Restaurants
Café Azzurro Fine food, good wine and sky-blue lightness
© Nora Eros + Laura Ahammer
Map
Opening Times
Monday to Friday 18-23.30
Address
Café Azzurro
Urban-Loritz-Platz 5
1070 Vienna-district 7
.How to get there
Contact
When you think of Azzurro, you immediately think of the Italian summer hit. In Vienna, the charming Café Azzurro, which recently opened in a former pizzeria, will also come to mind in the future. A few reminiscences of the Italian past have remained. What has been added are finely created, surprising dishes and excellent wines.
Cerco l'estate tutto l'anno, e all'improvviso eccola qua. "All year long, I'm looking for summer", goes the world hit Azzurro. "And then suddenly it's here." The same applies to Café Azzurro, which opened its doors in the seventh district recently.
It was conceived by the operators of Kommod - the cosy restaurant where art and cuisine come together most wonderfully. Now, the team has taken over a former pizzeria. However, they took not only the name but also the attitude to life from it.
The word azzurro, they say, stands for longing, daydreaming and enjoyment. The atmosphere in the restaurant is informal and inviting: metre-high vaulted ceilings, a view of the narrow kitchen behind the counter, and small tables where old and young sit together.
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As in its sister restaurant, the food emphasises the quality of the produce: Demeter vegetables, fish from Lake Millstatt and game from the restaurant's hunt. The menu starts with small bites - pickles, olives, velvety Yiddish Lebe - followed by small and more significant dishes.
The name of Café Azzurro may be Italian, but the menu is not. They cook "everything that tickles the palate": The traditional cabbage dumplings are served with spicy kimchi. With a perfect bite and really spicy, which is why they are served with a glass of ayran on request.
An hour egg is served with sherry and polenta, the wonderfully tender ox cheeks with fluffy parsnip puree and crispy cabbage sprouts. But there are also a few influences from Italy: the funny dandelion tastes of the south with puntarelle and parmesan, and, as a seasonal special, there is a perfectly cooked porcini mushroom risotto.
Sommelier Mara Feißt takes care of the liquid delights. In addition to homemade products such as kombucha and water kefir, the focus here is on good wine: the finely curated selection includes rare and surprising wines from sustainable wineries. Café Azzurro is also ideal for simply enjoying a glass of wine and a few bites.
