ALEX.ANDER’S - The truly different restaurant

The very name of Alex.Ander’s restaurant not far from Parliament and the Vienna City Hall suggests that a member of the computer generation was looking for more than just a hip sounding name but wanted to express as clearly as possible the idea, the programme and the concept behind this establishment.

Before he became self-employed, Alexander Verzi worked for 20 years – ten of them as executive chef – at Selina, one of the city’s best-known fish restaurants. In early 2011 he and his wife Magdalena opened their modern, sophisticated bistro, where you can enjoy a phenomenally reasonable breakfast (5 euros) from 8.00 o’clock in the morning. And where, from 11.00 o’clock, as is usually the custom in Japanese restaurants, guests are tempted by a conveyor belt with ‘running tapas’ – a variety of delicacies with an Austrian or Mediterranean flavour, including vegetarian snacks. The tasty tapas include marinated dates with Serrano ham, seafood salad, oriental carrot salad, and tortillas stuffed with sheep’s cheese. In the evening, Verzi demonstrates his skills with freshly prepared meat dishes like his magnificent rump steak of Salzburg beef with fried mushrooms, or Riesling veal lights with polenta dumplings, and a variety of fish specialities such as marinated loup de mer.

In keeping with his culinary philosophy of ‘intuition and tradition’ he even prepares a fabulous Vienna schnitzel on request and always has his special potato goulash simmering on the stove. Connoisseurs love it – perhaps it’s because of the Spanish chorizo sausage that gives it its unique spiciness. Alexander Verzi knows exactly what it is that makes the difference.