The small Kias Kitchen appeared inconspicuous from outside. It’s bathed in soft warm light and the patterned tiles imply stories of far away countries. Brazil is such a country and Kias, the kitchen chef, hails from there. I have fond memories of Brazil and its cuisine, therefore who better to accompany me to Kias Kitchen than my friend and travel partner from years ago.
Kias Kitchen @Vienna
inside @Kias Kitchen
The menu is short and available in a five or six course meal. Most of the dishes are vegetarian and only the main courses including meat or fish. We both chose the five course meal, one vegetarian and one meat version. The evening menu included a cover charge and brought with it two small bites. Both were polenta based, one fried and the other not, with toppings. The fried version with a bean paste topping was absolutely delicious. I loved the crunchy texture and the bean spread worked well. The second one was less interesting. The soft, but dense texture expanded while eating and together with the corn topping it tasted rather uninspired.
two kinds of polenta @Kias Kitchen
Our first course was ‘Creme de Castanhas‘, at chestnut cream mixed with couscous inside a fermented radish and served on a Brazil nut cream with drops of Thai basil oil. It had a lovely and fresh feel, but I cannot say that I detected the fermentation of the radish. Also I would not have known that there was a chestnut cream inside. The Brazil nut cream was tasty, with a distinct nutty flavor. It felt a bit on the gritty side though, maybe the nut was too finely ground? Overall a nice dish, I used the spoon to finish up the sauce. Would I order it again? Probably not, but as part of the menu it was a fine starter.
Creme de Castanhas @Kias Kitchen
Next up was ‘Filipini Adobo‘ with an eggplant, chili jam, and a rice crisp. Adobo is a cooking method, roasting something first and then cooking it with vinegar. I had mixed feelings about it, but then spooned the sauce again. Not all of it, because there was clearly too much vinegar on its own. But in combination with the eggplant it was quite tasty. My friend loved it and deemed it the best dish of the menu.
Filipino Adobo @Kias Kitchen
For our third course ‘Tutu de Feijao‘ arrived. Feijao are black beans and at Kias Kitchen they twofold. As a thick cream and as salad on top, seasoned with citric jus and fermented chayote. The little yellow crumbs on top tasted of manioc and added a nice crunch. I loved the creamy beans, the ones in salad form provided some bite. This dish felt like a hug, very warm and comforting. Great flavors and lovely composition of various textures.
Tutu de Feijao @Kias Kitchen
Finally it was time for the main course, the ‘Principal‘. In my case a piece of organic dry aged beef from the rump with pumpkin purée, kale, and demi glace. The usually rich brown sauce was here a deep red. Together with the purée and the kale it was a beautiful fall color show. The meat was perfectly roasted with a strong pink color, juicy, and tender. The kale could have been stemless, that middle part was not easy to cut. All together excellent though.
roast beef and pumpkin purée @Kias Kitchen
The vegetarian version of this dish was a cabbage roll filled with lentils and mushrooms, and the same side dishes. I didn’t enjoy the filling though, I found the lentils could have profited from some more minutes on the stove.
For dessert we got not the mentioned ‘Festa do Milho‘, which means translated corn festival. That was not the thing we got though. It was some kind of sponge with a cream, as well as a little ball of olive oil ganache or so, which was rather solid. Lots of nuts gave some crunch and the whole thing sat in some passion fruit juice, which infused some acidity. Topped was the whole thing with a biscuity grille. The dessert was delicious, the sponge with the passion fruit juice and the nuts were scrumptious. I would not have needed the little ganache ball, and the grille was purely decorative.
dessert @Kias Kitchen
Service was lovely and I felt well cared for. The only problem I had was that the waitress spoke fast and a mix of several languages in my opinion. So whenever she served us a new dish I didn’t understand anything she was telling me. Never mind though, the food was the star of this evening and it deserved its place in the spotlight. Yours, Pollybert
Kias Kitchen
1060 Wien, Gumpendorfer Strasse 37
Tel: +43 676 3850020
Email: info@kiaskitchen.org
Tue-Sat: 14:00-16:00, 17:30-22:00
https://kiaskitchen.org/en-us/
