Two days in Vienna! food, food, and more food
A couple weeks ago I went to take an audition in Vienna, if you haven’t seen my first post here’s a link: Two days in Vienna! concerts, sights, and transport This is a continuation of my post from last week, except that I wanted to share the food I ate! Being a budget solo traveler, I didn’t really go to the iconic coffee houses and fancy places that are all over the internet. There were also some hits and misses but that’s all a part of the experience of traveling!
🍽Here’s what/where I ate!:
Opern Schnitzel
Operngasse 20A, 1040 Wien, Austria
Schnitzel in Vienna was on my bucket list so I was scouring the internet before and during my trip! Unfortunately I was getting tired of the crowds and wanted to find a place that was cheap, fresh, and not touristy. This ticked all the boxes for me. Was it the best schnitzel of my life? maybe not, but it still hit the spot. This place is more like a fast food place, and the chicken schnitzel was super crispy and huuuuuge. They also had great wifi and bathrooms.
Alserbachstraße 1, 1090 Wien, Austria
I was not planning to go to a bagel place but ended up wandering in here. Everywhere else in Vienna was so crowded during brunch time. This was a nice bagel sandwich that reminded me of my life in the U.S. If I compare it to my favorite bagel shop in NYC this doesn’t measure up and it was a bit pricy. However, it is a great place if you need to work on your computer or read. It’s also solo traveller/diner friendly! 
Bitzinger Würstelstand Albertina
Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Wien, Austria
I missed the opportunity to take a nice picture here but I would highly recommend this sausage stand. It was my last meal before I went to the airport to spend the night. The sausage was amazingly crispy on the outside and juicy inside. Definately worth waiting in line for about 20 minutes. If you go, just order the cheese sausage in a bread roll if you don’t understand German! It is located right near the opera house, so its also a perfect bite after the opera.
🍬Sweets
Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Wien, Austria
I would highly recommend this place! I went here the first night of my stay and although it seemed crowded there was plenty of seating inside. This apfelstrudel had a nice tasty blend of apples and raisins. It was perfect with coffee! The menu also had an extensive list of delicious looking ice cream desserts which I’ll probably get next time! There’s also an ice cream counter where you can order ice cream to go.
After seeing ice cream at Zanoni and Zanoni I had a huge craving! This ice cream shop has some extremely unique flavors like goat cheese, pumpkin seed oil, and others. I would highly recommend a visit here! Vienna was quite warm during my stay so ice cream was a welcome treat. I tried the hazelnut ice cream which tasted deliciously hazelnutty. It was my first time tasting an ice cream with such a pure flavor!
Operncafe
Operngasse 4, 1010 Wien, Austria
This was a miss for me, the cake was dry, pricy, and the coffee was just ok. I was trying to get into one of the more “popular” coffee houses in Vienna and after being ignored by the waitress I got so annoyed that I just left. I wandered into this coffee house because it seemed empty, which might also explain the low quality cake and coffee. At least it looks tasty in the picture!…
Finally, my overall thoughts on solo dining in Vienna:
I felt that Vienna was the most difficult as a solo diner compared to many other countries that I have visited. I ended up walking out of at least three places that I wanted to have a meal, coffee, or cake. The crowds were too huge and I was being obviously ignored by the waitress several times.
That being said…
The ice cream was delicious, loved the cheap schnitzel, and sausage. I hope that next time I visit I will have time to find a more local Viennese food culture. I also think this city is much more enjoyable with a travel buddy!
Curious to know if any of my readers have experienced difficulty as a solo traveller/diner. Feel free to comment below! If you’re interested in my other travel posts check out Berlin trip: One day of food, culture, and history or 5 Days in Barcelona Part 1
