Why Vienna needs croissants baked according to a Scandinavian recipe and with French butter, I am not sure. But since this concept is already implemented by Freyja, I am open to give it a try. The croissants are made with sourdough (how that works is beyond me), which is supposedly healthier. Something else I am not sure about, because in the end croissants are made with an obscene amount of butter. And that can’t be healthy, sourdough or not. But who cares about healthy, when all you want to do is to enjoy your breakfast?
The croissants get baked right next to the shop and coffeehouse. On the weekend the kitchen is closed and I am not sure how fresh the baked goods are therefore.
Freyja bakery @Vienna
Freyja’s phone number didn’t work, but they do not take reservations anyway according to the message I received with Insta. So on a recent Saturday morning I made my way to Freyja, despite some misgivings and no reservation.
Freyja the shop and coffeehouse @Vienna
The bakery was already open a couple of minutes before 9am and with one customer installed and drinking coffee. Since Freyja offers only self-service I chose a table in the back and waited for my friend.
inside @Freyja
There was no menu to peruse, the restaurant offers this information only next to the cash register. And anyway, the weekend brunch menu is quite short and only features five different items. These include a ham and cheese toast, a pulled pork burger, a cauliflower steak with tahini sauce, a roasted red beet and feta skewer, as well as a bowl of granola. Of course there are also the many variations of croissants available.
croissant variations @Freyja
Eventually we made our way to the cash register and ordered coffee and something to eat. My first choice, sourdough bread with butter and cheese, can only be obtained during the week. So I went with the ham and cheese toast and an Americano to drink. Funnily enough, the sales person offered to bring the food to the table. This was quite extraordinary, since everybody else, without exception, got a beeper to retrieve their order when it was ready. But the two of us got coffee and food served at the table. Maybe because we looked way older than the target consumer?
The breakfast dishes arrived in due order and in record time. Honestly my first though was that it must have all been waiting in the back to arrive so quickly. According to the menu the ham and cheese toast included sourdough bread, ham, cheese sauce, horseradish, walnuts, and honey.
ham and cheese toast @Freyja
All of that seemed to be here except maybe the honey. I can’t really say if any graced my toast. The bread was not toasted, but appeared to be fresh with a nice crust. The ham looked appealing, but the sauce disturbed me. It was white and liquid and stayed that way throughout my meal. Not sure how much cheese was in there as the cheese sauce never congealed. The whole toast hadn’t seen any toasting equipment, which was unfortunate as it could have added some flavor.
The cheese sauce had no flavor at all, it only added wetness to the whole construct. Even the horseradish, which wasn’t grated but rather badly julienned at Freyja, didn’t add any flavor as well. Overall this toast was such a disappointment that I cannot find words for it. I left half of it on my plate, as I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. What a disgusting experience!
My friend got himself the pulled pork burger, which wasn’t the best idea for breakfast either. The toasted brioche bun had been toasted, unlike the ham and cheese toast. The brioche turned out to be the best part of the burger. The pulled pork was so dry, as if it had been pulled the day before and then slowly roasted some more to a state of absolute drought. Without the accompanying pickled cabbage this could not have been swallowed at all. Despite a recommendation for the burger from the cashier, it’s best to avoid it.
pulled pork burger @Freyja
Since my toast left me in a very unhappy state, I decided to go ahead and order a croissant. Not that I wanted to throw any more money down the drain, but Freyja prides itself on its sourdough croissants. So while here, I at least wanted to try one, as I was sure never to return again. There’s much to choose from, but eventually I settled on the almond croissant. It comes in form of a flat swirl with almonds on top.
almond croissant @Freyja
Not much to look at, but the taste was surprisingly there. By that time I wasn’t really sure what to expect anymore, everything else had been so bad. The dough was buttery and flaky, but soft in the middle. I missed the almond paste, but there appeared to be some thin layer right underneath the almond flakes. It’s was definitely not noticeable at first. On the other hand the croissant was not overly sweet probably because of the lack of almond paste. The croissant was definitely the best part of this breakfast, but with almost 6,- Euro really expensive.
Freyja – the croissant story opened its doors last year and I remember the queues in front of the store at the beginning. These days there’s less hype and with good reason. The food was awful and totally not worth the steep price. The croissant was quite lovely but I couldn’t detect any difference to a regular croissant without sourdough. Freyja is not worth your money or time. There are a lot of other places in Vienna, which serve better food. Even just for a croissant Freyja is overrated in my opinion. Yours, Pollybert
Freyja – the croissant story
1080 Wien, Alser Strasse 19
Mon-Fri: 08:00-18:00, Sat-Sun: 09:00-18:00
https://freyjacroissant.at/
