Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
A veal cutlet hammered paper-thin, dredged in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs, then fried in clarified butter until the breading lifts off the meat in a golden hood.
The Wiener Schnitzel is documented in Viennese cookbooks from the late 19th century but is older as a court-cuisine technique; the breaded cutlet may have travelled from northern Italy in the cotoletta alla milanese tradition. The veal version is the Austrian protected name; the pork version (Schnitzel Wiener Art) is the cheaper everyday plate. Figlmueller on Wollzeile has hammered the dish since 1905, Lugeck and Meissl & Schadn cook the veal version, Plachutta the canonical veal at Wollzeile.
5 editor picks for Wiener Schnitzel in Vienna, ranked by editorial score. All Vienna signature dishes · Wiener Schnitzel across every city.
Plachutta on Wollzeile in Vienna is the canonical Tafelspitz address, the boiled-beef pot served in copper pans with rösti, apple horseradish.
OrderTafelspitz vom Schulterscherzel; the cut Franz Joseph is said to have favoured.
TipOpen daily 11:30-23:30; the kitchen runs lunch through dinner without a break.
Figlmueller has hammered Vienna's most famous Schnitzel on Wollzeile since 1905, a plate-overhanging pork cutlet fried in three fats and served.
OrderThe Original Figlmueller Schnitzel; one is plenty for two appetites.
TipBook ahead; the room runs at capacity from 11:00 every day, kitchen closes at 21:30.
Skopik and Lohn on Leopoldsgasse in Vienna's Leopoldstadt cooks modern Viennese classics under Otto Zitko's hand-painted ceiling, with a Wiener Schnitzel.
OrderWiener Schnitzel with potato salad and lingonberries; the canonical version of the dish.
TipOpen Monday to Saturday from 18:00-01:00.
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.
OrderWiener Schnitzel vom Kalb; the veal version is what the dish was originally meant.
TipLess of a crush than the two pork outlets around the corner; book the Schnitzel Academy upstairs to learn the technique.
Meissl & Schadn on Schubertring in Vienna revived a pre-war Ringstrasse name in 2017, the Schnitzel pounded behind an open glass kitchen and served.
OrderWiener Schnitzel vom Kalb in butterschmalz, the kitchen's signature.
TipOpen daily 12:00-23:30, warm kitchen to 22:00; book a ringside table to watch the schnitzel pounder.
Wiener Schnitzel makes more sense with someone from Vienna explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
3 hours
Unleash your inner chef with this hands-on cooking class in Vienna. Learn the secrets of perfecting Wiener schnitzel and apple strudel from the chef, cook your own dis...
2 hours
Discover the flavors of Vienna on a guided schnitzel tasting tour in the best schnitzel restaurant in town. Learn how to schnitzel taste and sample the best beef broth...
3 hours
Learn how to make traditional Austrian dishes - Schnitzel and Strudel - in a cooking class in Vienna. Cook a 3-course meal and enjoy the food you've made together.
