At Lake Neusiedl you are spoilt for choice: a walk through the vineyards, a boat trip on the lake, or a bike ride to the next bay? The best way to decide is over a good meal ... just sit back, enjoy the food, and savour the wine.
Tradition can never hurt. The Lentsch family has been “in wine” for almost a hundred years, and it was back in 1934 that Josef Lentsch began to cultivate vineyards in Podersdorf in addition to running the family inn. He developed the building, originally built by Cistercian monks and later occupied by Prussian counts, into an entrepreneurial home base, and today Markus Lentsch is the fourth generation to run the ‘Gasthaus zur Dankbarkeit’; chef Josef Roiss, a descendant of a Podersdorf cooper and vintner, has the culinary delicacies of the region imprinted in his genes. The venue has been regarded for years as a vital guarantor of high-quality Burgenland-Pannonian cuisine, with the regional agriculture of the Seewinkel (the stretch of land between Lake Neusiedl and the Hungarian border) providing plenty of authentic ingredients for this: grazing geese, steppe cattle, mangalica pigs, freshly caught fish from the lake, and vegetables in abundance.
Deeper in the Seewinkel, with the Hungarian border practically within reach, the Möwe in Pamhagen also focuses on seasonal and regional delicacies. Kitchen manager Kevin Szalai and chef Bogdan Comanescu provide a range from rabbit to huchen (fish) to crab ravioli, accompanied by the finest local vegetables. Erich Stekovics is the local chief witness for the variety of vegetables, the organic farmer from Frauenkirchen, a little to the north, has grown 3,200 different tomato varieties alone, making his one of the largest collections of tomato seeds in the world.
With just under 2,000 inhabitants, Rust, on the opposite side of Lake Neusiedl, is the smallest administrative district and the smallest statutory city in Austria (only the DC Tower in Vienna, the tallest office building in the Republic, has more people working there). But Rust has more history: the oldest building in the town is almost 500 years old. For over 25 years, Michael Mooslechner and his team have been running the Rusterhof in this setting, originally built as a school in 1535. Mooslechner draws his inspiration primarily from his own professional history: after years in top Viennese gastronomy, he brought the style known as ‘gutbürgerlich’ to the lake. His focus on seasonal ingredients and wines from the region round off the culinary experience.
Max Stiegl also appreciates and makes use of the richly colourful front-door offerings. After retiring from the Knappenhof at the foot of the Rax and from Vienna itself, he now concentrates exclusively on the ‘Gut Purbach’. It is a return to the vicinity of his professional roots: it was nearby at the former Inamera in Rust where he was awarded a Michelin star in 2000, at 21 the youngest chef in the world to achieve the honour. Today, in Purbach, the Slovenian-born chef, known for his love of experimentation, combines French culinary art and Burgenland tradition with his profile-defining holistic nose-to-tail line – his offal cuisine is acclaimed – and sometimes extravagant ingredients such as horse, beaver or snipe meat. Two years ago, Stiegl also took over a winery, with wines made from local specialities such as Blaufränkisch and Burgundian vines like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Their taste is the sum of their origin from the slopes of the Leithagebirge, the prehistoric seabed there with weathered shell limestone, the smell of the nearby Puszta, as well as the ripening by scorching midday sun and cool evening winds.
In nearby Schützen am Gebirge, another fixed star in the local gastronomic sky awaits with the Taubenkobel. Together with his wife Barbara Eselböck, Alain Weissgerber continues to run the restaurant that opened in 1984 as a village inn, and subsequently established itself among the international elite; it enchants with an imaginative and aromatic interpretation of Pannonian cuisine. The French-born chef also once worked at the Zur blauen Gans in the more distant neighbourhood in Weiden am See, where Oliver Wiegand now provides no-frills but taste-intensive delicacies ranging from catfish liver to fried chicken, along with a diverse vegetarian menu. The focus at Zur blauen Gans is also on regional ingredients – in good times as well as bad; recently, for example, concessions had to be made to the increasingly volatile water level of the lake. Pike-perch is now only available when Emmerich Varga from Gols has been blessed with sufficient fishing luck.
Geographically, the culinary range is even wider at the Mole West. Located in the North Bay directly on the lake, it has a lounge-like beach club flair and serves a polyglot variety from tuna tartare to mussels to vegan burgers. And at ‘Das Fritz’ in Weiden, numerous local specialities are on the SpeiSee menu.
Enjoyment menus in eleven acts from Pannonian cuisine, created by kitchen maestro Alain Weissgerber. The constant feature of this gourmet temple is its exceptional quality.
Hauptstraße 31, 7081 Schützen
T: +43 2684 2297, taubenkobel.at
Pannonian ingredients and Burgenland tradition meet French craftsmanship: Max Stiegl's virtuoso dedication to holistic preparation at the highest level.
Hauptstraße 64, 7083 Purbach
T: +43 2683 56086, gutpurbach.at
Fish soup or cabbage soup, mushroom terrine or chicken liver pâté, fried catfish or braised pork sausage? All of the best quality with typical Pannonian flavours.
Hauptstraße 39, 7141 Podersdorf
T: +43 2177 2223, dankbarkeit.at
Awaiting guests is a fine terrace directly on the water and a ‘SpeiSee’ menu with – among other things – pike-perch, ox cheek and venison from the Leithaberg.
Seebad 1, 7121 Weiden am See
T: +43 2167 40222, dasfritz.at
Spectacularly arranged, finely composed flavour combinations: rice ash accompanies the ‘Seewinkler Vichyssoise’; fermented onion accentuates the coriander gnocchi.
Storchengasse 1, 7152 Pamhagen
T: +43 2175 21800, vilavitapannonia.at
Thomas Daniel Pugel tempts guests in the Kellergasse setting with an unconventional range of delicacies from prawns in saffron-orange stock and grapefruit fillets, to pike-perch with fermented beetroot.
Kellergasse 6K, 7083 Purbach
T: +43 268321025, restaurant-fossil.at
Crispy schnitzel, spicy chanterelles and tender, fluffy apricot dumplings accompanied by an exquisite selection of wines from the region.
Rathausplatz 18, 7071 Rust
T: +43 2685 60793, rusterhof.com
Susanne and Michael Pilz’s refuge serves skrei, homemade pasta, and desserts compatible with ice wine in the idyllic guest garden.
Rathausplatz 10, 7071 Rust
T: +43 2685 60763, hofgassl.at
Everything is local with sustainability key and the signature dish, the pike-perch, only available if water levels in the lake permit. There is also a wide range of vegetarian dishes in Oliver Wiegand’s kitchens.
Seepark, 7121 Weiden am See
T: +43 2167 700000, zurblauengans.at
With five hectares of its own vineyards, the Schmidt provides the basis for the wine list. The dishes are based on fresh, regional ingredients, transformed into refined specialities.
Raiffeisenstraße 8, 7072 Mörbisch am See
T: +43 2685 8294, das-schmidt.at
Fancy beach club where contemporary internationality is also celebrated in the cuisine – from teriyaki chicken to sea bass fillet. Good place for sundowners.
Seegelände 9, 7100 Neusiedl am See
T: +43 664 2086600, mole-west.at
In the Seejungfrau you are close to the water – and close to the vineyards towards the Leithagebirge. This characterises the light Mediterranean cuisine and the wine list.
Yachthafen 1, 7093 Jois
T: +43 650 4200743, seejungfrau.org
In the picturesque courtyard garden of the Haider family, duck breast, fish soup and the house’s own wine from Illmitz vineyards are delicious.
Florianigasse 1, 7142 Illmitz
T: +43 2175 2232, rosenhof.cc
