Erich

Review

Ulrich's fat bread

Photo: Heribert Corn No, the restaurant has nothing to do with the hairdresser. But it has all the more to do with Gerald Bayer, the old motto warhorse, who took over the somewhat run-down Spatzennest restaurant on St.-Ulrichs-Platz two years ago and turned it into a restaurant for successful young people that can hardly be surpassed in terms of friendliness. This Ulrich is full to bursting every day, and you sometimes have to book six weeks in advance for breakfast, which is why he has now taken over another restaurant just a few baroque and Biedermeier houses away: the former Café Nepomuk, a tiny vaulted restaurant that had already achieved considerable status in terms of patina. Bayer had the plaster knocked off the vault and painted white, sunk a ventilation system into the floor, installed a bar, which he covered with gold foil just like the tiny extra room, and gave a piece of the ceiling a kind of cat's head plafond, with the result that the tiny vaulted bar has become a casual café-bar called Erich, which is not only far more appetizing to look at than the Nepomuk ever was, but also looks quite a bit more dramatic than the wunderkind Ulrich.
And particularly pleasing: Gerald Bayer and his chefs have come up with a menu for the little Erich that is rarely found in a small café-bar in Vienna, but certainly should be: namely with highly enjoyable finger food, uncomplicated and easy to eat without fuss and accompanied by a glass of beer or a cocktail, pretty much the best you can imagine in such situations. Tacos, for example, which have been somewhat popular in Vienna since last summer anyway, although not always as good as here. The avocado, sheep's cheese, bean cream, leek, salsa and coriander lime taco, for example, is definitely great and is one of the best vegetarian options currently available in the city (1 piece € 3.00, 3 pieces € 7.50). It's hard to say whether the taco with calamari, rocket, lime-chilli mayo and crispy quinoa was even better; I would say not by a long shot (1 pc. € 3.50, 3 pcs. € 9.50).
There are also imaginatively composed "bowls" with quite a lot of superfood, but I didn't try one of the "grilled cheese sandwiches", without any superfood, but in the case of the sheep's cheese and braised onion version with a nice salad and a deep dish of fabulous cumin salsa, an incredibly good, fat sandwich, or four of them (€ 8.50). What a great snack! There are also skewers, pieces of corn on the cob with Manchego and chili, for example (€ 1.50), tofu with tomato and bell pepper salsa (€ 2.00) or salmon with lemon, olive oil and herbs (€ 2.50). It's fun to eat with your hands, it makes sense to eat with your hands. To sum up: a tiny vaulted bar that has been transformed from a "Tschocherl" into a gilded vaulted bar with the best bar food in town. Erich 7, Neustiftgasse 27 Tel. 01/890 64 00 daily 9am-2pm

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