An ordinary Saturday in July, time for a good meal with the family (two adults and one kid of 6 years old). Since we just arrived at our holiday destination, we checked the reviews of the restaurants in the neighborhood. Am Platzl scored well and had an interesting menu on the website. A few minutes later and one phone call, we had a reservation. So far so good.
In the evening we arrived at the restaurant and were welcomed. We were asked to choose between modern en traditional. Since I like the "Gemütlichkeit" of traditional, the choice was easy. The interior is in any case of high quality and shows some upperclass style. Strange however that there are continuously guests walking in to pick-up their take-away pizza's. It is bit like not making a choice between being a classy restaurant or a pizzeria with take-away service.
The menu is reasonable priced and shows a combination of traditional Austrian and Italian dishes (including pizza's). Next to the menu there are also a few dished of the day. The menu was for me very appealing and I had difficulties choosing. You never know to road not travelled.
The waiter was fast and efficient, but didn't give a welcoming feeling. The waitress that didn't take care of us, sounded more friendly. The waiters attitude was even more expressed when we asked for kids menu options or dished with smaller portions (as you sometimes see for senior guests). There was actually none. For our six year old daughter we could order a normal adult plate or a starter. The latter would have been strange, who orders carpaccio, vitello tonato or steak tartare for a six year old daughter. A regular main dish remained the only option. Fortunately they had the pizza's and asked whether they could make a small pizza. Again the answer of the waiter was no. In the end we ordered a 10 euro pizza for our 6 year old daughter knowing that it would be way too much #foodwaste. This doesn't feel right and not very hospitable. Proactive thinking on what could be possible would have been appreciated; this would have been truly welcoming and hospitable.
The food itself is above any doubt. Fresh ingredients, well prepared and very tasteful. I enjoyed the Zwiebelrostbraten, especially the sauce was divine. The salad (extra) was well sized and had a good vinaigrette. My wife had the spinach Knödel (three) and was delighted by taste, but size wise relatively small. The oversized pizza for my daughter was at par.
My conclusion:
The food is excellent (would have been 5 out of 5), but the hospitality ruins the experience. Final score 3 out of 5. read more
