Mondscheinstüberl - CLOSED

It's about time! However, I can't say I was blown away at all. We were there for lunch, which might not be as representative as dinner, as I read in other reviews. The choices were Veggie Schnitzel or Celery Schnitzel. Both I like, no question about it, but I'd like to see more... well, creativity. There sure are quite a few options in Austrian cuisine to go vegetarian and THAT I'd like to see cultivated. The lunch menu was also a bit pricey and did not include soup, which for reasons of competition, I'd advise against. I understand that eating organic has its price but I'd sure like to see it as something less elitist, if I may say so. I'd love to see this place improve and I'll be a regular, promise.

but the warme fisolen mit kernöl were also delicious. but for a styrian the ammount of kernöl was ridiculous.

Everything tasted very "Bio" if you get the idea. It's definitly not cheap but for all-bio, all-vegan okay.

The atmosphere is hopefully getting better, as it's really not a fun place to spend time at the moment - there aren't any curtains and in general it looks like a cheap "Wirtshaus".

the crowd was also very "eco", in the bad sense.

Don't get me wrong - I'll will be a returning customer but there's definitly room for improvement...

The owners, while a bit quirky, are quite hospitable and you can tell they take huge pride in their work and the business they are trying hard to build up.

Their menu is ever-changing, always made of high-quality organic ingredients and always served with a smile. Cheap however, it's not. Expect to shell out a premium for top of the line vegan meals, but, why even try and put a price tag on eating healthy.

Highly recommended are their fresh soups and definitely give their Kurbis-filled palatschinken a try, if you're lucky enough to go on a day when they are on the menu.

My one issue would be the atmosphere. While I'm all for feeling like I'm in a dirty beisl, the lighting is of the washed-out, retina-burning fluorescent variety, which makes me feel more like I'm eating in a government office waiting to be told I owe back taxes, rather than enjoying an evening meal in an organic, vegan restaurant in the middle of a hip European green district.

The vegan schnitzel, while not expected to please a meat-eater (why one even makes the effort to point out it's not the same as real meat is beyond me) is great in my ex-meat eaters point of view and tastes quite different from any of the other local veggie-schnitzels in the area. It could use some ketchup, but, it seems only American's think that way. Fatty and meat meat meat it's not, but then again, why go to a vegan restaurant if all you're going to do is end up complaining about the lack of anything resembling meat anyways?

Top-tip: Reserve a table in advance, it's completely packed every evening.

I like meat. Lots of it. After paying a visit to Mondscheinstüberl, I feel pitty for you vegans. Whilst the schnitzel I had was quite OK, the starter (some filled zucchini) was well advertised by the staff but tasted rather bland. The Bio-Beer tasted bland as well; however, it did a good job as I felt a bit woozy after two of them. All in all, it all tasted bland.

Don't get me wrong: The staff is _very_ friendly and _very fast_. The dishes ought to be great from an exclusive vegan point of view.

So all meat-lovers who just want to try out vegan stuff should probably search elsewhere (Vegetasia is great in this respect, however, it serves Asian cuisine and Monscheinstüberl offers vegan Vienna-style dishes, so they are not comparable).

Besides: the place is grossly overpriced in my view for what it offers. Sure, "Bio" - like "Wellness" - costs extra, that is a default rule. At these prices, however, you might want to try Wrenkh instead (which equally offers only bland dishes, but is more up-market in terms of "style").

As a result, one star is enough. Please note that this is my very subjective opinion. Vegans actually might like the place. And yes, you are right. Dissing a great place like Monscheinstüberl as confessing meat-freak is like a heterosexual going to a gay party and dissing the crowd for being gay.

this traditional old gasthaus has been taken over by the fine people from st. josef next door after the patron's death and is now serving delicious and clever vegan hausmannskost.
they are open from 1600 to 2300, the kitchen is only opening at 1700, though (unless you know the cook, then you might get lucky and get your food straight away. cough)
the food was fresh and the portion good and at 7,50 acceptablly priced.
service is friendly.
the place still looks very plain and new but then again the place has been only open for a week at this point.
non smoking which is another plus.

oh and when i waited for my food xanadu came on the radio. sweet!