Eat well in Vienna for under €15 a plate: the locals'-budget edition.
Eat well in Vienna for under €15 a plate: the places locals on a budget actually use.
Bitzinger on Augustinerstrasse in Vienna feeds the Opera and Albertina crowd for under €8, the Kaesekrainer with sweet mustard and Semmel the city's most.
Try: Kaesekrainer with mustard and Semmel
Tip: Add a Manner Schnitten from the counter for under €2; cash and card accepted.
Trzesniewski on Dorotheergasse in Vienna has run since 1902, the 21-Aufstrich open-faced sandwiches at around €1.50 each the centre's cheapest sit-down snack.
Try: Three open-faced rye sandwiches and a Pfiff beer
Tip: Order at least three; the egg-and-bacon Aufstrich is the regular's pick.
Der Wiener Deewan on Liechtensteinstrasse in Vienna's Alsergrund runs a pay-what-you-want Pakistani buffet, drinks charged separately, the city's loved.
Try: Pay-what-you-want Pakistani buffet
Tip: Pay what you want for food; drinks are charged. The buffet is replenished through 22:00.
Kent Restaurant on Brunnengasse in Vienna's 16th district plates a serious Doener for under €10, the Turkish-Viennese borough's canonical halal kebab counter.
Try: Doener Kebab
Tip: Order the Iskender for under €12; the lamb skewers are the local-order alternative to the Doener wrap.
Habibi & Hawara on Kundmanngasse in Vienna's 3rd district is a social-enterprise kitchen run with refugee chefs, the falafel sandwich plus a small mezze.
Try: Falafel sandwich with hummus
Tip: Takeaway counter at the side runs faster than the sit-down room at lunchtime; the inner-city Wipplingerstrasse flagship closed in 2023.
Pizza Mari on Leopoldsgasse in Vienna's Leopoldstadt fires Neapolitan pizza for under €11, the wood oven the 2nd district's most-defended cheap pizza counter.
Try: Marinara pizza
Tip: No reservations; the kitchen runs lunch and dinner Tuesday to Sunday, with the dinner queue picking up from 18:00.
Schweizerhaus in Vienna's Prater serves half a Stelze with sauerkraut for around €14, the cheapest serious pork-knuckle plate in town when the chestnut-tree.
Try: Half Stelze with sauerkraut
Tip: Order a small Krug of Budvar to start; the kitchen runs out of Stelze by 21:00 on busy summer nights.
Vollpension on Schleifmuehlgasse in Vienna's Wieden bakes Apfelstrudel under €6 a slice, the grandmother-baker social-enterprise cafe a budget alternative.
Try: Apfelstrudel and Melange
Tip: Slice and Melange for under €9; the Schanigarten on the corner opens from April.
Naschmarkt Deli in Vienna runs an all-day breakfast carte for under €13, the shakshuka and sabich the Levantine-leaning brunch the cheap-eats option.
Try: Shakshuka with pita
Tip: Open daily; the breakfast carte runs all day, useful for jet-lag arrivals from outside the EU.
Curry Insel on Lenaugasse in Josefstadt slings hoppers, kotthu and chicken curry on plate-sized rotis, a daily Sri Lankan plate for under twelve euros.
Try: Sri Lankan curry plate
Tip: The lunch menu is the daily-value play; cash speeds the queue.
Schnitzelwirt on Neubaugasse is a tiled-stove old-school Schnitzel room, the portions famously twice the standard size at among Vienna's lowest prices.
Try: Wiener Schnitzel
Tip: Tue-Sat 10:45-21:30, closed Sun-Mon; come for the Mittagsmenue.
Banh Mi Vienna on Faulmanngasse in Wieden serves Vietnamese sandwiches, pho and summer rolls from a Nguyen-family counter, lunch crowds queueing from 12:00.
Try: Banh mi sandwich and pho
Tip: Closed weekends; the office-lunch line stretches by 12:30 and clears by 14:00.
Homam Falafel on Brunnengasse next to the Brunnenmarkt in Ottakring is the local cheap-falafel pick, the wrap with tahini and pickled radish under six euros.
Try: Falafel sandwich
Tip: Cash only; pair with a Brunnenmarkt walk for fresh produce on the way back.
LOLA on Gonzagagasse is the city's Bib Gourmand-listed Spanish tapas room, a shareable plate of pulpo or croquetas under twelve euros at the bar counter.
Try: Spanish tapas plate
Tip: Closed weekends; share three tapas across two people for a sub-thirty-euro dinner.
Eis Greissler on Mariahilfer Strasse is the Vienna outpost of the Krumbach organic dairy, the scoops handmade from Austrian farm milk at corner-shop prices.
Try: Organic Austrian ice cream
Tip: Lavender-honey and apricot are the bestsellers; the Naschmarkt branch is the second city outpost.