We decided to try this restaurant based on so many favorable reviews. Just speaking for myself, I am afraid I was terribly disappointed with the overall experience.
Yes, this is a popular spot with tourists and locals. Yes, this evening was no exception with lines out the door. Yes, I know in Austria and Europe in general, the whole restaurant experience is a much slower affair, relaxed affair. At some point however, the line between having a casual meal in a busy restaurant gets crossed and the customer becomes ignored and forgotten. Figlmüller jumped over that line and kept on running.
We were seated at a small table right next to the bar where those who were waiting queued. So this was not a hidden corner spot, the host and several waiters walked back and forth between the bar and the rest of the restaurant. After being seated, we looked aver the menu and talked about our order. Meanwhile people were being seated and waiters were bustling back and forth. After five minutes I started to look around at the host and waiters hoping to catch someone's eye but when no one responded I told myself I was being impatient, to sit back and relax. After another five minutes I flagged down the host to ask about our waiter. A brusque "hold on a second" was my response. About another minute or so a waiter finally stopped by to take our orders. Our drink order came quickly, but I noticed other parties, who were seated after us already drinking and having soup! So I decided to time how long it took from the time a party was seated to when there orders were taken. I'll admit my sample size is small (n=2), I only sampled small parties, and those seated in the same front room/bar area. On average, 90 seconds was how long it took after someone was seated to when a waiter took their order. This discovery was unbelievable, it suggested the waiters and host had forgotten about us, even though we were right in front of their faces!
The only saving grace was the food. The scnitzel is pounded thin and seasoned nicely. The accompanying salad is very interesting: salad greens over potato salad. Both were very tasty. An order of schnitzel, two small house salads, a glass of house rose, and a large bottle of still mineral water came to 39 euros. Is the food good enough to overcome the bad service experience...no unfortunately. I had potato salad and schnitzel in Prague that wasnot as thin, but just as good and way better service.
Overall, if you're a local I am sure you know better places. If you're a tourist and are feeling lucky, try this place out and experience the ambience. If you rather not risk it, then I am sure there are plenty of other restaurants in town with schnitzel just as good and I much better service. read more