History

Gulasch travelled from the Hungarian half of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and became a defining Viennese Beisl dish by the late 19th century. The Vienna version (Saftgulasch) reduces the sauce thicker than the Hungarian original, and the Fiakergulasch adds a fried egg, frankfurter, and gherkin on top. Cafe Anzengruber's Croatian-Viennese kitchen has cooked one of the city's most-defended versions since 1949.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 1kg beef shin or chuck, cut into 4cm chunks
  • 1kg yellow onions, finely sliced (the 1:1 ratio is the rule)
  • 60g lard or 50ml neutral oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika (edelsuess)
  • 1 tsp Hungarian hot paprika
  • 1 tbsp dried marjoram
  • 1 tbsp caraway seeds, finely crushed
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 strip lemon peel
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 600ml beef stock, hot
  • 2 tsp salt
  • Black pepper
  • 4 Semmel (Austrian white rolls), to serve
  • Pickled gherkins, to serve

Method

  1. Heat the lard in a heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and 1 tsp salt. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring, until the onions collapse to a deep brown jam. This step makes the dish.
  2. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste. Cook 2 minutes.
  3. Take the pan off the heat (paprika burns fast). Stir in the sweet and hot paprika, marjoram, caraway and lemon peel.
  4. Return to medium-low heat and immediately add the beef chunks raw (do not sear) and the vinegar. Stir to coat in the paprika onions.
  5. Add the hot stock, 1 tsp salt and a generous grind of pepper. The liquid should just barely cover the meat.
  6. Cover and simmer on the lowest possible heat for 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. The sauce should thicken to a dark, glossy gravy that coats a spoon.
  7. Uncover for the last 20 minutes if the sauce is too loose. Taste; adjust salt and acid.
  8. Rest 10 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with a Semmel for mopping and a sliced gherkin on the side.

Tip from the editors. Hungarian paprika is non-negotiable; supermarket Spanish paprika tastes flat. Burning the paprika is the only common failure; pull the pan off the heat before adding it.

Where to eat wiener gulasch (saftgulasch)

Wiener Gulasch (Saftgulasch) in Vienna

Cafe Anzengruber ★ 4.0

Viennese€€wiedenUntil 00:00 Mon-Sat

Cafe Anzengruber on Schleifmuehlgasse in Vienna's Freihausviertel keeps the kitchen open until midnight Monday to Saturday, the Croatian-Viennese Goulash.

Try: Goulash and Wiener Schnitzel

Tip: The Schanigarten on the corner opens from April; the room turns into a football crowd on big-match nights.

Schleifmuehlgasse 19, 1040 Wien

Gasthaus Poeschl ★ 4.7

Viennese€€innere-stadt

Gasthaus Poeschl on Weihburggasse in Vienna's first district is a Hermann Czech-renovated Beisl turning out the canonical Viennese carte, with Wiener.

Signature: Wiener Schnitzel, Backhendlsalat

Order: Wiener Schnitzel; the Backhendlsalat is the lunch alternative.

Tip: Open Monday to Saturday 12:00-23:00, kitchen to 22:00; book the back room for a quieter table.

Weihburggasse 17, 1010 Wien

Gasthaus Wolf ★ 4.6

Viennese€€wieden

Gasthaus Wolf is tucked on a wieden side street with no signage from the main artery, locals book and tourists rarely find this serious-offal beisl in 1040.

Why locals love it: Tucked on a Wieden side street with no signage from the main artery, locals book and tourists rarely find this serious-offal Beisl in 1040.

Tip: Dinner only, Monday to Friday from 18:00; the Beuschel and offal carte is the regulars' default order.

Grosse Neugasse 20, 1040 Wien

Plachutta Wollzeile ★ 4.6

Viennese€€€innere-stadt

Plachutta on Wollzeile in Vienna is the canonical Tafelspitz address, the boiled-beef pot served in copper pans with rösti, apple horseradish.

Signature: Tafelspitz, Beuschel

Order: Tafelspitz vom Schulterscherzel; the cut Franz Joseph is said to have favoured.

Tip: Open daily 11:30-23:30; the kitchen runs lunch through dinner without a break.

Wollzeile 38, 1010 Wien Book →

Glacis Beisl ★ 4.2

BrunchViennese all-day brunch€€EUR 14-24neubauDaily 12:00-00:00Recommended for the garden

Glacis Beisl inside the MuseumsQuartier on Breite Gasse in Vienna runs a strong weekend brunch carte in the walnut-shaded back garden, the 7th-district.

Order: Wiener Schnitzel from the lunch carte, with a Pfiff of Gemischter Satz.

Tip: The walled garden under the old walnut trees is the room's best seat; book ahead for warm-weather weekends.

Breite Gasse 4, 1070 Wien

More cities are in research. Want wiener gulasch (saftgulasch) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

Browse all dishes →