Stephanie Y.
Yelp
Plachutta Plachuuuuutttaa! Thank you for being in Rick Steve's tour guide book and thank goodness we got lost touring Vienna, Austria otherwise we would have never found you on this quaint little corner.
My family and I were in Vienna and stumbled upon Plachutta. My dad was really hungry (hungry dad = no bueno) and we were definitely not dressed to impress (typical tourist dress- comfy walking shoes, jeans, a shirt and "wind-breaker/all purpose" jacket along with hats, backpacks and cameras hanging from what seemed to be every limb on our body) just give us an American flag to wave around and we would have been the "hideous American tourist family." Despite our lackluster appearance, Plachutta did not discriminate! (PLUS 1)
We walked in and quickly realized this place is pretty "shnazzy" and sophisticated-looking. Not that my family is not sophisticated, but we definitely looked like the more rugged Brady bunch with all of our clunky gear. Nonetheless, the hostess asked if we had made any reservations and we said no, we had not. This was not a problem and we were seated in the outdoor patio area in no time. (PLUS 1)
The waiter was prompt and we were seated immediately with complimentary bread and butter to start. My family ordered a bottle of wine but I opted to try something different. I had been drinking Almdudler the whole trip so I asked for a recommendation from the waiter. He suggested cranberry kombucha. I had never had kombucha anywhere... I mean, sure I'd seen it in the refridgerated beverage aisle at Whole Foods but I had never dreamed of actually wanting to drink a fermented fruit beverage. He promised me that I'd like it and yup. He was spot on with that one! The Cranberry Kombucha was AMAZING. It was fermented just to the point where the flavor had barely turned and the beverage had an organic sparkling essence to it. I still think about how good that kombucha was and no kombucha at Whole Foods will ever be able to replicate what I had a Plachutta. (PLUS 1)
Now onto the main course, we ordered 2 traditional Viennese boiling beef pots with different cuts of meat. I really wanted to try the cow head but my parents were not too fond of the idea of a boiled calf-head in a pot. I thought it'd be tasty... we opted for two of the more "tame" options. Coming from an Asian Family, we boil beef to make soup, and toss the meat out because it's typically lost it's flavor into the soup or the meat is too tough to consume.. (very wasteful, I know). However, this boiling beef pot at Plachutta was not only tender, it was seasoned and the broth hit the spot with warm carrots and root vegetables. YUM. We were a bunch of happy tourists. (PLUS 1)
As crazy tourists, the waiter definitely knew how to help us out. He asked if we had ever eaten Boiled Beef before and we said no. So, he gave us table-service and served us. I'm sure he probably did this for every table, but he was just THAT GOOD (Attentive/nice/social) that it felt like we were his only guests. He taught us what sauces to mix with what, what flavors to put on which side dishes and important things like that for us to get the full Viennese-culinary experience. (PLUS 1)
FIVE "plus 1's" makes me rate this place a definite 5 stars. Don't forget to make your way to the washrooms. The hallway/staircase leading down to the ladies/mens room is lined with framed and autographed photos of the people who have dined at Plachutta. There's some pretty famous people there. :)
One last thing that really topped off the night was the dessert bowl on the way out. I grabbed a few mints (usually a handful... so my breath won't be kickin') and it turned out that the mints were not only hard-candied mints, they were filled with chocolate! How delightful! Seriously, I wish I had dumped the whole bowl into my purse. SO GOOD. Don't forget to grab one on your way out!