Enjoy with caution.
There’s no better place to be on a warm summer night (or evening or day) than the Danube Canal (“Donaukanal”) in Vienna. It’s basically something like a riverwalk, but you can’t only walk along the paths on both sides of the Danube Canal but also skate, run, cycle and – hang out. There are a lot of bars and restaurants where you can enjoy your beverages or food with an amazing view of the canal and the people who pass by. Some time ago I tried a restaurant called “It’s all about the Meat, Baby” between Schwedenbrücke and the Urania Observatory.
(c) Meatbaby
First of all: They don’t take reservations, so if you really want to eat there and the weather is perfectly nice, be prepared to wait some (long) time before you’ll get seated. Me and my friend were lucky, we got a table immediately. It’s one of these restaurants where you sit on beer benches, so: not really the most comfy way to spend an evening as these sort of benches comes without backrests. The style of the restaurant is very beachy and hip, so in general a nice spot to eat, especially as soon as it gets darker and river cruise ships with blinking lights pass by.
The food variety is not really huge; you can get your classic cheeseburger, a veggie burger, a burger called “the egg mess” (surprise: it comes with an egg), fries, a salad and one dessert. So: It’s burger or nothing, basically. As I am not eating carbs at all, I ordered my burger “protein style”: I just asked for getting my burger without the brioche buns. And even though the waitress totally got me, I totally got a regular burger with bun. She was nice and friendly and said she was sorry, but still I had to scrape the relish from the buns onto my patty. Don’t get me wrong – it really tasted good, but the presentation of the food really sucks. You get all of it just on a tin tray, lined with a sheet of paper. Paper + egg + the bacon I ordered = a real mess. I’m sure I had paper carbs during that dinner. I don’t know if I’m just getting old, but I really do like a nice presentation of my food. If I wouldn’t, I could also get a burger at the Restaurant Of The Yellow Arches (Mc Donald’s) for less. The thing is: The food tasted really, really good. Add the view and the nice company and you have a perfect evening.
The service was good, we had a very friendly and attentive waitress. She was British and I didn’t only love her accent but also how she always appeared in the right moment. Make sure to try the giant Bombay Ultimate Cocktail (for 8,90 Euros) – that one is well worth the money and served with a garnish to your likings (cucumber, lime zest…). So, all in all: The It’s all about the Meat, Baby is well worth a try and the locations makes up for the lack of nice food presentation.
If they are open or not depends on the weather – so make sure to check their facebook page before you’re going there.
More information:
It’s all about the Meat, Baby
Donaukanal right opposite the “Badeschiff”, between Schwedenbrücke and Aspern Brücke
Best way to get there: Use public transport to go to Schwedenplatz, cross it, take the stairs that lead down to the danube canal
Open from May to September
Mo – Fr: 5 pm to 11 pm
Sat – Sun: 12 am to 11 pm
#restaurantreview #vienna #food #danubecanal #summer
