Horst Scheuer presents dinner for two at Skopik & Lohn
While we’ve only been here a few times, we’re big fans of this Vienna-meets-New-York dining establishment in the Karmeliterviertel. Overly optimistic, we went on Valentine’s Day without a reservation. Upon entering we were promptly told it would be difficult to find us a table, but the boss himself, Horst Scheurer (who is often part of the wait staff and sits with regulars to chat) recommended a few nearby places like Das Engel. We sighed and were on our way when he came running out the door.
“Wait!”, he approached us on the sidewalk. “I can get you a table for an hour and a half.”
Inside, the interior is striking, with wild scribblings of black paint all over the white ceilings. The waiters wear white coats, but have not a snobbish bone in their bodies. The place is packed with couples and groups laughing telling stories or whispering sweet nothings to each other.
We started with a bottle of Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner, a green salad with pomegranate and water cress, and the beef tartare with octopus and avocado served with a spiced brioche as toast. The salad was fresh and tart, thanks to the cress and pomegranate seeds and the tartare was deliciously spiced and especially the brioche was entirely delish.
As mains we had the buckwheat blini with saffron apple, radish and fig. It was like a blini sandwich stuffed with the apple and radish in a sauerkraut consistency, but utterly enjoyable. We also had the “lamb’s best” which was all kinds of lamb, served with corn semolina, aubergine and what they called tomatoes, but what was really the best little portion of ratatouille we had ever tasted. The food is inspired and artfully served in a place that remains the only authentic bite of the Big Apple-feeling in Vienna.
Our suggestion for finding the perfect dish for you would be to stick to the carnivorous courses rather than the fish and veggie choices, because they know how to handle their meat.
In summer, its divine outdoor seating is surrounded by low hedges creating and intimately french feel. Every time we go here we find another reason to love it and while it’s not always the food, it seldom disappoints.
Oh yeah, reserve ahead.
Leopoldsgasse 17,
1020 Vienna
+43 1 2198977
Tue-Sat 18:00 – 1:00
