Heunisch & Erben

Rarely do I eat at a restaurant where already the bread and butter come with a wow effect. When something like this happens it’s such a great surprise. Heunisch & Erben made me smile almost from the moment I took a bite of said bread and butter. I believe the bread come from Joseph’s Brot.

the walnut bread was quickly gone @Heunisch & Erben

The menu is small but polished and with something for everyone. You can either order á la carte or choose between a four, five or six course meal. Our vegetarian had no problem to change a couple of dishes so that he as well could order a four course meal. Lovely how flexible the kitchen is!

The four course dinner includes two starters of your choice, a mains dish and dessert. I was lucky enough to share with one of my colleagues and basically sampled the whole menu.

The starters consisted of a calamari tartar with cucumber, ponzu and radish. It looked like a one layer lasagna and had a fresh and citrusy flavor. The calamari was soft and tender while the radish gave the whole dish some bite. Lovely combination of flavors and just the right thing to start on a warm summer evening.

calamari tartar with cucumber @Heunisch & Erben

Next up were shiitake out of the oven. The mushrooms say on a potato risotto with a potato cream. Not sure what was meant with risotto because I can’t remember tasting any rice. I found the dish absolutely fantastic, the mushrooms soft and juicy blanketed in creamy potatoes. So, so good.

Shiitake from the oven @Heunisch & Erben

The deer filet with cabbage was another winner. The filet was cut in small square strips and melted in your mouth. The meat looked raw but something must have happened to give it its delicate texture. Just wow!

deer with cabbage @Heunisch & Erben

The farmers egg was the least surprising from the four starters. Which is not to say that it not also tasted great, it was just so “regular” compared to the rest. The egg sat on a cream of peas, little pieces of kohlrabi surrounding it, covered with a kohlrabi foam and bacon sprinkles on top.

farmer’s egg on cream of peas @Heunisch & Erben

The vegetarian starter was a salad with pepper and goat cheese. It was probably the pepper which gave the whole dish a little zing. There was a bit of spice in the back. Sprinkled on top was some ash.

salad with goat cheese @Heunisch & Erben

As a main course we each settled on either fish or meat. The fish was alpine-char filet with eggplant, summer pumpkin and Brazil nut. The fish was expertly seared and seasoned and combined with the creamy eggplant and the fresh pumpkin and absolutely wonderful. Not really sure what the sauce was anymore. But all sauces were served in a separate dish so everyone could season to his own taste.

alpine-char with eggplant and pumpkin @Heunisch & Erben

A rather great favorite was the beef. The roast came with porcini, chick peas, yellow string beans and tarragon. The tarragon was in the sauce as you can easily see. The combo was wonderful and the sauce enhanced all other flavors. The meat was tender and on point, sheer perfection the whole dish.

beef with porcini @Heunisch & Erben

Finally it was time for something sweet. The menu has currently two desserts on offer. One is with white chocolate and the other one with strawberries. The white chocolate was to overwhelming choice at our table. It came with apricot, buttermilk and violet. I am not really sure where the violet in all this was but the buttermilk was definitely in the ice cream. The cookie drops on top of the white chocolate something (whatever it was, it just melted in my mouth) were delicious. Together with the apricots the sweetness mixed well with the tartness of the fruits. Heavenly!

white chocolate dessert @Heunisch & Erben

The strawberry dish was the only one I didn’t like. It came with rice pudding, meringue and mountain pepper. There was an irritating taste of something chemical in this dish. Maybe it was only the pepper which I don’t know, but maybe it was also something else. Loved the rice pudding though! Definitely have to try this one at home soon, especially after I already wanted to try it at home after tasting the Danish one.

strawberry dessert with rice pudding @Heunisch & Erben

The service was quick and attentive and really friendly. Unfortunately we had a break of more than one hour between first and second starter. Therefore this can feel like an eternity when you are hungry. So grateful then that the bread basket was refilled in the meantime. Overall it is a restaurant though that I definitely want to revisit. What a wonderful evening! Yours, Pollybert

Heunisch & Erben
1030 Wien, Landstraßer Hauptstraße 17
Tel: +43 1 2868563
Email: erben@heunisch.at
Tue–Sat: 11:30 – 1:00
https://www.heunisch.at/en

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