Das Augustin is not really around the corner from me, but at least it can be reached easily by metro. Years ago I went there for dinner with friends and was not overly impressed, so it was time to give it another try and come back for breakfast. From outside it did not look appealing as the facade seemed to be under construction, but the interior was nice enough. As usual we had a reservation, and this is highly recommended as Das Augustin was already quite busy at 9 a.m.
Das Augustin @Vienna
All reservations were seated in the back room, and of course we were placed right next to another occupied table, despite others still being available. I do not understand the reasoning behind this, as not everyone wants to sit close to other people. Personally I prefer a bit of privacy when out for a meal.
The breakfast menu offered many combinations, all of which sounded enticing. There was actually so much to choose from that it was not easy to make a decision. In the end my friend ordered ‘Istanbul’ and I went for ‘Farmers Starter’. ‘Istanbul‘, as the name already implied, came with feta cheese, a fried egg, tomatoes, hummus, cucumber slices, Kalamata olives, Turkish yogurt, walnuts, honey, organic butter, and pita bread. Kalamata olives are actually named after a city in southern Greece, so I am not really sure what they were doing on the ‘Istanbul plate’. But never mind, it looked colorful and fresh.
savory part of ‘Istanbul’ breakfast @Das Augustin
The grilled red pepper and the arugula were a welcome surprise, although there were now quite a lot of vegetables on the plate. The sweet part of the breakfast, the Turkish yogurt with fruit, on the other hand, was a letdown. Apparently you just get one piece of fruit each and exactly half a walnut in total.
Turkish yogurt with fruits and nuts @Das Augustin
It all looked nice enough, but overall it was just boring. Maybe because except for the egg, nothing was freshly made. Everything was simply assembled, including the hummus. That is the kind of breakfast plate I can easily prepare at home, and for that I do not need to go anywhere.
At least ‘Istanbul’ looked a lot nicer than ‘Farmers Starter‘, which included ham, two different kinds of cheese sticks, a soft-boiled egg, fresh cheese curd, home-made strawberry jam, organic butter, a slice of sourdough bread, and a bread roll.
‘Farmers Starter’ @Das Augustin
Maybe it was the bread basket that already put me off, but the bread looked forlorn and not at all appealing in this plastic bowl. The Farmers Starter combination was also rather colorless. The cheese sticks were too thick, there was not enough bread for all the ham, and the egg was more waxy than soft. While the quality was okay, this was another assembled breakfast that I could just as well make at home. At least at home the egg would have been perfect.
Come to think of it, all the breakfast options were just combinations of ingredients arranged on a plate. Nothing here seems to be prepared freshly for breakfast except the eggs. That is a very minimalist approach to serving breakfast. Both of us were not impressed with Das Augustin. In my opinion you can do this better at home.
a cat begging for table scraps @Das Augustin
What really ruined the restaurant for me though was the cat, which ran around in the dining room. Not only was it begging at the table next to us and got fed, but it jumped on the bench next to me and even put its paw on our table. Demanding food and not just begging anymore, clearly a tactic that had worked before. Definitely something I do not want to experience in Vienna. This is not Greece in summer where everyone sits outside and can shoo the cat away. If the restaurant needs a cat to catch mice, then it should stay in the kitchen without being seen. Whatever the reason for this cat, it clearly should stay out of the dining area. Yours, Pollybert
Das Augustin
1150 Wien, Märzstrasse 67
Tel: +43 1 9821364
Email: info@das-augustin.at
Mon-Thu: 17:00-24:00, Fri: 17:00-01:00, Sat: 09:00-01:00, Sun: 09:00-23:00
https://dasaugustin.wpcomstaging.com/
