The concept store ‘phil’ not only sells books, furniture, and what not, but is also a coffee house. It’s definitely a hipster place and my expectations were more than low. Especially after we arrived and it turned out that our reservation for 9am, despite it being a super warm day, was inside. The server told us that you need to explicitly reserve an outdoor place. More than a little weird start. Never mind though, there was still a table available outside at that hour and we got our coffee.
terrace @phil – Bar and Bookstore
The breakfast options were limited, most of them offer the same and sounded kind of boring. Typical Austrian in a way. My friend ordered the ‘Bobotoast’, the irony of the name itself is unmistakable. It comes with Italian salami, Pecorino, spring onions, and sun-dried tomatoes. He was happy with it, although it sounded a bit dry to me. But our server recommended it as well, so maybe it’s a guy thing.
Bobotoast @phil – Bar and Bookstore
I went for one of the breakfast options. There are only four available, and three of them are basically the same, that last one is a muesli. The one noticeable difference is the choice of ham, bacon, or salami between the three. But all of them come with a soft-boiled egg, cheese, and two kinds of bread rolls. The portion is more than generous and looks quite appealing. The egg though turned out to be slightly under-cooked. Still, everything is better than a hard-boiled egg. If that would have been the only problem, no sweat.
‘Bed and Breakfast’ breakfast @phil – Bar and Bookstore
But the provided plastic spoon for the egg still had some egg bits on the backside from the day before. The lamb’s lettuce came unwashed with some soil attached to it. Which does speak for the quality of the salad, usually you only get the pre-packaged and pre-washed kind. Even the egg is organic here.
Overall, despite the apparent lack of hygiene, phil was actually quite good. If I sound surprised, it’s because I still am. I had no expectations. But you can taste the quality of the products and service was very friendly. Best of all, this restaurant is a book shop and only serves food on the side. What a lovely concept. Yours, Pollybert
phil – Bar and Bookstore
1060 Wien, Gumpendorfer Str. 10 – 12
Tel: +43 1 5810489
Tue-Sun: 09:00-22:00, Mon: 15:00-22:00
https://phil.business.site/
