Breakfast at Hiddenkitchen City

The Hiddenkitchen has been around forever in my opinion. I never knew though that it was called City until I learned that there had once been a second restaurant in the third district. Apparently that one has closed and the one that remains is the original Hiddenkitchen in the City. The small side street where it is located was under construction during our visit, which did not affect access in any way.

Hiddenkitchen City @Vienna

Although we had a reservation, it was definitely not necessary as we had the place to ourselves for the entire breakfast. That is actually an advantage if you come early and alone because then Hiddenkitchen offers table service instead of the usual self-service.

inside @Hiddenkitchen City

My friend and I both ordered eggs Benedict, his in the “Pink Eggs Florentine” version and I chose the “Green Eggs Benedict”. Both came with a large slice of toasted sourdough bread but naturally had different toppings. I do wonder why both dishes use the plural for eggs when only one sits on top. The green version had avocado cream spread on top with one poached organic egg, feta, sauce Hollandaise, chervil, and herbal oil, at least according to the menu.

Green Eggs Benedict @Hiddenkitchen City

It looked quite enticing except for the greenish color of the avocado cream. Right away it was noticeable that it was neither fresh nor creamy. The watery avocado cream tasted strongly of preservatives as if it came out of a tub. The egg at least was perfect, freshly cooked before my own eyes. The sauce Hollandaise had split and turned into an oily yellow concoction. The chervil and the herbal oil never materialized, while garden cress turned up instead. The sauce Hollandaise was bad enough, but the avocado spread was downright awful.

The “Pink Eggs Florentine” on the other hand received good remarks from my friend. Again a toasted slice of sourdough bread served as a base for red beet hummus, a poached organic egg, smoked salmon, garden cress, sauce Hollandaise, and sumac. The sauce Hollandaise had the same problems, but the rest was better. Tastewise this open-faced sandwich got no complaints, but it would have looked better if the smoked salmon had been spread across the surface instead of sitting on one side with the egg on the other.

Pink Eggs Florentine @Hiddenkitchen City

Service was lovely and attentive. A fresh carafe of water was brought to the table right away and the coffee arrived promptly. Hiddenkitchen City has a different concept than other breakfast spots with its open counter. While the toasting and the poaching happened in front of our eyes, everything else was already prepared. That makes sense as there is no kitchen in sight and the staff prepared everything to order at the counter. But sauce Hollandaise has a certain texture and taste and it does not work if it comes out of a bottle. So the breakfast did not convince me, maybe their salads are better? Yours, Pollybert

Hiddenkitchen City
1010 Wien, Färbergasse 3
Tel: +43 1 2768398
Email: city@hiddenkitchen.at
Mon-Wed: 11:00-15:00, Thu-Fri: 08:30-15:00, Sat: 09:00-13:00
https://www.hiddenkitchen.at/