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Vienna Restaurant

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

It's not quite the Crystal Palace but - for Canberra, at least - it comes close. Kambah's Vienna Restaurant has been quietly making a splash for over fifteen years now. Originally in Chifley, The Vienna relocated several years ago to the glass-loving edifice that it now calls home. From the inside, it resembles nothing so much as a giant, gleaming greenhouse; minus the green and bedecked instead in deep red carpets and European paraphernalia of all shapes and sizes. Tables laid with red gingham and flowers in cut-glass vases are a loving throwback to a bygone era - one expects to see the waitstaff in crisp shirts and waistcoats, twirling their moustaches. But service at The Vienna is surprisingly easygoing, with the restaurant capable of catering for families and large functions.

For six years running the restaurant has been a finalist in the NSW/ACT Restaurant and Catering Awards for Excellence in the European dining category - a feat which sees both regulars and newcomers marching eagerly through the double-glazed doors. The menu changes more or less seasonally and is Austrian/German, with a few Hungarian meals thrown in for good measure. Among dishes like smoked pork loin served with sauerkraut, dumplings, gravy, goulash soup and bauernschmaus; the better-known schnitzels and varieties of crumbed seafood abound. Finish off with a crisp apple strudel and you'll be singing snatches from the Sound of Music all the way home.

 

Stephanie Wang, September 2007