A friend and I were visiting Vienna a few weeks ago, and we chose Z'Som for our last dinner in the city. Z'Som is a little hard to describe. It's run by a couple - Judith and Diego. Diego - a co-owner and the head chef - is originally from Chile. Judith - the other co-owner, restaurant manager, and Sommelière - is from Austria. Z'Som serves international food - inspired by the chef's Latin American roots - and great wines from Europe and Latin America.
We had a reservation, and we walked over from Belvedere after spending the afternoon enjoying the palaces, their art, and their grounds. Z'Som turned out to be the best way to finish the day and our time in Vienna.
Where to start? The restaurant is small, cozy, elegant but casual. And the service was amongst the best we experienced during our time in Vienna - all of the staff were so welcoming and friendly. And they did an amazing job of explaining the dishes as we were served them (even though we required English explanations, as we don't speak German). They made us feel so welcome; I was thrilled we spent the night at their lovely restaurant.
And the food? They deserve their Michelin star. Z'Som offers two tasting menu options (they do not do a la carte service). The "Small Menu" option includes two fewer courses than the the "Big Menu." You can choose to do a wine pairing or an alcohol-free pairing, or order drinks a la carte (which is what we did, because we weren't sure we should do the full wine pairing). We enjoyed everything single course, but we had a few that really blew our minds. Each course was inspired by Latin American flavors. One course - El Sabor de los Andes" - explored corn. Another - a meat course with deer - included salsa macha and purple corn. A cheese course - one of the most creative I've ever had - included ajo negro. A coconut dessert included guanabana (a delicious fruit we don't see too often on menus in the United States - we call it soursop, but I've fallen in love with on trips to Mexico). Overall, the food was creative and interesting and surprising, without sacrificing any flavor.
The wine offerings were also incredible. We had some very interesting and delicious wines that were rare and different enough that I don't think we'd have had an opportunity to try them elsewhere very easily.
Z'Som was quite simply one of the best meals I've had all year. The food was incredible. The service was incredible. The wine was incredible. Definitely worth every cent. I highly recommend it, especially if you want to take a break from traditional Austrian food after a few days in Vienna. read more