Vienna: Top 10 Best Ribs Places

Dear lilioftheworld.com reader, it’s Lili, your co-editor.

Are you looking for a place for Ribs in Vienna? Vienna, the capital of Austria, is famous for many things. Among top of mind come the Viennese Opera, The Prater Riesenrad, Mozart music (although he is originally from Salzburg), the schnitzel. You might wonder why ribs. I would wonder as well if I haven’t tasted the ribs here. The way they prepare ribs is unique.

It is quite strange to read an article for ribs, written by someone like me who eats almost no meat. But trust me- these places have been tested many times by different people. Many of my friends who have visited me during the years I lived in Vienna love ribs. Others have never eaten ribs before coming to Vienna. When they go back to their home countries they try the ribs there, but unfortunately the experience is quite disappointing compared to the one they had here.

In German they call the ribs “Spareribs” and they are served in a tile-like portion. The ribs are stick to each other by the meat. Usually the portion is quite big, consisting either of one or two such tiles. The ribs are being prepared differently in each restaurant. They can be either baked, or grilled, with marinate or a sauce added afterwards. Everything depends on your personal taste, but I will try to give enough explanation, so that you decide on your own.
Read below where you can experience the best ribs in Vienna.

10 best ribs places in Vienna:

1. Columbus Bräu

This restaurant you will most probably not find on any other blog or recommendation site. The reason is that it is not in the very central part of Vienna. It is located in the 10th district at Columbus Platz. This makes it not very touristic. However Columbus Bräu is popular among locals.

The ribs there are by far my favourite. They offer two options- spicy(teuflisch in German) and not spicy (himmlisch) and my recommendation is for the first one. They are not very spicy, so do not be scared to try them. The Spareribs come with french fries, two types of sauces and a typical local salad. The price is €13.90.

The restaurant is quite big and it also has a part which is like a cafe with smoking area. In the summer they have a lot of tables outside directly at Columbus platz where you can enjoy the sun till dawn (not very typical for Vienna as buildings obscure the sunset view).

2. Salm Bräu

Although being quite touristy, Salm Bräu is my second best option when it comes to ribs. It is located next to Belvedere castle, so you can combine sightseeing and a nice lunch/ dinner afterwards. The restaurant is quite big, it has two floors and also a small garden for the summer. It offers a typical Austrian atmosphere. The waiters and waitresses are dressed in local clothes which gives impression that you are in the countryside.

The Spareribs are being prepared in a marinate and then baked. They are more juicy. The ribs come along with additional sauce and a pickled pepper. The price is around €17. Besides ribs, you can enjoy other specialties from the Austrian Cuisine as well.

3. Ribs of Vienna

As its name implies, this is THE place where you can experience different types of Spareribs. It might be even difficult for you to chose as they offer around 20 different types. With herbs, spicy, with sesame, Indian style and many more.

The restaurant is located in the 1st district of Vienna, very close to Stephansdom. As it is also popular among tourists, you have to make a reservation before going there. The main salon is in a cellar (you can forget about mobile network coverage and enjoy your dish :-).

The price of the ribs portion varies- but on average they are around €17. Our choice here is the mixed plate (definitely for 2 people) in which you can chose up to 5 different types. The prices for this plate is €32. My personal preference goes with the sesame ones- slightly chilly, but the sesame gives them exotic taste.

4. Strand Cafe

Although the restaurant is located away from the city center, it is quite popular. Locals as well as many tourists go there. Strand cafe is especially recommended during the summer- you can enjoy the romantic sunset over the business district of Vienna. Take U1 subway line to Alte Donau, cross the river and after 200m the restaurant will be on your right. It has a big platform over the old Danube canal. Besides the sunset, you can watch people with boats, stand-up pedalling or doing other water sports in the river.

The ribs at Strand cafe are not exactly my taste, but many people love them. They are prepared on the grill and you can feel the smell of the charcoal. The grill makes them a bit dry in my opinion, but this is the charm of the charcoal grill. The portion is also quite big and it comes with sauces. The price is around €18. One important notice is that they did not take cards by the time we visited it. As there aren’t any ATMs nearby, better be prepared.

5. Brandauer

This is a chain of restaurants with three locations- one close to Schönbrunn palace, one in the city center close to the main shopping street Mariahilferstrasse and one at the crossing of lines U6 and U4- Heiligenstadt). We have been to all 3 of them and they are quite different. Maybe just from logistics point of view, you can visit Schönbrunn and then have lunch at Brandauer. They have huge garden for the summer, but on the inside is it quite big as well.

The Spareribs at Brandauer come in a big metal plate, vintage style. The portion is huge, sufficient for two persons 🙂 It is served with potatoes (which btw are very delicious) and the typical Krautsalat. The Krautsalat or coleslaw is finely-shredded cabbage with a salad dressing, commonly prepared with either vinaigrette or mayonnaise. For me the ribs here are a bit too fatty and salty, but as we have already said- this depends on the individual taste. The price of the ribs is €18.50.

Besides Spareribs, you can enjoy the various types of beer as Brandauer is a beer house. They have recently opened a new section at the restaurant next to Schönbrunn which is specially for different types of beer.

6. Zur Alten Kaisermühlen

This restaurant is also located on the Alte Donau. It is in fact just opposite the above mentioned Strand Cafe. Although it does not offer a sunset view, it has extremely romantic atmosphere. It looks nice from the inside, but I advise you to go there in the summer. A dinner under the stars and by the river is suitable for special occasion or just a romantic meeting with your beloved one.

The ribs potion is not huge, so it is suitable for 1 person. They have just one option and it comes with sauces and french fries. I should make the disclaimer that these things change and it can be that they now the portions differ in size and content. The portion costs €22.90. It is a bit pricy, so I would visit this place on special occasions.

7. Brickmakers

Brickmakers is a cool, hipster place in the 7th district in Vienna. Very popular among the locals for its burgers, but the ribs are something which I can also highly recommend. It has very urban atmosphere. Offering both indoor sitting and some tables outside for the summer. To be on the safe side, you should make a reservation as the place is usually crowded.

The ribs are served in a vintage metal plate and they come with a cabbage salad on the side. The small portion is definitely sufficient if you are a woman or you are not that hungry. I can also recommend the vast choice of beers they have- perfect addition to your ribs. The price of the ribs is €14.90 for a small portion and €19.90 for the big one.

8. Klein Steiermark

This Restaurant is another place which you will not find on popular sites. It is located in a small park near Belvedere (the upper entrance)- park Schweizergarten. This is a traditional Austrian restaurant. Although the garden is very nice and peaceful, the inner part is my preferred spot. It reminds of a mountain hut with all its decorations. Extremely cozy place with good service. They have smoking section inside as well.

The ribs here are also quite delicious. Being served with fried potatoes and 2 or 3 different types of salads. They are juicy, you feel some wooden taste- quite different from all the other places which serve ribs. The price of the ribs portion is €18.50.

9. PSV Beisl

Another not very “popular”, but well worth place. Even locals were not aware about its existence. For quite some time the place did not even have a website or profile on any social media (incl. Tripadvisor), so I could not share my satisfaction. I’m happy to see that they are already “present” on the Internet.
The restaurant is one of the few places on the so called Polizei Bad. Honestly I do not know why it is called like this. The area is accessible on foot or also via car. For the first option you have to walk a bit either from U1 Alte Donau station or U2 Donaustadtbrücke.

Instead of going there just for the ribs, I would advise you to spend a day on the “beach”. The restaurant has a bar section close to the water and actually this is the only place in Vienna (which I’m aware of) where you can really have the feeling that you are at the seaside (with free access). They have free beach chairs. Chilling by the water under the sound of house music beat- this is priceless while still being in the city.
For lunch you can then order the Spareribs potion. It is quite big, so one would be enough for 2. It comes with fries and two types of sauce. The ribs are juicy, but maybe a bit fatty. Unfortunately I am not sure about the exact price, but is was around €16-17.

10. Centimeter

This is a chain of several restaurants- 3 to be precise. We have again been in all of them, the one behind Rathaus being our favourite one. We bring most of our guests there as well. Like the name of the place says, they offer meals and drinks the size of a meter. The portions are really huge and the prices are by far the lowest you will find in Vienna.

The interior is typically Austrian- nothing special, wooden tables, more like a pub. Centimeter at Rathaus has two floors, the ground one being the smoking area. It also has a couple of tables outside directly on the street for the summer time.

Now to the Spareribs. They offer three different sizes of ribs- M, L and XL.They contain respectively 1,2 or 3 tiles of ribs and the price is €9.90, €14.90 and €22.90. That’s relatively cheap, isn’t it? They are served with potatoes, 3 types of sauce and a lot of onion on top. Although the ribs here are not my taste (as they are nothing special), many people like them. In case you happen to be there and you are not in the mood for ribs, I can highly recommend “1 Meter Österreich”. It contains 6 different typical Austrian meals coming in a metal plate 1 meter long. It is min for 4 people. But enough for it, we are here to talk about Spareribs :).

If you cannot come to Vienna to try the spareribs, you can prepare them at home. Check this set of 6 sauces which will help you cook ribs with different taste.

These were our recommendations for the 10 best ribs places in Vienna. It would be great to receive your feedback if we have already visited them. If you are not a fan of the Spare ribs, but you prefer more posh places like rooftop bars, you have compiled a list of Top 6 Best rooftop bars in Vienna. For more things to do and see in Vienna, refer to the special section on the blog.