21. April 2012: Restaurant Motto

Dining at the Restaurant Motto is a very unique experience – who can say about themselves that he or she has ever tried steak with chocolate sauce? Well, but more about that later. When you are brought to your table (booking a table in advance is a must), the fresh bread and olive oil are already there. The olive oil is good and the bread is tasty too.

As a starter I had the “beef tatar with toasted bread “La Marianne” and butter” (EUR 12.80). The beef was very tender and aromatic and was very well complimented by the crispy wholegrain bread.

The highlight of the evening was definitely the “filet steak with chocolate chili sauce and mashed potatoes” (EUR 27.00). The beef filet was perfectly medium-rare and had its original beef taste which was outstanding. I had never had chocolate sauce on a steak before but as it was dark chocolate it was not too sweet and the chili did its part to give it the extra spice. The combination was – against my expectations – great in taste and experience.

To finish the evening, I enjoyed the “variation of nougat and strawberry dumplings” (EUR 6.90). The nougat dumplings tasted more like chocolate to me but were quite tasty and the strawberry dumplings were good too but somehow I was missing the exciting flavourful element.

The dishes are very good overall – definitely nothing to complain. The beef tatar was great, the beef filet with chocolate chili sauce is very recommendable and the dumplings are good too (just not outstanding). The prices are overall pretty fair too – even for the drinks (ginger lemonade, 0,5L EUR 4.50; double espresso EUR 3.90). What I consider a rip off is the cover charge of EUR 2.30 per person!

The restaurant itself is very nice. It is rather dark, the interior is neatly designed and very appealing but a bit freaky. There are a lot of baby dolls on the ceiling – and they are all painted black which looks quite spooky. On the walls you can find hands (which can be used as coat hangers) which is also a bit confusing. But as the whole room is held in black anyway, that is perfectly fine.

While the waiter was friendly and helpful overall, I must also say he (or rather the kitchen) was also very slow. We had to wait more than 45 minutes between our dishes and even to bring an additional drink it took him about 15 to 20 minutes (and we are more talking about a Hugo’s and not about an extremely complicated drink).

I can absolutely recommend the restaurant Motto as the food is great, the prices are moderate, the atmosphere is great, the crowd is very nice and the service is friendly (but the kitchen is too slow). However, it is absolutely necessary to book a table in advance though.

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Motto

Schönbrunnerstrasse 30

1050 Vienna (AT)

Tel.: +43 1 587 06 72

Fax: +43 1 587 06 72 11

E-Mail: info@motto.at

Homepage: http://www.motto.at

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.