stadt.Allee

Review

Everything is possible

The "canteen" no longer exists. No more inexpensive lunch menus in a purist ambience, no more friendly encounters over an open Pilsner, no more relaxed hanging out in the beautiful courtyard garden, from where the Mariahilfer street commerce could only be heard as a subtle murmur. Instead, in that courtyard at Mariahilfer Straße 101 (near the Zieglergasse subway station) we now have a Stadt Allee, the latest addition to Philipp Pracser's gastronomic success story.
Four years ago, the bowling hall operator opened a BBQ restaurant with Eastern chic in Hauptallee, a year later he miraculously got a lease for his mega-establishment on the Danube Canal just before the new tender and some time ago he also snapped up the wonderful Konstantineck in Prater to turn it into an ice cream parlour. The takeover in the 101er-Hof went smoothly, we hear. The owner of the canteen wanted to quit anyway. And the fact that the Elektro Gönner next door closed at the same time has less to do with Pracser than with the property management, say neighbors. Incidentally, Stadt Allee not only took over the location and website of the canteen and turned the guest garden into a pseudo-elegant winter garden with a wooden floor, natural wood wall cladding, catalog furniture and vending machine music. The store opposite is now also part of it and is soon to be wintergardened. Inside, Prascer has refurbished his Stadt Allee to look just like such restaurants do today: Tiles, an open kitchen, leather stools and an old bicycle on the wall. The former canteen is also intended to be an "all-purpose" restaurant, much like the Freiraum eight doors down: breakfast, cocktail bar, schnitzel, steak, burgers, bowls, homemade iced tea and the Robata grill, which is also known from the Freiraum. They also serve smoked food from the Prater restaurant, which I imagine is logistically difficult. Currently on every menu: ceviche, this time made from salmon trout and served with bean puree, charred baby kukuruz and green leaves. It has little to do with the taste, but looks pretty, and that's the point (€ 15.-). During the conversion phase, sandwiches were available as take-aways, two of which were left on the menu. The one with well-cooked beef, melted cheddar and pickled onions was okay, but not exactly a mezzie (€ 14.-), sauce costs extra (€ 3.50). The fact that the tasty leaves of the wild broccoli were plucked away and only the bland stalks were used is weird, but peanuts and black garlic were also included. Cooking by color (€ 4.-) In summary: One of the last bastions of authenticity on the Mahü gave way to commerce. In other words: nothing better came along. Stadt Allee

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