Al Banco Aperibar

Review

Bankers are people too

Photo: Heribert Corn The Quartier Belvedere - which for the time being actually only consists of the so-called Erste Campus - is a strange place. During office hours, bankers bustle around, at lunchtime an estimated 5,000 people want to eat at the same time in half an hour, from 8 p.m. there is silence, from 10 p.m. and because bankers don't want to be surrounded by people who look just like themselves when they eat, care was taken when designing the culinary facilities on the Erste Campus to ensure that people who don't wear light blue shirts and smart suits can also go there.
For example, to the Campus-Bräu beer bar (opened two years ago), to the Californian-Japanese Iki advised by Mochi or to the recently opened branch of the Munich soup-sandwich-salad chain Dean & David. Unfortunately, you can't get into this upmarket canteen with its spectacular terrace without an invitation from the bank, but Al Banco opened two months ago and it's not so bad either. And it's not so bad because Regina Baumgartner, who previously worked at Lauda Air and then in event marketing for Casinos Austria and the press, thought a bit about the topic of "Italian food on a bank campus" and didn't just do what would have been easiest: another upmarket pizzeria.
No, Al Banco doesn't serve pizza at all, but it does have a chef, Matteo Paternoster, who comes from the Veneto region and was responsible for the pasta dishes at Fabios in previous years.
And because Ms Baumgartner hopes that her bright, perhaps a little staid restaurant will not only be stormed at lunchtime, but that the bankers might also fancy a little Italian after-work relaxation, there are also Campari cocktails, Negroni and three different tramezzini with the promise of Venetian authenticity (Italian bread!). The triple-decker with ham, mushrooms and just the right amount of mayonnaise was really good (€ 3.50). From 11 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. there is also real food, such as the house salad, which Regina Baumgartner is very proud of, with or without various toppings, asparagus salad with strawberries or impeccable oven-baked peppers stuffed with couscous, olives, capers and white bits (mozzarella?) (€ 9). And of course pasta, the cannelloni with ricotta-green asparagus filling, ham and roasted white asparagus was really very okay (€ 10). The coffee is from Faenza and probably the best in the area, the beers are Theresianer and Peroni, very good, and you should allow a little time to pay, because it can take a while for the bankers to deduct their discounts using a special card.
Summary: A bankers' canteen open to the public, which is much better and much more Italian than it should be. Al Banco, 10th, Am Belvedere 1, tel. 050 100-14600, Mon-Fri 8.30am-2pm,

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