A thick, fluffy pancake torn into bite-sized pieces in the pan and caramelised with butter and sugar, served with stewed plums (Zwetschkenroester), apple sauce, or apricot compote. The plate Kaiser Franz Joseph is said to have favoured.
Kaiserschmarrn (the Emperor's mess) is said to have been served to Franz Joseph in 1854 when a humble shepherd-style pancake was offered to the imperial table. The name stuck. The dish became a Konditorei and Alpine-hut staple. Figlmueller's Lugeck and Cafe Landtmann both cook the canonical Vienna version with raisins; Kurkonditorei Oberlaa serves the Mehlspeise version with stewed plums on the side.
4 editor picks for Kaiserschmarrn in Vienna, ranked by editorial score. All Vienna signature dishes · Kaiserschmarrn across every city.
Plachutta Wollzeile ★ 4.6
innere-stadt · Wollzeile 38, 1010 Wien
Plachutta on Wollzeile in Vienna is the canonical Tafelspitz address, the boiled-beef pot served in copper pans with rösti, apple horseradish, and chive sauce in a 1010-postcode dining room.
Figlmueller Wollzeile ★ 4.5
innere-stadt · Wollzeile 5, 1010 Wien
Figlmueller has hammered Vienna's most famous Schnitzel on Wollzeile since 1905, a plate-overhanging pork cutlet fried in three fats and served with potato-cucumber salad in a 1010-postcode dining room.
Lugeck Figlmueller ★ 4.4
innere-stadt · Lugeck 4, 1010 Wien
Lugeck on Lugeck square in Vienna's first district is the Figlmueller family's wider-menu room: the original veal Schnitzel, Tafelspitz, Backhendl and steaks inside a 14th-century building rebuilt in 1897.
Cafe Landtmann ★ 4.4
innere-stadt · Universitaetsring 4, 1010 Wien
Cafe Landtmann on Universitaetsring in Vienna has poured at the Burgtheater corner since 1873, Sigmund Freud's preferred coffeehouse with a long carte of cakes and a serious lunchtime kitchen.