It's all about the cheese!
I love cheese! Pretty much all types of cheese - aged, young, ripe, flavored, soft, hard, French, Spanish, Austrian, from the cow, from the sheep and from the goat - and sometimes even from the buffalo. There are few culinary things that satisfy my tastebuds more than delicious cheese with crunchy bread and paired with a good glass of wine.
There is no doubt that Europe does cheese very well and you can also find delicious cheese plates here in Vienna. Selfless as I am, I sacrificed my waistline once again (after my two part series of coffee and cake tasting in The Ring-Part 1 and The Ring-Part 2) to find the best cheese plates in town for YOU!
WeinRaum
Across the street from the Theater in der Josefstadt in the 8th district is a tiny little wine bar called WeinRaum. It seems to be a family-run place with only two people working there. The wine selection is not huge but big enough to taste several whites and reds during the course of an evening. They have a lot of meat dishes to choose from but the vegetarian offer is fairly small - in fact, it was pretty much only the cheese plate. But boy oh boy, that cheese plate was delicious - and big! It came with 7 (!) different types of cheese, a fresh baguette and a very tasty homemade red cabbage chutney. I also ordered some olives and cornichons on the side. It was a filling and satisfying meal!
A glass of wine:€4-5
Cheese plate: €12.90
Suggestions: The ambience could be improved by playing some lively music.
Der Fuchs und die Trauben
My husband LOVES this place! By the name of it you would not suspect that this is a Spanish tapas place! And I would even dare to say it is one of the best tapas places in town. It is not cheap if you are hungry and I wish they would change the menu sometimes but maybe we just go there too often. For those who don't enjoy tapas, Der Fuchs und die Trauben also serves burgers. This place has a great atmosphere and is always busy. You absolutely must make a reservation. They also don't have a huge wine selection but enough whites and reds to get you through the evening. The cheese plate is not a typical assortment of different cheeses but is simply a tapas portion of the typical manchego cheese. It is not filling which is a good excuse to also order olives and some croquetas. The manchego comes with spicy plum-brandy-jam that has just the right kick.
A glass of wine:€3.30-5.50
Cheese tapas: €5.50
Suggestions: Reduce the noise level if possible. You have to scream to hear each other.
Chestnut
I found out about this place through a discount offer via 1000 Things to do in Vienna on Instagram. I downloaded a 30% off coupon online and made a reservation. Chestnut has more of a bar than a restaurant feeling, which I quite enjoy when I don't want to eat a full meal but rather a snack. My husband ate a pulled beef burger and I ate the chestnut cream soup followed by - of course - the cheese plate. Although it 'only' came with three types of cheeses, the portion was massive! It was served with bread, some type of wine jello and black nuts. I am glad I didn't order anything else because I was not able to finish the portion. The blue cheese was very intense in flavor and because o that the other two cheeses paled in comparison. Since it is listed under desserts, I'd recommend that they make it have the size and half the price. The atmosphere of the place was nice-casual and the service was great. I will definitely check this place out again in the summer as I still have to try their wine. I didn't have any wine this time because of the night before. :)
A glass of wine: €4-7.50 (ouch)
Cheese plate: €11.50
Suggestions: More vegetarian options!
Cafe Francais
What would a cheese plate tasting be without visiting a French place! We ventured to one of our favorite French places in town - Cafe Francais. I started off with a nice pumpkin coconut ginger soup to shake off the cold weather outside. My husband ordered their signature dish the French burger, while I indulged in the grandaddy of cheese plates. It was by far the best cheese plate I've had! All
four types of cheeses were impactful in taste but not overwhelming. The cheese was accompanied by fresh baguette (of course!) and - and this cannot be emphasised enough - an amazing fig mustard! It had just the right kind of spice and sweetness. And while the portion may look small compared to the others, it was plenty filling. If you only have time to try one cheese plate, make it this one! Note however, that the restaurant is still partly smoking and you have to walk through the smoking area on the way to the restroom.
A glass of wine: €3.50-7
Cheese plate: €8.50
Suggestion: They only accept cash. Time to join the 21st century and accept card payments!
This concludes my cheesy adventure in Vienna. Due to the 'heavy' consequences of this tasting as well as the coffee&cake tasting at the hotel cafes, there will be no sequel to this tasting. I will now work on lowering my cholesterol level. Maybe I should start a quest to find the best fruit plate in town. After all, summer is coming...
There is no doubt that Europe does cheese very well and you can also find delicious cheese plates here in Vienna. Selfless as I am, I sacrificed my waistline once again (after my two part series of coffee and cake tasting in The Ring-Part 1 and The Ring-Part 2) to find the best cheese plates in town for YOU!
WeinRaum
Across the street from the Theater in der Josefstadt in the 8th district is a tiny little wine bar called WeinRaum. It seems to be a family-run place with only two people working there. The wine selection is not huge but big enough to taste several whites and reds during the course of an evening. They have a lot of meat dishes to choose from but the vegetarian offer is fairly small - in fact, it was pretty much only the cheese plate. But boy oh boy, that cheese plate was delicious - and big! It came with 7 (!) different types of cheese, a fresh baguette and a very tasty homemade red cabbage chutney. I also ordered some olives and cornichons on the side. It was a filling and satisfying meal!A glass of wine:€4-5
Cheese plate: €12.90
Suggestions: The ambience could be improved by playing some lively music.
Der Fuchs und die Trauben
My husband LOVES this place! By the name of it you would not suspect that this is a Spanish tapas place! And I would even dare to say it is one of the best tapas places in town. It is not cheap if you are hungry and I wish they would change the menu sometimes but maybe we just go there too often. For those who don't enjoy tapas, Der Fuchs und die Trauben also serves burgers. This place has a great atmosphere and is always busy. You absolutely must make a reservation. They also don't have a huge wine selection but enough whites and reds to get you through the evening. The cheese plate is not a typical assortment of different cheeses but is simply a tapas portion of the typical manchego cheese. It is not filling which is a good excuse to also order olives and some croquetas. The manchego comes with spicy plum-brandy-jam that has just the right kick.A glass of wine:€3.30-5.50
Cheese tapas: €5.50
Suggestions: Reduce the noise level if possible. You have to scream to hear each other.
Chestnut
I found out about this place through a discount offer via 1000 Things to do in Vienna on Instagram. I downloaded a 30% off coupon online and made a reservation. Chestnut has more of a bar than a restaurant feeling, which I quite enjoy when I don't want to eat a full meal but rather a snack. My husband ate a pulled beef burger and I ate the chestnut cream soup followed by - of course - the cheese plate. Although it 'only' came with three types of cheeses, the portion was massive! It was served with bread, some type of wine jello and black nuts. I am glad I didn't order anything else because I was not able to finish the portion. The blue cheese was very intense in flavor and because o that the other two cheeses paled in comparison. Since it is listed under desserts, I'd recommend that they make it have the size and half the price. The atmosphere of the place was nice-casual and the service was great. I will definitely check this place out again in the summer as I still have to try their wine. I didn't have any wine this time because of the night before. :)A glass of wine: €4-7.50 (ouch)
Cheese plate: €11.50
Suggestions: More vegetarian options!
Cafe Francais
What would a cheese plate tasting be without visiting a French place! We ventured to one of our favorite French places in town - Cafe Francais. I started off with a nice pumpkin coconut ginger soup to shake off the cold weather outside. My husband ordered their signature dish the French burger, while I indulged in the grandaddy of cheese plates. It was by far the best cheese plate I've had! All four types of cheeses were impactful in taste but not overwhelming. The cheese was accompanied by fresh baguette (of course!) and - and this cannot be emphasised enough - an amazing fig mustard! It had just the right kind of spice and sweetness. And while the portion may look small compared to the others, it was plenty filling. If you only have time to try one cheese plate, make it this one! Note however, that the restaurant is still partly smoking and you have to walk through the smoking area on the way to the restroom.
A glass of wine: €3.50-7
Cheese plate: €8.50
Suggestion: They only accept cash. Time to join the 21st century and accept card payments!
This concludes my cheesy adventure in Vienna. Due to the 'heavy' consequences of this tasting as well as the coffee&cake tasting at the hotel cafes, there will be no sequel to this tasting. I will now work on lowering my cholesterol level. Maybe I should start a quest to find the best fruit plate in town. After all, summer is coming...
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