Plachutta Hietzing serves the family's canonical Tafelspitz across town in 1130 Hietzing, an opera-quiet 13th-district room that draws Schoenbrunn locals away from Wollzeile's tourist trail.
Signature dishes: Tafelspitz, Beuschel
Must order: Tafelspitz with the full set of sides; the cut of the day is the recommended order.
Tip: A quieter Tafelspitz alternative to Wollzeile, especially at lunch; the 1130 postcode makes parking easier too.
Address: Auhofstrasse 1, 1130 Wien, Vienna
Labstelle on Lugeck in Vienna's first district cooks a regional, seasonal carte under a vaulted brick ceiling, a quieter alternative to the schnitzel rooms on the same square.
Signature: Modern Austrian tasting, Seasonal courses
Order: The five-course seasonal menu; the kitchen rebuilds it monthly.
Tip: The walled inner courtyard is the room's summer-evening seat; book ahead for Friday and Saturday.
Gasthaus Poeschl on Weihburggasse in Vienna's first district is a Hermann Czech-renovated Beisl turning out the canonical Viennese carte, the quiet centre's most reliable mid-priced Wiener Schnitzel.
Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Backhendlsalat
Order: Wiener Schnitzel; the Backhendlsalat is the lunch alternative.
Tip: Open Monday to Saturday 12:00 to 23:00, kitchen to 22:00; book the back room for a quieter table.
Gasthaus Wolf on Grosse Neugasse in Vienna's Wieden cooks classical Beisl plates with a serious offal carte, a wood-panelled side-street room locals book and tourists rarely find.
Signature: Offal, Beuschel, Wiener Schnitzel
Order: Beuschel; the kitchen's offal handling is what brings the regulars back.
Tip: Dinner only, Monday to Friday from 18:00; the room takes weekends off and books up two weeks ahead.
Gasthaus Ubl on Pressgasse in Vienna's Wieden has been a family-run Beisl for over fifty years, the green-tiled stove and wood-panelled rooms turning out Zwiebelrostbraten and Schinkenfleckerl to a regulars' crowd.
Signature: Zwiebelrostbraten, Schinkenfleckerl, Tafelspitz
Order: Zwiebelrostbraten with crisp onions; the kitchen's most-ordered plate.
Tip: Cash only; book by phone because the room is almost always full.
Glacis Beisl inside the MuseumsQuartier on Breite Gasse in Vienna's Neubau cooks classical Viennese plates in a tucked-away bistro with a walnut-shaded garden for summer dining.
Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Tafelspitz
Order: Wiener Schnitzel from the lunchtime carte, with a Pfiff of Gemischter Satz.
Tip: Open daily 12:00 to midnight, kitchen to 22:30; the walled garden under the old walnut trees is the room's best seat.
Figlmueller Baeckerstrasse in Vienna's first district runs the Figlmueller pork-Schnitzel carte across the cobbled square from the original Wollzeile room, family-run since 1905.
Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Kaiserschmarrn
Order: The Original Figlmueller Schnitzel; one plate-overhanging cutlet feeds two.
Tip: Open daily 11:30 to 23:30, kitchen to 22:00; the Schnitzel-plus-Beisl menu also runs a vegan Schnitzel option.
