Not so long ago I had a really delicious evening at Loup-Garou x Blue Lime Project. This pop-up was handled by a couple of young creative guys, who served lovely drinks and even better food. By now Loup-Garou has been turned into the Bar Louu, still serving drinks but the food is gone. The three guys have moved on, and in, to the bakery Aehrlich, to use the space in the evening! Their new place is called “Das Drittl” (one third), because two more restaurants will follow. What an interesting concept and even better that it is within my walking distance.
The first thing I noticed was that wine was not available by the glass. Instead there were cocktails, beer, and a long list of wine bottles. In the end we decided to go for a Cabernet Blanc 2023 from Windischbauer. A truly lovely wine, which was brought to the table without further ado. Just without a wine cooler. Quite irritating to have to ask for that when wine can only be had by the bottle. We deemed it an oversight and moved on with our order.
the kitchen area at the end of the evening @Das Drittl
The menu, despite being short, showed a lot of promise. In the end we agreed on three starters and two main dishes, but decided to order only the starters at first. The table next to us struggled with two dishes at the same time, so it felt smarter to take it slow. The Germknödel (a fluffy yeast dough dumpling) then took its time to arrive. This sweet dish is usually reserved as a special treat on top of a mountain after a whole day of skiing. But who am I to complain when it’s available in Vienna?
Germknödel @Das Drittl
Just look at it, isn’t that a fine dumpling? I can assure you that it tasted even better. The dumpling was fluffy and light, the texture just perfect. At first glance it did appear to be a regular sweet dumpling, but the secret lay in the filling. Powidl, a thick dark plum jam with a glue like consistency, is the usual filling. Here it came mixed with Gochujang, the spicy Korean red pepper paste, and pork belly. The edible flowers added some fresh peppery taste, which was in sharp contrast to the sweet poppy seed mixture on top. Honestly, that was divine!
After more waiting the organic pepper beef tartar arrived. The bread underneath was from Ströck Feierabend (funny that they do not use the one from the bakery Aehrlich), which got some color and taste from roasting it in beef tallow. The main features were a generous amount of hand-cut beef and pepper. Especially the pepper, which showed up in the aoli, pickled, and as seasoning in the tartar, was the star. Sprinkled with a generous amount of pickled egg yolk this beef tartar sandwich didn’t just look great, it also tasted amazing!
organic pepper beef tartar @Das Drittl
The couple next to us left, while we waited for our third starter. Eventually the waiter came over and asked if we wanted to order a main dish. We didn’t though, we wanted to eat the Stracciatella Austriaco first. This creamy cheese in combination with smoked beets and a cherry plum reduction had us dreaming in red and white.
Unfortunately it was meant to stay a dream. The kitchen had crossed out our order, but it was never served. And at the time the error was noticed there was no more Stracciatella. The waiter apologetically offered us a yeast dumpling instead, which we declined since we had already tried it. Instead we asked for a glass of red wine later to make up for this mistake.
Although we had already selected the main courses in advance we only ordered one of them. With the dumpling and the bread we felt quite full and figured one dish could be enough. The ‘Resterl Strudl‘ got our vote. We had seen it at the next table and there was clearly a lot of sauce with it. So we asked the waiter for some bread on the side, thinking with a bit of dipping bread this one dish should be enough. The strudel was filled with Sarma cabbage (pickled cabbage), Shiitake, Ajo blanco, and green grapes.
Resterl Strudl @Das Drittl
The bread never materialized, but there was also not a lot of sauce on the plate compared to what we had seen before. The ajo blanco available mixed with pumpkin seed oil was sorely needed to cope with strongly pickled cabbage. There was a reason why the strudel showed up with powdered sugar on top. Without it would have been worse. While my friend loved it, I cannot rave about it. I found the pickled cabbage overwhelming, while the shiitake got totally lost in there and the green grapes did not appear. Only at the end did I have one bite, which included a green grape and the dish was suddenly completely transformed. The sweetness of the grape finely balanced the sour cabbage and with a piece of crunchy strudel this was suddenly a new dish.
Still, until then I waded my way through the Sarma cabbage and felt the skin on my head tightening. I didn’t really enjoy this experience. I understood the thought behind it, because that one bite was nice enough. But the way to get there was plastered with unpleasant feelings. What this does show though is that this kitchen has a lot to offer. Too bad really that the Straciatella dish didn’t work out for us. I am sure it would have been very interesting as well!
The “we are sorry” red wine at the end was total disaster. Not only did we not get a full glass (not even together), the wine just didn’t taste good. As much as I loved the food at “Das Drittl” the service was mixed at best. They kept bringing water, which was very much appreciated, but clearly forgot about us and didn’t care enough when it came to the wine at the end. That was a bit of a let down. Yours, Pollybert
Das Drittl (im Aehrlich)
1090 Wien, Wasagasse 28
Tue-Sat: 17:30-23:30
https://dasdrittl.at/
