Das Steindl

Review

Regular guest's delight

There are the beautiful Parade inns that everyone knows and that are photographed for advertising brochures. Then there are the wonderful Parade inns that are only known to insiders and inn lovers, such as the Gasthaus zum Sieg, the Weinhaus Pfandler, the Friedensrichter or the Gasthaus Stafler (which is urgently looking for new operators!).And then there are the real treasures, where no one but the loyal regulars stray. Gasthaus Steindl is one of these: actually just a stone's throw from Alser Straße U6 station, but then a little hidden at the corner of Kinderspitalgasse/Zimmermanngasse. The windows covered with frosted glass or curtains didn't exactly help to make it well known. You could neither see nor guess that behind it was a 100-year-old, immaculate inn ensemble and a bar from the 1950s, and that the legendary Holstein schnitzel was served here. In any case, the Steindl brothers retired in the spring. They were looking for a successor, otherwise they would have had to hand over the premises swept clean, "but only swindlers came". Then Philipp Gaier heard about it. Gaier not only lives around the corner and always liked going to the Steindl, he is also the tax consultant for a garage group, so he knows a thing or two about business. One text message later he was sitting with the Steindls, the day after that with the owners of the house. Gaier's family and employer took the news that he was now also a landlord in their stride. What's more, he had known Heidi Mayrhofer - a journalist for many years, a brilliant chef and an experienced restaurateur who had just finished her Zuppa project - since his youth. Everything fell into place, the two of them founded a society called Neigungsgruppe Schankkultur, cleared out the restaurant a little, hung the lights higher, made the windows transparent, renovated the kitchen and hygiene rooms. And now the most important thing: the regulars - the oldest has been there every day for 41 years - like it. Even if there are other, better wines to drink and, of course, other people come now. Perhaps because the crispy potato and cheese balls with pesto (€ 11.50) or the home-made beef aspic with seed oil (€ 12.90) are so good, because the potato puree is perfect with the crispy meat patties (€ 16.90) or because there is a heavenly rice meat (€ 17.90). But probably because Gasthaus Steindl still/again exists. A 100-year-old inn is allowed to live on. With new cuisine, fragrant toilets, delicious rice meat and old regulars.

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