Assessment: Weisses Rössl, Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria

A couple of streets again from the glacial shimmer of the River Inn and tucked beneath the watchful peaks of the Nordkette mountains lies the Weisses Rössl restaurant, Innsbruck’s unapologetic ode to Tyrolean gastronomy.

This culinary nook – to not be confused with the resort of the identical identify on the identical location – gives an unpretentious form of allure that’s heat, welcoming and refreshingly unassuming, and has belonged to the identical household for 4 generations.

The meals

The restaurant gives conventional Tyrolean dishes, honouring recipes which have been handed down by the generations.

Adventurous diners will take pleasure in attempting the escargots from Gugumuck – a Viennese snail farm – served with a garlic herb butter and toast. Andreas Gugumuck, a former worker of IBM, has been dedicated to reviving this once-popular Austrian delicacy for practically 20 years.

Alternatively, strive the Beef Tartar, a basic Austrian appetiser right here constituted of Tyrolean ox, and served with sliced crimson onion, butter and toast. It’s made with premium beef, similar to native Alpine cattle breeds, prized for his or her tenderness and flavour.

Impressed by the standard meat-based tartar, the vegetarian different – Gemüse-Tatar – is a vegetable tartar that includes finely chopped or diced greens mixed with varied seasonings.

There’s a number of soups on the menu, too, together with the celery cream soup served with truffle oil and a celery garnish.

In the event you’re feeling hungry, select the Spinatknödel from the mains – spinach dumplings with Tyrolean mountain cheese and brown butter. It’s basic Alpine consolation meals – hearty, flavourful, and ideal for a country meal – however exceptionally filling.

A much less heavy however equally rustic dish to take pleasure in is the Tiroler Gröstl- roasted potatoes with beef, fried egg and bacon cabbage salad. It was initially created as a method to make use of up leftover components and is usually cooked in a single pan, giving it a homely and comforting enchantment.

Garnelen-Gröstl is a up to date twist on the standard Austrian Gröstl, substituting meat with garnelen (German for shrimps or prawns). This dish combines sautéed potatoes with shrimp and varied seasonings, providing a lighter but flavorful different to the basic model.

In the event you’re searching for a lighter, elegant dish that highlights the pure flavours of Austria’s lakes and rivers, select the Saiblingsfilet, Alpine char that’s generally present in Austria’s pristine mountain lakes and prized for its delicate flavour and tender flesh.

And for dessert? We handed, however there was the Austrian favorite Kaiserschmarrn served with stewed plums, in addition to apple strudel, among the many menu selections.

The chef

The soul behind the kitchen is Hans Ruetz, an area chef who began his culinary journey at Weisses Rössl. After some years as head chef, he determined to broaden his horizons with a culinary world tour, gaining expertise in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand. He returned in 2012, bringing worldwide influences and years of experience to each dish, with a give attention to high quality, craftsmanship and delivering nice flavours. A go to to the restroom takes you previous a window by which you’ll see the kitchen crew at work.

The atmosphere

The eating room is usually Tyrolean with wood panelling and durable furnishings. It’s bustling after we arrive with what seems to be a very good mixture of native and worldwide diners, but all united by the enjoyment of fine meals.

The Alpine area’s non secular and cultural heritage is depicted by a crucifix within the nook and angels hanging from the ceiling, the latter probably only a seasonal ornament provided that we have been eating in January.

There’s additionally a terrace that may accommodate many extra diners.

The price

Starters vary from €5 to €20 whereas mains sometimes hover at a really affordable €15 to €25 (with the one outlier being the Tyrolean fillet steak at €42.50).

The ultimate verdict

Weisses Rössl doesn’t fake to be one thing it’s not. As an alternative, what it gives is an sincere, skillful homage to the flavours of Tyrol – wealthy, sturdy and unapologetically Alpine. It was our first meal after touchdown in Innsbruck and delivered a hearty welcome to the area, setting a excessive bar for the remainder of our journey.

Disclosure: Our journey was sponsored by Innsbruck Tourism.

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxurious Journey Weblog and has labored within the journey trade for greater than 30 years. He’s Winner of the Improvements in Journey ‘Greatest Journey Influencer’ Award from WIRED journal. Along with different awards, the weblog has additionally been voted “one of many world’s greatest journey blogs” and “greatest for luxurious” by The Telegraph.