restaurant review: wrenkh, vienna

I found Vienna quite surprising in many ways. It was my first time but I can safely say that I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. Vienna is full of art, music and incredible food. I must admit, it is becoming my new Paris or New York.

Vienna is incredibly surprising, especially in food department. They are so switched on when it comes to vegetarian/vegan food. Every vegan or vegetarian restaurant has their own cookbook published traditionally and their bookstores are full of those local as well as international cookbooks (see below).

I am a huge fan of German/Austrian cuisine. Mostly because I love how they do their potatoes. And the dumpling business is just divine. They call them dumplings but they’re very much like baked loaves like nut roast without the nuts but breadcrumbs instead. I believe they are their bread substitute. We had something similar in Prague too.  

At Wrenkh, you should ask for a menu in English and they give you this one with an “E” at one ear of itleft ear, to be precise. And definitely ask for wine recommendation; you won’t be disappointed. We fell in love with Austrian wines. Try Grüner Veltliner. You’ll thank me later. Actually, you can get certain Grüner Veltliner in Australia. I know it because we found a few after we got back.

Let’s talk about food, shall we? The menu is not exclusively vegetarian but mostly vegetarian. However, vegetarian dishes are marked well and explained well, even in English. I mean, you get an idea. We ordered two distinctive Austrian dishes so that we could share. It’s a great way of trying different dishes.

Dish number one: Creamy lentils in white wine sauce with roasted bread dumplings

Laird lentils in “Veltliner” sauce with celery stalks and carrots, served with herbed bread dumplings.

Dish number two: Wrenkh’s Erdäpfelschmarrn (shredded potatoes) as seen below:

Grated crispy grilled potatoes with marjoram, oregano and thyme, served with roasted seasonal vegetables and herbed goat cream cheese-dip.

Here’s the trimmings: Lightly cooked seasonal vegetables and cream cheese dip

Wrench in Vienna is such an institution; they even have a cooking school (right next door to the restaurant). We noticed that the students were presenting their dishes to a group of judges outside. It is always nice to see young people showing interest in cooking.

If you ever find yourself in Vienna, give Wrenkh a try and when you’re there, make sure you talk to people around you; fellow diners, I mean. You’ll never know, you might bump into a really nice couple from Frankfurt like we did.

Wrenkh can be found at this address:
Bauernmarkt 10, 1010 Wien
Website