‘Das Steinhart’ popped up in my Instagram stories and I was instantly intrigued. Fine dining in the 10th district, who would have thought? That’s a novelty for Vienna or at least for me. Favoriten has never on my list to check for restaurants, but it is never too late. ‘Das Steinhart’ lies somewhere behind the main train station and looked at first glance totally impressive.
looks impressive @Das Steinhart
We sat outside for the aperitif, which consists of simple wooden tables and chairs. It provided a very relaxed atmosphere outside, there was even a small viewing area during the Euro. The inside is huge, with actually a lot of room between the tables, and has a massive bar area.
inside @Das Steinhart
Eventually we sauntered inside and sat down at beautifully covered table. The cover charge included delicious bread, a paprika spread, and black butter. Colored with charcoal and formed into small stones it made a striking first impression. The butter tasted delicious and was spreadable. Even the weird color on the bread didn’t put me off. This was actually quite the neat surprise.
black butter and spread @Das Steinhart
The beef tartar, always a winner, was ordered twice, once as a starter and once as a main dish. The meat is minced at ‘Das Steinhart’ and fully seasoned, with a yolk cream on top a slice of sour dough bread to scoop it all up. I got a bite to taste and liked it, no complaints from my side.
beef tartar @Das Steinhart
Another starter was ‘Schweinebauch-Forello‘, which sounded a bit weird but turned out to be exactly that. Pork belly and trout. In this case the trout was smoked and came with capers and arugula. The pork belly came in form of bacon. What an interesting combination and really lovely taste wise.
Schweinebauch-Forello @Das Steinhart
I ordered the tataki from the arctic char. I didn’t even know that there was something like an arctic char. The menu promised rhubarb, goat cheese, and tarragon. Often I found that the listings on the menu are just indicators on what to expect in terms of taste. Same here, I couldn’t tell where the rhubarb was, but this was a great dish. Unfortunately I ate a lot of bread to soak up the delicious sauce. The whole thing reminded me more of my favorite ceviche, just not as spicy.
Tataki vom arktischen Saibling @Das Steinhart
Lamb raviolo with wild broccoli and almonds was one of the main dishes. A lot more than that happened on the plate though. Not really sure what each component was, but my friend was happy with her plate. I took a small bite of the ravioli and was pleasantly surprised. As much as I like lamb, I am careful when it comes to ravioli. A lot can be hidden beneath a blanket of dough. These ones were fabulous though!
lamb ravioli @Das Steinhart
The next main dish was a bit of a mishap. We ordered asparagus carbonara, but discussed afterwards the asparagus cordon-bleu. So of course the cordon blue arrived with Sardic potatoes. I cannot tell you why they are called this way and I also cannot identify what happened to them. But I didn’t hear anything bad about the dish, so it must have been okay. The cordon-bleu was okay I guess, I took a bite and didn’t find a lot of asparagus flavor.
asparagus cordon-bleu @Das Steinhart
Sardic potatoes @Das Steinhart
For myself I ordered trout, a lot of fish that day, with veal velouté, kohlrabi, and melted bread. That sounded like a handful and I also didn’t know what to expect. It turned to be a big piece of salmon trout in a creamy sauce, with more creamy kohlrabi mash on the side and that had the melted bread on top. I loved the buttery taste of the melted bread, it worked nicely with the kohlrabi. The fish was actually a tad too much, especially since there was no other vegetable on the plate. I missed something with a bit of a crunch. Everything was just too soft and creamy. Sounds weird to complain about this.
pink trout with kohlrabi mash @Das Steinhart
Last but not least we shared one dessert, so each of us could get something. I ordered rice pudding with cherries and cardamom. Come to think of it again something creamy and soft. The pudding arrived with a bit of crunch though and was exactly how I imaged it. Not overly sweet, rich, and flavorful with just a hint of cardamom. The perfect ending for this evening.
rice pudding @Das Steinhart
Service was great and very friendly. I am not sure if that was due to the lack of people inside the restaurant, ‘Das Steinhart’ was still in its soft opening phase at the time. The handling of the mix up with the asparagus dish could have been a bit better, overall though I was very happy with everything. Due to its location ‘Das Steinhart’ still has reasonable prices, almost a steal for Vienna. Definitely a place I would love to visit again. Yours, Pollybert
Das Steinhart
1100 Wien, Erika-Krenn-Promenade 15/1/1
Tel: +43 660 1100122
Email: servus@dassteinhart.at
Mon–Tue: 10:00–15:30; Wed-Sat: 10:00–23:00
https://dassteinhart.at/
