Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated December 23, 2019.
Address: Wollzeile 25, 1010 Vienna Opening Hours: Mondays – Fridays 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM, Saturdays 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (1:30 PM during August) (store hours). Closed on Sundays and on public holidays. (2019 opening hours, which might change in the future.) Company Holidays: No information available Phone: +43-(0)1-512 42 971 Website: http://www.staudigl.at/kueche.html Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/staudiglwien Email: office@staudigl.at Free WiFi: No Austrian Debit Cards: Yes Credit Cards: Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa Bathroom Facilities: Yes Dogs Welcome: No Seating Available: No Outside Seating Area: No
Reformhaus Staudigl is a vegetarian health food store, which offers soups, salads, sandwiches, and desserts for lunch (Mondays – Fridays). There’s no seating: just a few high tables, you have to stand while you eat. Reformhaus Staudigl is nevertheless very popular among the locals.
Soups (3.70 Euros, not always vegan) are served with a piece of bread. Small sandwiches cost 2.00 Euros. Other vegan options are salads (small: 4.10 Euros, large: 5.20 Euros), and quinoa or vegetable bowls (5.50 – 6.90 Euros). (2019 prices, which are due to change in the future.)
Freshly pressed juices are also available, and tap water is offered for free. At Reformhaus Staudigl, you can choose between a number of high-quality organic oils and vinegar for your salad dressing, like Omega 3 or macadamia nut oil, and balsamic vinegar.
This health food store has a very clean customer bathroom (you need a key), and you can buy organic, vegan, and various health food items as well as vegan cosmetics in the store. Laverais my favorite cosmetics brand, many of their products are vegan, certified by The Vegan Society – try one of Lavera’s shower gels (orange, lime, rose, and coconut are all vegan).
Original blog post: December 7, 2019 by Ingrid Haunold Updates to this blog entry will be posted at a future date
Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated December 8, 2019.
Address: Rauhensteingasse 12, 1010 Vienna Opening Hours: Mondays – Fridays 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and on public holidays. (2019 opening hours, which might change in the future.) Company Holidays: Dec 24, 2018 – Jan 6, 2019 Phone: No Website: No Facebook: No Email: No Free WiFi: No Austrian Debit Cards: No Credit Cards: No Bathroom Facilities: No Dogs Welcome: Yes Seating Available: Bar stools Outdoor Seating Area: No
Natürlich Wrenkh is a tiny vegetarian organic self-service restaurant, which gets very crowded during lunch hours. You pay for your food at the counter, and there are a few bar stools with high tables for seating.
The restaurant offers lunch specials: one kind of soup (4.20 Euros) and one kind of entrée (small: 6.00 Euros, large: 8.30 Euros, 9.50 Euros for both). You can order the entrée with a salad instead of soup (9.90 Euros). Unfortunately, quite often neither the soup nor the entrée is vegan, so you are stuck with the salad buffet (small: 6.00 Euros, large: 8.50 Euros) or can order rice-vegetable patties (2.50 Euros). (2019 prices, which are due to change in the future.)
These are some of the salads prepared at Natürlich Wrenkh: broccoli and nutmeg, green beans and black beans and avocados, quinoa and vegetables, cucumber and arugula. During one of my visits I ordered a vegan beet soup, which was available on that day.
I liked the food, but didn’t really enjoy myself at Natürlich Wrenkh. The tiny restaurant gets too crowded at lunchtime, and the bar stool seating is uncomfortable. As there are no customer bathrooms at Natürlich Wrenkh, there are better choices for vegans in the area.
Original blog post: December 7, 2019 by Ingrid Haunold Updates to this blog entry will be posted at a future date
Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated December 18, 2019.
Address: Drahtgasse 2, 1010 Vienna Opening Hours: Mondays – Saturdays 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Closed on Sundays and on public holidays. (2019 opening hours, which might change in the future.) Company Holidays: Dec 23 – 27, 2018, May 1 – 2, 2019. Phone: +43-(0)676-3008 763 Website: https://www.simplyrawbakery.at/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplyrawbakery Email: seeyou@simplyrawbakery.at Free WiFi: Yes Debit Cards: Yes Credit Cards: JCB, MasterCard, Visa Bathroom Facilities: No Dogs Welcome: Yes Seating Available: Yes Outdoor seating area: Yes, in a pedestrian zone
Simply Raw Bakery, which opened in 2014, is owned by Gabriele Danek, who bakes vegan and organic no-sugar-added sweets. They are gluten-free and contain no soy products either. None of her sweets are heated above 42°C.
Breakfast is available all day (several kinds to choose from, 6.90 – 8.90 Euros). Smoothies (5.90 Euros), plant-based milkshakes (5.90 Euros), and fresh pressed juices (5.90 Euros) are also available throughout the day. At lunchtime, you could order the Buddha bowl (14.90 Euros), stuffed Avocado (9.90 Euros), salads (9.90 – 10.90 Euros), or sandwiches (5.90 – 11.90 Euros). Leave some room for dessert, Simply Raw Bakery has delicious waffles (5.90 Euros), Tiramisu (6,90), chocolate mousse (5.90 Euros), and raw vegan cakes (6.50 Euros per piece). They also have wonderful homemade lemonade. (2019 prices, which are due to change in the future.)
Original blog post: December 16, 2019 by Ingrid Haunold Updates to this blog entry will be posted at a future date.
Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated December 18, 2019.
Address: Hollandstraße 16, 1020 Vienna Opening Hours: Mondays – Fridays 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM (until 10:00 PM in the summer), Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM (until 10:00 PM in the summer). (2019 opening hours, which might change in the future.) Company Holidays: Dec 19 – 27, 2018, Dec 31, 2018 – Jan 4, 2019, reduced opening hours Dec 28 – 30, 2018 Phone: +43-(0)699-1166 0092 Website: http://www.fettundzucker.at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fettundzucker Email: office@fettundzucker.at Free WiFi: Yes Debit Cards: No Credit Cards: No Bathroom Facilities: Yes Dogs Welcome: Yes Seating Available: Yes Outdoor seating area: Yes
Fett + Zucker, which opened in 2011, is a small vegetarian café. Vegan apple crumble cake (3.60 Euros) and banana bread (3.00 Euros) are always available. Bohnenstrudel (strudel with beans and a vegan yoghurt dip with chives, 4.50 Euros) is a seasonal dish, and a typical regional dish in Burgenland, one of Austria’s nine states, where owner Eva-Maria Trimmel was born and raised. Try the vegan tofu scramble, one of my favorite dishes at this café. My only complaint is that the serving size is very small, but it only costs 2.00 Euros. Order some toast and vegan spreads (4.20 Euros) with your scramble. I also like the vegan blueberry cheesecake (3.60 Euros). (2019 prices, which are due to change in the future.)
At Fett + Zucker, you order and pay at the counter, but your food is served at the table. There’s free WiFi, the café is wheelchair accessible, and dogs are welcome.
Original blog post: December 18, 2019 by Ingrid Haunold Updates to this blog entry will be posted at a future date.
Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated December 23, 2019.
Address: Obere Augartenstraße 70/L7, 1020 Vienna Opening Hours: Mondays 12:00 noon – 7:00 PM, Tuesdays – Fridays: 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM; Saturdays: opening hours depend on the weather. Closed on Sundays and on public holidays. Shorter opening hours during the winter months. (2019 opening hours, which might change in the future.) Company Holidays: Jan 1-6, 2019 Phone: +43-(0)699-8196 4095 Website: No Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lowveganextra/ Email: lowveganextra@gmail.com Free WiFi: No Debit Cards: No Credit Cards: No Bathroom Facilities: No Dogs Welcome: Yes Seating Available: No Schanigarten: No
Omas Backstube (translation: grandma’s bakery) is a tiny bakery which sells vegan bread and various vegan baked goods. The bakery has been in existence for several years, but started offering only vegan baked goods in September 2018. (Cow’s milk is available for teas and coffees, and some non-vegan industrial ice cream in individual portions is also sold.)
All the baked goods are made with spelt flour (bread, buns, cakes, etc.), and sugar substitutes are often used for baking. Individual slices of cake cost between 3.20 and 3.90 Euros. (2019 prices, which are due to change in the future.) I love the mango cheesecake, fruit tartelettes, cinnamon rolls, and apricot crumble. It is not uncommon for Omas Backstube to close early, when everything’s sold out. I love that Saturday’s opening hours depend on the weather – check their Facebook page for updates.
Original blog post: December 20, 2019 by Ingrid Haunold Updates to this blog entry will be posted at a future date.
Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated December 23, 2019.
Address: Wiedner Hauptstraße 37, 1040 Vienna Opening Hours: Mondays – Fridays 11:30 AM – 4:00 PM. Closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and on public holidays. (2019 opening hours, which might change in the future.) Company Holidays: Dec 21, 2018 – Jan 6, 2019, Aug 1 – Sept 8, 2019. Phone: +43-(0)660- 862 90 01 Website: No Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diekochdame Email: kochdame.judith@gmail.com Free WiFi: Yes Debit Cards: No Credit Cards: No Bathroom Facilities: No Dogs Welcome: Yes Seating Available: Counter seating with bar stools and one table with regular chairs Outdoor seating area: Yes
Die Kochdame is a small vegetarian restaurant which opened in 2018. It only has one table with chairs and counter seating on bar stools for a few additional people. Many customers order take-away. Die Kochdame (translation: lady, who cooks) prepares one or two daily soups (small: 2.90 Euros, large: 4.50 Euros), one entrée with a side salad (9.50 Euros), one pasta dish (8.90 Euros), and one dessert (3.20 Euros). Most of those dishes are vegan, non-vegan cheese toppings or ingredients are offered for vegetarians. Many organic, regional, and seasonal ingredients are use to prepare the food. Wine and beer is also available at this small restaurant. (2019 prices, which are due to change in the future.)
Original blog post: December 22, 2019 by Ingrid Haunold Updates to this blog entry will be posted at a future date.
Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated December 23, 2019.
Address: Stumpergasse 57, 1060 Vienna Opening Hours: Mondays – Fridays 8:00 AM – 7:30 PM, Saturdays 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Closed on Sundays and on public holidays. (2019 opening hours, which might change in the future.) Company Holidays: On December 24, they usually close early, at appr. 1:00 PM Phone: +43-(0)1-595 49 00 Website: https://maranvegan.at/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maranvegan Email: maran@maranvegan.at Free WiFi: Yes Debit Cards: Yes Credit Cards: MasterCard, Visa Bathroom Facilities: Yes Dogs Welcome: No Seating Available: Counter seating with bar stools and regular tables and chairs Outdoor Seating Area: No
Maran Vegan is a vegan supermarket with an in-store vegan bistro. Many years ago, Stefan and Josefine Maran opened one of the first organic grocery stores in Vienna, subsequently opened several additional branches, and thereby helped establish organic products as “mainstream” in Vienna. They eventually sold their stores, and after a two-year hiatus opened Maran Vegan in 2013, the first vegan supermarket in Vienna. Approximately 95 % of all items sold at their store are organic as well as vegan.
I love, love, love their store. It’s such a pleasure being able to choose whatever I like – and not having to read the labels. Everything’s vegan at this store. The owners and staff are all vegetarians or vegans, and are very helpful.
Fruits and vegetables are provided by an organic farm outside of Vienna. Maran Vegan sells hard-to-come-by products like vegan tooth paste with added Vitamin B12.
The vegan bistro has the same opening hours as the store, so you can eat breakfast there (7.90 – 10.80 Euros). The bistro has lunch specials: soup (3.80 Euros) and one entrée (7.90 Euros), dhal with rice (4.70 Euros), various snacks, and a selection of salads (small: 4.90 Euros, large: 6.90 Euros). (2019 prices, which are due to change in the future.) Bread and pastries from various bakeries are sold at this bistro, and during the Viennese Carnival season, you can buy Krapfen, one of my favorite pastries.
Original blog post: December 23, 2019 by Ingrid Haunold Updates to this blog entry will be posted at a future date.
Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist and last updated October 27, 2016.
Update (October 2018): This restaurant closed in May 2018.
Swing Kitchen is an Austrian vegan fast food chain, there are currently two restaurants in Vienna, Austria’s capital. Both of them are included in my restaurant guide, The Vegan Tourist: Vienna. A third branch – owned and operated by a franchisee – opened in September 2016 in the shopping mall Shopping City Süd, which is located just outside of Vienna in Vösendorf, in the state of Lower Austria. (Süd means “South,” and the word indicates that the shopping mall is located South of Vienna.) I believe Shopping City Süd is the largest shopping mall in all of Europe, so it’s a perfect choice for another Swing Kitchen restaurant.
Swing Kitchen’s owners, Charlie and Irene Schillinger, also own the very popular vegan restaurant Gasthaus Schillinger in Großmugl, in the state of Lower Austria. At Swing Kitchen, you get high-quality vegan fast food: you can choose between various burgers (5.20 – 5.90 Euros) and wraps (6.80 Euros), French Fries (2.90 Euros), Onion Rings (3.50 Euros), and Vegan Nuggets (4.50 Euros). Salads und excellent desserts – Tiramisu, Cheesecake, a raspberry-yoghurt-poppy seed cake, or an almond-nougat-dessert – are also available.
At Shopping City Süd, Swing Kitchen is located on the mall’s upper level, in the food court, shop number 269. Opening hours are Mondays – Wednesdays, Fridays 9:30 AM – 7:30 PM, Thursdays 9:30 AM – 9:00 PM, Saturdays 9:00 AM – 6:30 PM. The restaurant and shopping mall are closed on Sundays and on public holidays.
Website: http://www.swingkitchen.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SwingKitchen Email: office@swingkitchen.com Free WiFi: Yes Debit Cards: Yes Credit Cards: No Bathroom Facilities: Yes, in the shopping mall Dogs Welcome: Yes, leashed dogs are allowed in the shopping mall and in the restaurant Non-Smoking: Yes Seating Available: Yes
Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist on July 8, 2014, and updated in October 2018.
Update (October 2018): This restaurant closed in May 2017. The owners, Charlie and Irene Schillinger, concentrate on their wildly successful new venture, Swing Kitchen, a vegan fast food chain. The have opened five locations in Austria so far (a sixth is scheduled to open soon in Vienna’s 1st district). Two restaurants will open within the next few months in Berlin, and one in Bern, Switzerland.
I finally made it to the vegan restaurant Schillinger last Sunday. The restaurant has a stellar reputation amongst vegans in Austria. I don’t think there’s a single vegan in the country who’s never heard of it. It is that famous.
So it was high time that I made the trek there myself. And it is quite a trek. Schillinger is located about an hour north of Vienna, in the county Lower Austria, in a tiny village called Großmugl. It is only accessible by car (there’s no train station in the village). As I don’t own a car, I never quite managed to make it all the way to Großmugl. But last Sunday I finally got my chance: a car, three people, and a motion-sick dog (who threw up thrice in the car during this trip) arrived at Schillinger at 4:30 PM in the afternoon – quite famished – and sampled the menu.
All the food at Schillinger is vegan, and there are many dishes to choose from. I am happy to report that the restaurant’s excellent reputation is justified.
Between the three of us, we shared two appetizers, a double-sized entree, and two desserts. I didn’t get to taste one of the appetizers, Frittatensuppe, but apparently it was very good (2.80 Euros including tax). Frittaten are crepes cut into small pieces, and Frittatensuppe is an Austrian specialty.
I ordered the fried (mock meat) “duck,” which was served hot. It was marinated in a soy & chilli sauce, and served with sweet peppers on a bed of salad. Very good! (4.90 Euros).
As an entree, the three of us shared the so-called “house plate,” meant for two people (24.00 Euros), which is basically a sampler of various mock meats with French fries, coleslaw, salad, and herb butter (all vegan, of course). The platter was so big, and there was so much food, even the three of us couldn’t quite finish it. It was delicious.
For dessert, we ordered panna cotta (with mango pulp, pistachios, and whipped cream (3.50 Euros), and tiramisu dumplings with strawberry pulp and a compote of peaches (4.50 Euros). I liked the tiramisu dumplings, but I loved the panna cotta.
All in all – food, plus three soft drinks, three glasses of wine, one double espresso -, we spent 55.10 Euros (including taxes), plus tips. The restaurant is so popular that guests kept showing up all through the afternoon to eat, and it started to really fill up when we left at about 6:30 PM. If you want to visit Schillinger – and you should – you absolutely have to send them an Email and make a reservation at least a week in advance.
The restaurant is currently owned by Karl “Charlie” Schillinger and his wife Irene. The restaurant first opened its doors in 1793 – that’s not a typo. Eight generations of “Schillinger” have continuously owned and managed the restaurant. The current owners decided to turn it into a vegan restaurant – due to huge demand. According to the information on their website, they first started cooking vegetarian dishes for friends, who told their friends about it, who spread the word even further, and so on. That’s why one of the best vegan restaurants in the country is located in a tiny village in Lower Austria. It’s a huge success story, and proof that there’s great demand for vegan restaurants everywhere.
Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist on 20 January 2014, and last updated May 25, 2019.
Update May 25, 2019: While the bookstore is still in business, it no longer functions as a vegan café.
Original blog post:
It takes a brave soul (or two) to open a bookstore in this day and age, when most people seem to buy their books on Amazon (guilty!) or download them from the Internet onto their E-Readers.
My friend Stefanie Klamuth and her boyfriend Pablo Hörtner recently both quit well-paying corporate jobs to open a “radically left” book store and vegan café in Vienna.
At Librería Utopía you won’t find the latest mainstream bestsellers, but books – old and new – on far-left politics, history and philosophy, which are usually hard to come by. You’ll also find books on their shelves which question/criticise the status quo of our society, which inform readers about feminism and gay/lesbian issues, and books about religion or vegetarian cooking.
You’ll also find alternative children’s books, and specialty travel guides like Jewish Vienna (available both in German and English, by publishing house mandelbaum). By the way, this book costs 15.80 Euros (English version) at Librería Utopía, but 19.90 Euros on “Amazon.de”. It’s worth every cent, so stop by their store and buy it, before you start your sightseeing tour of Vienna.
Author’s readings and other events are organized frequently at the store, which is made available as a meeting space for NGOs. Check their website for updates.
Librería Utopía is not just a bookstore, but also a vegan café, which looks and feels like Stefanie’s and Pablo’s own personal living room. Drinks are prized very moderately (1.60 Euros for mineral water, 2.20 Euros for a café latte). There are no fixed prices for the vegan snacks they offer. You pay what you think is fair. There’s free WiFi, and dogs are welcome. Even puppies, which are not yet housebroken (thank you for that!).
