, etc.

As the lady didn’t specify where exactly, I found this restaurant when I got tired of wandering around trying to find this “hub”. The walk by myself from the nearest bus stop to this restaurant (which is very very secluded) was filled with anxiety for me. I turned around a few times to abort my plan to eat here, but decided to carry on as I didn’t want to feel like I chickened out of an experience. In hindsight, I should’ve just cut my losses and gone back to the city centre.

When I got into the restaurant, I was met by a lovely man (I would even say the cutest man in Vienna 🤭) who was a staff in the restaurant, and even though he didn’t speak English, was very helpful. He even helped me charge my dying phone so I wouldn’t get stranded in this weird out place.

I should add that as soon as I walked in here, even though it was not busy as it was an hour to their closing time - 9pm, all eyes were on me like I was an alien who just dropped out of the sky. I’m guessing they don’t come across black people often. The helpfulness of the staff was what made me stay as long as I did there - approx 25 mins. I asked for a takeaway pack for my food barely 5 mins into starting my meal as I felt the most uncomfortable in my entire Vienna trip here. I gladly booked a Bolt trip, the most expensive journey in my entire Vienna stay, and got out of there as fast as my tired bow legs (from all the touring earlier during the day) could carry me.

If you’re a black female solo traveller, and you are not keen on ending up on one of those missing people Netflix crime documentaries, stay the hell out of here and stick to busy areas please and thank you.

To that cute staff, wish I got his name; if you’re reading this Mr Cuteness, thank you for being so lovely - my tiny gleam of light within the absolute darkness of that place. Your light sustained me back...

Zum Straba is a nice restaurant at the Alte Donau, Vienna's Old Danube, one branch of several which run through Vienna. This place is located at the same island, where the Vienna International Center is located at, also called UNO City (United Nations Center). The patio of the restaurant Zum Straba is right at the water and refers to the Straßenbahnerbad (tramwaymen bath), from which the name Zum Straba is an abbreviation of. It's self-service here but, once you get your meals it's great to enjoy it in the patio. We had some delicious dishes: two Wiener Schnitzel, one with pork meat and the other with turkey, together with mixed salads, as well as the Rindersaftbraten, a roast beef in sauce with bread dumpling and cranberry jam. We had also a Fitness Teller, a salad with stripes of meat on it. As dessert I had Somlauer Nockerl, a Hungarian biscuit with cream, chocolate sauce, and bit of rum, together with a Cappuccino. We also had scalloped ice cream, a hot biscuit surrounding cold ice cream, together with marmalade and cream. And Topfennockerl with Zwetschkenröster was also part of our desserts, meaning sweet cheese dumplings (Topfennockerl) with cream and plum jam (Zwetschkenröster), one of Austria's famous desserts.

From Vienna with Love! Dr. Dr....

It’s definitely a hidden gem. Although it’s self-service only, the atmosphere is amazing. Especially on a nice day, when you can sit outside, it’s gorgeous and you get a beautiful view of the Alte Donau.

Getting here can be a bit tricky. By public transport it’s not that difficult, although the place is at the dead end of Kaisermühlen: buses 92A and 92B have a stop closeby. Parking is limited: there’s a small parking lot where the first hour is free. For a full day it costs €14 and it fills up pretty quickly. The surrounding area is a Kurzparkzone reserved for residents of the 21st district. Coming by bike or motorcycle would be the fastest and easiest option.

The restaurant is located inside a swimming area that normally charges around €7 for a day pass. To get in, you’ll need to pass the porter, but if you mention that you’re only coming for the restaurant, you can enter for free.

Especially great for Hungarians who love Somlói. At €3.90, it’s the cheapest I’ve...