Distrikt Steakhouse A True Meat Experience

I had already heard people talk about the DSTRIKT Steakhouse in The Ritz-Carlton Vienna serving the best steak in town. For a midsummer afternoon the restaurant is surprisingly busy, despite the fact that most people avoid hotel restaurants in Vienna. But seeing how eighty percent of the guests here are Viennese, it must be something special!

Chef de cuisine Andreas Mahl is about to prove just that, starting us off with a taste of some light, healthy appetisers perfect for summer: refreshing quinoa salad with smoke blackened salmon, gazpacho with crab, and oysters wrapped in crispy bacon. We could have also chosen from a daily lunch menu. But we want meat.

It’s served on the largest wooden plate that’s ever been prepared for two people, I believe. The meat looks incredible, but who could possibly eat all of it? Our charming, attentive server recommends a remarkable 2013 Merlot from Salzl-Seewinkelhof winery to complete our experience. We just love it!

1 | 6

In the end, we’re ashamed to say that hardly anything was sent back. We couldn’t help ourselves. The organic lamb is the "chef’s best" and our favourite as well, because- as far as we know- it comes from happy lambs and, most importantly, is soft as butter. Our steak knives, which we got to choose out of a jewel case ourselves earlier, have hardly any work as the roast sirloin and filet are cooked to perfection, incredibly soft and juicy. We’re hooked!

Top Artikel

Sights

Buschenschank Wieninger am Nußberg – Incredible Wines with a Beautiful View

Restaurants

Mercado – Latin Inspired Market Cuisine

Fast Food

Gulasch and Champagne – Vienna’s Noblest Diner

From the selection of traditional sauces, my favourites are the mushroom sauce, chimichurri, and béarnaise sauce. The vegetables, also cooked on the charcoal-fuelled so-called Josper grill, have a smooth smoky taste and wonderful texture. The handcut fries with parmesan and truffle oil are gloriously crisp from being cooked three times and blanched before being baked.

An average of 1,000 kilograms of Austria’s finest beef is served monthly to the steak enthusiasts here. Most of it is organic and from producers who Andreas Mahl knows personally. His concept of "from farm to table" is somewhat like back to the roots: All ingredients come from native growers and are cooked as little as possible.

After some exquisite cheese, the surprising highlight of our evening is served: cheesecake! It already has a reputation among food-lovers in Vienna as much as the meat has, and tastes simply heavenly.

By now it’s late enough for an espresso outside on the marvellous rooftop terrace (open from 4 p.m.). We’re blessed to be here and will certainly be back soon for the exceptionally good meat and cheesecake, which is also available to-go.