A Guide for Visitors to Vienna: How to Survive Your First Real Wirtshaus

For tourists, a Viennese Wirtshaus can feel like a small planet of its own at first glance. Wooden tables, the smell of roast meat and beer, a waiter with a stoic expression and a menu full of unfamiliar words. To make sure your visit doesn't end in cultural shock, Mitzitant has put together a small guide.

1. Enter at your own risk

Don't worry – a Wirtshaus is not a secret ritual. Just walk in! You don't need to wait for someone to call "Hereinspaziert!" (Come on in!). A small tip: in many traditional Wirtshäuser, you find your own table. If one is free, it's yours. The waiter may still look at you with a hint of suspicion – but that's not about you. It's just his natural resting face.

2. What's on the menu?

A Viennese Wirtshaus menu contains many terms that can be new to visitors from other countries. Here are a few you should know so you're not surprised by what lands on the table.

Important: a Wiener Schnitzel is made exclusively from veal. If pork is used, the menu will say "Schnitzel vom Schwein" (pork) or "nach Wiener Art" (Wiener-style) – that's not the original. The typical dishes include Tafelspitz, boiled beef traditionally served with potatoes, Apfelkren (a mix of apple and horseradish) and chive sauce. Very popular is also Zwiebelrostbraten, a roasted cut of beef with crispy fried onions and pan juices. A particularly hearty speciality is Fiaker-Gulasch – a rich ragout served with a sausage, a fried egg and Essiggurkerl (small pickled gherkins). Then there's Leberknödelsuppe, a clear beef broth with a liver dumpling, and Frittatensuppe, where Frittaten – thin strips of pancake – float in the broth. And of course, there's almost always Apfelstrudel mit Schlagobers at the end. Schlagobers is simply the Austrian word for whipped cream.

• 

  Zwiebelrostbraten

• 

  Tiroler Gröst'l

• 

  Tafelspitz

• 

  Schweinsbraten mit Knödl

• 

  Kaiserschmarrn

• 

  Wiener Schnitzel

3. Drinking like a Viennese

When it comes to drinks, Vienna keeps it simple but firm. The most important classic is the Weißer Spritzer: dry white wine (usually Grüner Veltliner or Pinot Blanc) mixed with strongly sparkling soda water. If you'd prefer something alcohol-free, order Traubensaft gespritzt – grape juice with soda, which looks just like a Spritzer but is noticeably sweeter and very popular. Also typical: a Soda Zitrone, known as a "Sozi" – simply soda water with fresh lemon juice, Vienna's answer to lemonade.

When it comes to beer, size matters:

• Krügerl = 0.5 litres

• Seidl = approx. 0.3 litres

• Pfiff = 0.2 litres, the smallest option

4. The atmosphere in the Wirtshaus

A Viennese Wirtshaus is not a place for hushed conversations. People laugh, debate, philosophise – sometimes even sing. If the table next to you is loudly complaining about politics or the weather: don't worry. That's perfectly normal. That's Vienna. In the Wirtshaus, everyone has an opinion and shares it generously.

5. Asking for the bill

When you're ready to leave, simply say: "Zahlen, bitte!" (Bill, please!) The waiter will nod and come back eventually. (Patience is a virtue here.) One more insider tip: in Austria, tipping is customary but moderate. Around 5–10% is the norm. You can simply round up and say: "Passt so!" (That's fine / Keep the change.) With that, you've shown you know how things work.