The Lark Bar & Eatery is a new restaurant in Vienna and not only the bird from Romeo and Juliet. On this gorgeous Saturday morning the place was full, the terrace and inside. Without a reservation there was no place to be had on that day. Not sure if the interest derived only from the sunny weather, or if anybody just wanted to test a new place. To be honest, I was in the latter category. When the sun is out I rather enjoy some shade and do not want to barbecue in the heat. At least we had a table inside, but the large window front was open and it was getting warm even here.
our table inside next to the window front @The Lark Bar & Eatery
The style of the restaurant is colorful and fun and the same goes for the breakfast menu. The Lark offers some kind of brunch on the weekend, where you can choose three, five, or seven dishes. There’s a choice of egg dishes, some vegetables and even vegan options, a lot of sweet things, two kinds of breads. There first thing I noticed was the German touch to the menu. Bratwurst with curry sauce is not something we eat in Vienna, especially not for breakfast.
We ordered something to drink and about ten minutes later our food. Sometimes not everyone can decide on what to eat right away, so we needed a bit more time. But so did the restaurant, because by then the waiting had begun. In the end we waited over an hour to get something to drink. I get it that the two persons working on the floor were extremely busy, the place was full. But the waitress had clearly forgotten about us, and only after I inquired about the coffee, did we get served.
The food was a bit quicker then, it arrived shortly after our drinks. In the end I had gone for five dishes, which were Shakshuka with one organic egg, pita bread, avocado tomato salsa, Za’atar French cheese toast, and French toast with maple syrup.
five brunch options @The Lark Bar & Eatery
The Shakshuka was okay, even if the egg was too firm. There was not enough spice in it and tasted more as if the tomatoes came straight out of can, but with the pita it was quite edible. The pita was actually still warm.
The avocado tomato salsa was also okay-ish. Neither special, not great. It had some fruits in it, I think mango, but can be wrong here. Unfortunately I don’t remember any more and didn’t write it down. But it wasn’t remarkable enough to think about it.
Downright awful was the Za’atar French cheese toast. There was no Za’atar in the toast, the cheese bland and from the industrial kind, and in combination with the French version (dipped in egg milk) too rich. I took a bite and left it at that.
Funnily the French toast with maple syrup had spent less time in the egg mixture than the grilled cheese. But I liked the sweetness at the end of the meal, so that worked for me.
My friend ate the blueberry chia seeds pudding, the waffles with vanilla cream, and the Greek salad. Let’s not discuss the weird combination, but I loved the comment about the Greek salad. ‘It tasted like airplane food’. That actually sums it up best.
three dishes combination @The Lark Bar & Eatery
After I paid the owner came over, apologized for the long wait, and invited us for something to drink. So even though they forgot about us, they tried to make amends, and I am not holding that against The Lark. Unfortunately the food was a miss, nothing tasted great, and it had more the look and feel of ready-made food. Clearly this must be the case, otherwise the pricing wouldn’t work out. The ideaof a multiple choice menu is interesting for breakfast, but the execution was poor. So I would give The Lark Bar & Eatery a miss. I am not really sure if the kitchen standards here can improve with time. Yours, Pollybert
The Lark Bar & Eatery
1080 Wien, Lerchenfelder Strasse 88-90
Tel: +43 1 8901844
Email: reservierung@thelark.at
Tue-Thu: 17:00-24:00, Fri: 17:00-01:00, Sat: 09:30-01:00, Sun: 09:30-15:00
https://thelark.at/
