It was already dark when I arrived at Rosebar Centrala and the restaurant looked dim from the outside. It’s almost as if it didn’t want to be noticed from the passerby. The long terrace lay empty at this time of year and in the windows candles flared. It felt like winter, which didn’t change much inside.
terrace @Rosebar Centrala
That was one of the first things I noticed upon sitting down. Rosebar Centrala has a distinct chill note in the air. Not sure if this is desired so that you do not overstay your two hour dining window or if the heating didn’t work. But my friend sat the whole evening in her coat across from me, while I wrapped myself in a wool shawl.
At second glance I noticed the lovely bar and inviting dining area. There is a simplicity shining through this establishment, which is lovely. Especially the long bar beckons to lean against for a drink. Temperature wise I would need a lot of them to keep standing for a while though.
dining area and bar @Rosebar Centrala
The focus of Rosebar Centrala is sharing plates as each place is already set with a plate and cutlery. Sharing is definitely the new way to dine in Vienna, probably already not the done thing anymore everywhere else. But since Austria is always 20 years behind everything, this new form of dining is currently very popular here. We ordered bread and butter first and then a couple of the many starters. Ten starters compete with three main courses and two desserts. There’s quite a choice available.
Bread and butter were nice enough, after we switched the whipped butter with a regular one. The regular butter had a dash of flaky salt on top, more would have been welcome. The bread was soft and squishy, I missed a crunchy crust. Not really sure how that can be even done to bake a bread with soft crust. In any case, it looked nicer when it arrived at the table.
what was left of the bread @Rosebar Centrala
We ate a mushroom croquette each. They arrived piping hot and in great color, freshly out of the fryer. I enjoyed eating mine, I am just not sure if I would have loved to eat more than one. The filling was quite liquid and tasted of thyme, I can’t really say what else had been added to the mushrooms.
mushroom croquette @Rosebar Centrala
Roasted red beets with horseradish and arugula were next. None of us detected a roast aroma, but I guess they must have been cooked in the oven. The beets arrived quartered and covered by the arugula, with the horseradish on the side. The dish didn’t convince me, the arugula missed any bitter aromas and the horseradish was weak. The whole thing lacked something to bring it together, it was all just a bit boring.
red beets with horseradish and arugula @Rosebar Centrala
The cabbage and kohlrabi salad with common shrimps was delicious on the other hand. The green dressing brought it all together and the salad was definitely a winner. It tasted light, fresh, a little bit sweet, but also tangy. A right good mix. Why it arrived on such a small plate was beyond us.
cabbage and kohlrabi salad @Rosebar Centrala
We got also one main dish, the double baked mountain cheese soufflé with spinach and onions. The souffle came in a small dish and the butter was still bubbling on the side. There was a lot of chive on top, the spinach though was must have hidden somewhere else. The onions definitely took center stage here. I quite enjoyed the bite from the top with a lot of cheese, but underneath the souffle tasted like hot white bread. Of course the oil butter mixture increased the flavor, but overall this was not my favorite.
double baked cheese soufflé @Rosebar Centrala
I guess we were all a bit unsure on how we felt, the dinner lacked on a satisfactory level. To minimize this effect we ordered both available desserts. The first one was a walnut tart with quince and crème fraîche. While it was a perfect bake, no soggy bottom here, it was also not helping with the mood around the table. The tart had a thin layer of quince at the bottom and was then generously filled with walnuts and a sugary egg mixture. There was just nothing exciting here.
walnut tart with quince @Rosebar Centrala
What a pleasure then to finish the meal with bay leaf ice cream and a fennel honey cookie. The ice cream was lush and creamy, with a distinct bay leaf taste. So interesting and delicious! The fennel honey cookie came in form of a long thin bar. It reminded me of a short cake, but there was no snap at all. Probably the honey just doing its job here. The cookie tasted more of butter than fennel and honey, maybe there was just a hint in the back that I missed. No matter though, the cookie worked perfectly with the ice cream. A wonderful dessert!
bay leaf ice cream and fennel honey cookie @Rosebar Centrala
I quite appreciate that the 20th district gets upgraded with restaurants like Rosebar Centrala. On the other hand I am tired that all the rules from the hipster districts are now moving into the outskirts as well. Sometimes you just want to sit longer than two hours and drink another glass. The two hour rule cuts an evening short and ruins the mood. In case of Rosebar Centrala we had two hours and a half, but then had to leave. Which in this case I didn’t mind so much, because I felt thoroughly frozen by that time.
The food was a mix of greatness and blandness, so maybe when the weather gets warmer I will saunter over the bridge again. I want to check in which direction the kitchen leans in six months. Yours, Pollybert
Rosebar Centrala
1200 Wien, Rauscherstrasse 5
Tel: +43 664 93351678
Email: hello@centrala.at
Wed-Sat: 17:30-23:00
https://www.centrala.at/
