Vienna – Restaurant /Bar – Steman, Otto-Bauer-Gasse

This morning I was going out with the intention just to have a quick breakfast in the local area of Neubau/Mariahilf and then in to town to visit The Belvedere and its gardens while the weather is good. I got ready to sit down at a table outside a bar/restaurant in this local area, when I noticed my table was reserved – then went in to see if I could sit in side, – it was quite busy in there, looked quite formal too with all the tables covered with white table cloths and walls of dark wooden panels. Perhaps too much for a quick breakfast, i thought so I went on to go down to the city centre.

I didn’t get very far, as I popped into a quirky shop and found lots of inspiring things in there, including a map of Vienna made out of cloth that you just curl up and put in your pocket, like an old style handkerchief. I got talking to the woman behind the counter, who recommended places to see and visit, but then she said – ‘You must try out the bar/restaurant down at the corner – it is the best in town!’ – and yes it turned out to be the place I had just left.

So I went back and decided to have a light lunch in Gastwirtschaft STEMAN, as the place is called. The Steman team of waiters, all women, were welcoming and friendly and I had several people asking me how they could help, in a non-intrusive way. I quickly found out that there was no wi fi in there, and agreed with the person who told me that this was a good time to just relax for a while, and let the internet go.

The food I had was exquisite – a pancake with spinach and feta cheese, just heaven – which I ate with great appetite while drinking a massive non-alcoholic beer, had forgotten that most beers are served in pints/0.5 litre, so had enough to keep me going the whole afternoon if I wanted. If this pancake was anything to go by I would love to taste some of the other meals on the menu. That will be for next time, as I have decided to come back.

At the other tables, there were a mix of people eating, some had a business meeting going with computers on table, there were families with babies, people eating individually, and all in all a nice buzzing feel to it all. If I was going to take people out to eat in Vienna, this would be one of the places.