Familie Reiter

Review

Family dinner

Lukas Reiter cooked at the legendary luxury restaurant Korso during Reinhard Gerer's last phase, was then seconded to the Palazzo gourmet circus and finally accompanied Bernie Rieder through various kitchens. Not necessarily jobs that you would describe as "chilled", "I wouldn't want to miss any of these experiences, but I wouldn't want to repeat any of them either", he says. And after two years cooking at the Meidlinger Markt-Beisl Heu und Gabel, he and his partner Marlies Mayer decided in spring to do something of their own: something small, something manageable, something unhectic, something that you can do 100 percent yourself. This is a very important point and probably the reason why the catering industry currently has an existential employee problem rather than the medium-low pay: Hardly anyone wants to do the stressful job that doesn't allow for a family or social life. Lukas Reiter does, but according to his own rules. He and his partner took over the former Café Mimi, a gluten-free vintage café in the so-called "Einkaufsgarten", a local store ensemble in the courtyard of a Biedermeier house in Lainz. They plugged in two induction plates and turned it into a pretty, bright, somewhat very colorful daytime eatery with an awning terrace. Of course he knows that Hietzing is not an easy place, says Lukas Reiter, but if you are friendly to them, it works with the people of Hietzing, "after all, they just want to eat". And Reiter has a really good concept: the main focus is actually on breakfast, and with his thoroughly modern early meal made mainly from regional and organic ingredients, he has a certain unique selling point in the area; you have to make a reservation at the weekend. There is also an attractive, small menu of the day, which includes a wild herb salad, which, in addition to pickled Maiwipferl and fresh figs, really does consist of quite a lot of wild herbs (€ 4.50). The good beef tartare is made from Weinviertel organic meat from Wagyū beef and should perhaps not be so strongly seasoned (€ 11.80), the main course of the day was an attractively roasted turnip and potato gröstl, which could also be tuned with sausages of Thum ham on request (€ 13.50). And when something is out, it's out, and if something is not delivered by the farmer, then it simply isn't there, "people have to learn that first", says Lukas Reiter. In summary: cooking without a big team and only the things that are delivered fresh by the farmers. But with wit and finesse.

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