Plachutta Wollzeile: Tafelspitz, Menu, Prices

Tafelspitz is Vienna's classic boiled beef: a lean cut from the top of the rump, simmered for hours in a broth with root vegetables. Plachutta's menu calls it "the emperor's favourite piece", and the whole pot is brought to your table. There is an order to eating it, and the waiter serves it in that order:

1. Soup first. Clear broth goes from the pot into your bowl, with a garnish and chives. We started with it too; it is said to settle the stomach, and it really is light.
2. Then the marrow. The marrow from the bone in the pot is spread on toasted dark bread with a pinch of salt.
3. Then the beef. The slices go onto your plate with apple horseradish (Apfelkren), creamy chive sauce (Schnittlauchsauce) and rösti potatoes.

Our verdict: the beef was incredibly tender and fell apart in the mouth. A Tafelspitz portion is filling; if there are two of you, one Tafelspitz and one schnitzel to share is the best way to try both classics. That is what we did.

Besides Tafelspitz, the menu has 11 more cuts served in the same pot. The difference is fat and texture: Tafelspitz and Tafelstück are lean, Beinfleisch and Kruspelspitz are fattier and juicier. On a first visit choose the classic Tafelspitz; if you cannot decide, Gustostückerl brings three different cuts together.

A Tafelspitz (€36.90) plus the cover charge (Gedeck, €4.90) is about €42 per person before drinks; a schnitzel (€28.90) with potato salad (€7.10) is about €41 (official menu, October 2026). The two of us paid about €80 for one Tafelspitz, one schnitzel and drinks.

• Budget choice: Kavalierspitz (€28.60) comes with the same copper pot service.
• Share: the Tafelspitz portion is large; one Tafelspitz and one schnitzel for two people lets you try both classics on one bill.
• No surprises on the bill: bread, butter and service (Gedeck) is added automatically at €4.90 per person.

Yes. We went without one and waited about 30 minutes at the door; the restaurant was so busy that the dining room was in constant motion. You book on the restaurant's own website: Plachutta Wollzeile reservations .

• If you cannot get a booking: give your name at the door and wait; that is how we got in. Arriving before the dinner rush shortens the wait.
• Groups of 15 or more: there is a separate request form instead of the normal booking (official info, October 2026).
• Takeaway: available from Wollzeile daily 11:30-21:00 (official info, October 2026).

Prices are from the restaurant's current menu (official info, October 2026). All boiled beef dishes come with the same service: broth, root vegetables, a marrow bone, Apfelkren, Schnittlauchsauce, rösti and toasted dark bread.

For vegans there is a mushroom goulash (Schwammerlgulasch, €26.80). If you avoid pork: the Tafelspitz is beef and the Wiener Schnitzel is veal, and no pork dish appears on the menu on the restaurant's website (official menu, October 2026); still, ask when you order.

Plachutta's schnitzel is made from veal (€28.90): thin, golden and served with lemon. Earlier that day we had a schnitzel at Café Landtmann, and we liked Plachutta's more. The next day we went to Figlmüller as well. We ate schnitzel at five places in Vienna, and Plachutta and Figlmüller were our two favourites.

• If you also want Tafelspitz: Plachutta. It is the best-known address for Tafelspitz, and the schnitzel is veal.
• If you want the giant schnitzel that hangs over the plate: Figlmüller. At the Wollzeile branch the schnitzel is pork or chicken; veal Wiener Schnitzel is only at the Bäckerstraße branch.

Prices at both, and which schnitzel is made from which meat, are in our guide to the best schnitzel and what to eat in Vienna .

A large, bright and busy Viennese restaurant: every table taken and the waiters always on the move. That was our only complaint, it is a lively place, so do not expect a quiet dinner. On the ground floor there is a display of cookbooks and products, and along the stairs hang framed photos of famous guests.

The address is Wollzeile 38, 1010 Wien, in the Innere Stadt: at the end of Wollzeile, the street that runs from behind St. Stephen's Cathedral, in a corner building with a green PLACHUTTA sign. The nearest metro is U3 Stubentor; from Stephansplatz station (U1, U3) it is about a 5-minute walk.

If you spend the day around St. Stephen's, it is on your way for dinner. From Vienna Airport (VIE) the City Airport Train runs to Wien Mitte, a short walk from Wollzeile.

It is open daily 11:30-23:30 (official info, October 2026). We went in the evening after a whole day of museums, without a reservation, and waited about half an hour at the door. For dinner, book; if you want to walk in, try lunchtime close to opening. Takeaway runs 11:30-21:00.

Wollzeile is the most central and the busiest branch. The same family runs other restaurants in Vienna (official info, October 2026):

• Plachutta Stammhaus Hietzing: near Schönbrunn Palace, good for Tafelspitz after a palace visit.
• Plachutta Nussdorf: in the 19th district, in the north of the city.
• Plachuttas Gasthaus zur Oper: as the name says, near the State Opera; it is the second most searched Plachutta name.
• Plachuttas Neuer Markt, Grünspan and Mario: the family's other restaurants.

Which Plachutta is best? For Tafelspitz in the centre, Wollzeile; if you are going to Schönbrunn, the Hietzing branch is on the way.

You do not have to have dessert at Plachutta: for Kaiserschmarrn go to Café Demel , and for apple strudel and a Melange to Café Landtmann , the two places we went to. For the rest of the day see our guide to things to do in Vienna , and for a hotel our guide to where to stay in Vienna .

If you stay in the Innere Stadt you can walk to Plachutta: See Innere Stadt hotels  Ad. Ad Areas and the hotels we stayed at are in our where to stay in Vienna  guide.