The other day I went for dinner at Dampha Kitchen. As a large group, you need to make reservations everywhere in advance, but that turned out not to be the only hurdle for a Saturday dinner. Quite a lot of restaurants we wanted to try are suddenly closed on weekends. That seems to be a new development here in Vienna. Not so at the Yppenplatz in the 16th district though. We were lucky with Dampha Kitchen, as it is open on Saturday evening. With one of the last warm evenings in the city, the Yppenmarkt was full of people out and about.
terrace @Dampha Kitchen
But for dinner, it was more interesting to sit inside, as who wants their food to cool off too quickly?
The place was still quite empty when we arrived, but within the next couple of minutes Dampha Kitchen filled up with another large group. Add the music to this, and the noise level was rather unfortunate, if not downright unpleasant. I could only talk comfortably to my neighbor and had to strain to hear the person next to them. For the hearing impaired in our group, this was a rather excluding environment.
dining area @Dampha Kitchen
The waiter was super friendly and spoke to us mostly in English, something unusual in Vienna, but with African fusion cuisine, I was open to everything. It was clear in which direction the fusion was going, definitely not towards Austrian cuisine, but rather leaning towards Mexico with empanadas. We tried the beef and chicken versions, and the beef version easily won. It had the prettier color in eye-popping red, but it was also better seasoned. The sauce accompanying both versions was some kind of mayonnaise with a dark sauce that I couldn’t quite identify. But it was tasty when I dipped the empanada into it.
beef empanadas @Dampha Kitchen
The chicken wings, another starter, were perfectly cooked, with nicely seared skin and very juicy meat. I would have loved to eat them all myself. They were a very tasty starter and, together with one empanada, would probably have been enough for a meal.
chicken wings @Dampha Kitchen
The fried yucca and plantains were exactly as you would imagine them. The yucca was starchy with a nice crust, a bit like fried potatoes, with a sprinkle of spice and some pickled onions on top. The acidity of the onions balanced the fried food nicely.
fried yucca @Dampha Kitchen
I also tried the peanut butter chicken, which came on a bed of rice and had a lovely depth of flavor. I could not detect the peanut note, but I loved the flavors. The chicken was juicy and tender, and the rice was excellent. I never manage to make it so fluffy at home.
peanut butter chicken @Dampha Kitchen
The other main dish we had was tacos, in both beef and chicken versions. While the beef was well received, the child next to me was not happy with the chicken. Funnily enough, she didn’t like the taste of the taco, which, in my opinion, was exactly as it should be. Still, I think the beef was better seasoned overall at Dampha Kitchen.
chicken tacos @Dampha Kitchen
It was a lovely and really interesting experience to try African fusion cuisine. I would have been interested in trying the Jollof rice as well, but there were no other takers. Alas, there is always a next time. But I will probably wait for a warmer period, as inside it was definitely too loud for me. Because isn’t the point of going out with friends not just to share a meal, but also to catch up? Yours, Pollybert
Dampha Kitchen
1160 Wien, Payergasse 10
Tel: +43 676 7775584
Email: office@damphakitchen.com
Mon-sun: 09:00-23:00
https://www.damphakitchen.com/
