Austria Local Food

Local Food

Food in Austria offers many pleasant and tasty surprises. Because Austria borders countries like Italy, Germany and Hungary, the traditional cuisines of those countries as well as those of the old Austro-Hungarian empire have influenced the cuisine in a most interesting way.

Apart from the well known Austrian signature dishes such as Wiener schnitzel (a breadcrumbed and fried veal escalope) and the apple-based desert apfelstrudel, other popular local dishes include Knödel (a sweet or savory dumpling), and Tafelspitz, a dish with boiled beef, potatoes and horseradish, traditionally served on Sundays. If you want to experience traditional Austrian food at reasonable prices, restaurants known as “Gasthaus” or “Gasthof” can be found in most of the larger towns and cities. Vienna seems to have its own regional variety of foods, wines and restaurants as well as a well developed cafe culture. To sample traditional Viennese food, look out for “beisel” restaurants, which can be found throughout the city.Austria is also famous for its wide range of excellent breads and pastries.

With river valleys such as that of the Danube providing ideal conditions for growing grapes, Austria produces some of the best white wines in Europe - most notably Riesling. Austrians often mix their wine with a little mineral water, creating what is known as a “spritzer” and Vienna hosts many “Heurigen” where this practice is common. Liqueurs are also popular, with Schnapps being distilled or infused with many different flavours including pear, apricot and raspberry. Locally made soft drinks include “Almdudler”, a lemonade mixed with herbs, and Holler which is made from elderberry flowers.

Austria’s laws relating to the minimum drinking age are a little complex, sometimes vague and can vary from region to region. As a general rule the minimum age is 18, but 16 year olds can drink beer (in some states) but not distilled drinks.