Wallsé
Austrian restaurant · West Village ·
Modern Austrian fare with a fine art collection on walls
![Wallsé by Wallsé [Official]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67056326/strudel_1569942121074.0.jpg "Wallsé by Wallsé [Official]")
Modern Austrian fare with a fine art collection on walls
"I found Kurt Gutenbrunner’s Wallse to be a quaint, tree-shaded spot that keeps Austrian food feeling fresh and modern; the three-course $60 dinner might begin with smoked trout crepes, move to a crisp cod strudel or a bavette steak with bone marrow, and finish with a chilled melon soup." - Robert Sietsema
"In the midst of modern New York, Wallsé evokes a sense of place and a reverence for history." - MICHELIN Guide
"In the midst of modern New York, Wallsé evokes a sense of place and a reverence for history. However, those who may think Austrian food is all Wiener schnitzel and apple strudel should think again, because this cuisine is itself made up of a host of influences, stretching from Italy all the way to the Balkans. Chef Kurt Gutenbrunner and his kitchen also demonstrate how cuisines can evolve to respect contemporary tastes without compromising their integrity. There are plenty of classics, including quark spaetzle with succulent, tender rabbit, on offer, but there are also lighter dishes, like cod with squash and chanterelles.This two-roomed restaurant exudes romance, so if you’re here on a date, don't skip dessert and share a Sachertorte." - Michelin Inspector
"Wallsé’s Easter lunch and dinner includes dishes like spring pea soup with lobster ravioli, white asparagus with ham, parsley crusted lamb, and schnitzel among selections. Finish off the meal with Austrian desserts like apple strudel or sachertorte. It’s $95 per person." - Melissa McCart
"Occupying the ground floor of two West Village townhouses, Wallsé has a pair of dining rooms — a lively corner barroom and a more secluded hideaway with partly obscured windows — plastered with avant-garde art (including a Julian Schnabel portrait of chef Kurt Gutenbrunner). An easy bonhomie pervaded the barroom the night I visited; by 8 p.m. on a Tuesday the place was filling up and ultimately thronged, with patrons still dining late. We started with caviar: tiny heaps topping three stumpy palatschinken ($29) filled with smoked trout and served with a hazelnut-strewn endive salad slicked with a sharp sherry vinaigrette; the restaurant also offers a formal caviar service ($110) presented with palatschinken rather than blini. Appetizers included a beet salad, foie gras terrine with pear sorbet, and beef tartare with rye crisp and more caviar. From the medium-size dishes we tried rabbit spaetzle ($30), which was comforting but overly creamy, while the entrees arrive as giant, meal-sized plates. The wiener schnitzel ($44) is the centerpiece: two veal cutlets pounded to abject tenderness and cooked to a perfect medium brown, dressed conventionally with potato salad, a sharp cucumber salad, and a ramekin of lingonberry jelly. The venison stew ($46) had generous hunks of deer that were excessively fibrous and nearly flavorless, though the midnight-brown gravy was fabulous; the softball-size potato dumpling alongside was perfect — ask for two dumplings and gravy and skip the venison for a fine meal. The wine list is a deep, fun collection of Austrian vintners, and the cocktails were fantastic and not too sweet (I loved the tomate, $19, with tomato water and pepper-infused vodka). For dessert we had the Salzburger nockerl ($15), a huckleberry-syrup–underpinned soufflé dusted with powdered sugar that proved the perfect, utterly satisfying conclusion. It remains Kurt Gutenbrunner’s flagship location, serving fine Viennese cuisine with a modern twist." - Robert Sietsema
