Das Prost

Review

Mushrooms were yesterday

If you used to be out and about in Liesinger Mauer and wanted to go out for a meal but didn't fancy a Heurigen or pizza, the odds were stacked against you. Three kilometers to Stasta, three and a half to Split, the wonderful Gasthaus Napoleonwald closed last year, the Schwammerlwirt three years ago. And in the latter case, the departure was particularly hard: family business since 1899, social center of the neighborhood, classic venue for the funeral feast after funerals at the Maurer cemetery, cordial innkeepers, a historic bar and a fantastic garden. No, there were no better mushrooms at the Schwammerlwirt than anywhere else during the season, but hikers and mushroom hunters have always swapped their spoils over a cold beer in the Prost family's garden, hence the name. But sometimes the tide turns for the better. Because the Schwammerlwirt did not close for good, but was in fact renovated from the ground up and renamed "Das Prost". It took three years to clear out, says Alexander Kristen, son-in-law of the last Schwammerlwirt owners, and even though it all took much longer than planned, it wasn't such a bad thing, "because that's how I really got to know the place. And it gave me a certain respect for the building. Wall paintings that came to light during the renovation were preserved, the old bar was gutted and modernized, antique furniture was restored and elements from the 124-year history of the pub became tasteful decorations. Alexander Kristen is not only a man with a flair for renovations, he has also worked with some really great chefs. These include Alex Atala in São Paulo, currently one of the best chefs in the world, but above all Mario Lohninger, who virtually reinvented Viennese cuisine together with David Bouley in New York's Danube and then continued to do so quite well in his restaurant in Frankfurt.
Somehow you can tell: ping-pong ball-sized Grammelknöderln, fluffy and al dente at the same time, with a firm, lukewarm coleslaw, wonderful (€ 12.-/16.-); an elegant beef soup with semolina dumplings with a very tender semolina center, great school (€ 6.20). Two weeks ago, the menu even included a fawn's leg, fawn's leg, please! Okay, not quite as good as the one I make, but still great (€ 19.80). And then a stuffed bell pepper that was simply terrific, à la bonne heure, as they say in Vienna (€ 15.40). Not a single mushroom, but that was really bearable. Summary: An important restaurant for Mauer has been sensitively and tastefully renovated. And it serves Viennese cuisine like no other.

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