Richard and I were invited for a PR dining experience at Bier und Bierli in Vienna and it felt really special to be able to dine on traditional Austrian dishes in this busy, cultural capital! As always with our gifted reviews, all opinions remain my own and all information is as accurate as I can be.
Bier und Bierli is located in the centre of Vienna, not far from the Viennese Opera House which is a stunning, imposing building with a grand historical background. Their address (Operngasse 12, 1010 Wien, Austria) is easy to locate on Google. To get to the restaurant you could use one of the many car ride apps such as Uber or Bolt. You can request a larger vehicle on these apps which are often suitable for a standard wheelchair unless you need ramped access to a vehicle. Otherwise, the U-Bahn public transport system in Vienna was really great. They had lifts or ramps down to many of the platforms (just make sure to check on the WienMobil app that there are no broken down lifts within your journey prior to travel). The front carriage of the U-Bahn train is the adapted one since the ramp extends to cover the gap between the station and the train, ensuring a wheelchair user can smoothly enter the train. There are also dedicated accessible seating areas within the train in this front carriage.
We generally had no problem with dropped curbs to cross the road in Vienna, particularly at specified crossing points. Plus, there is a great system at these crossing areas where those that are blind or partially sighted can press a button underneath the yellow crossing box and the signal will change to the “green man” almost instantly, making the loud beeping noise it does to alert those with visual impairments that it is safe to cross.
Bier und Bierli had both an outdoor and indoor seating area. Richard and I chose the outdoor area since it was 36 degrees centigrade when we visited so we were looking forward to dining al fresco, an experience we don’t often have within the rainy UK. The exterior dining area had a small ramp to enter the platformed area so I found it easy with my wheelchair to enter. The beginning of the ramped area was clearly marked in yellow and black striped tape so those with visual impairments would be more likely to be able to see it. When we wheeled up to our table, the staff were also kind enough to remove a chair so I could be seated at the table within my wheelchair.
This outdoor seating area was covered so you would be sheltered if there was rain, intense sunshine or perhaps a breeze. There were higher chairs and tables available directly next to the building and then also differently sized tables on the decking area for different sizes of groups. These were the perfect height for my wheelchair to access while I dined as I can struggle at taller tables to reach the height of the table when food arrives unless I transfer into the taller bar stool chairs.
When you wheeled into the Bier und Bierli indoor restaurant, there was a ramp on the left-hand side of the building so you could easily enter whilst using a mobility aid. You could see the dining area to the right as you entered and this had plenty of space between tables to wheel a wheelchair around in. The terrain was flat and smooth so I found wheeling around indoors to be very easy independently.
Since it was such a beautifully sunny day, most of the fellow customers had chosen to dine outside but it was so wonderful to look around the interior of the restaurant. I absolutely loved the decor inside as everywhere was decorated with beer cans, drinking-related coasters and kegs. It felt very rustic whilst also fitting a consistent theme of beer-related merchandise and decor. Overall, it gave a very welcoming atmosphere, almost as if you had entered your local pub and were going to have a wholesome night of drinking or dining with a group of friends. There were cosy sofa booths in brown leather and many different areas you could sit to socialise as a couple or in a group. Despite looking like a place that locals frequented, you could absolutely tell that the good food and drink had built up a reputation with tourists too as the outdoor area was bustling with locals and travellers alike.
To further this friendly vibe, all of the staff members were really approachable. We visited Bier und Bierli after Richard and I had flown to Vienna on that morning so we were both more tired than usual; plus, travel flares my spinal cord pain. This meant that I didn’t instantly spot the accessible toilet inside the building as the doorway was covered in white beer can decor. I just asked the friendly staff and they knew exactly where to direct me to. There was a blue sign above the door with the icon of a wheelchair user that I had missed visually on first glance.
The disabled toilet’s doorway had plenty of width for my wheelchair to turn into. Once I entered, I could see the sturdy grab rails on either side of the toilet which was fantastic to see. The right-hand side of the toilet had a grab rail that you could fold to pull down or store away against the wall if you were doing a side transfer onto the toilet. As a wheelchair user, I possibly would have preferred the sanitary bin being within easy reach for a person sat on the toilet but, otherwise, this bathroom was great. There was a lowered sink with a mirror over that I could see into from my height. I could easily reach the paper towel dispenser. With plenty of room to spin my wheelchair around, I could also exit facing forwards which is handy. There was no red emergency pull-cord within the toilet so just be aware of that.
Once I wheeled back through the wonderfully themed restaurant interior area and joined Richard again on the decking outside, I started looking at the Bier und Bierli menu. The menu was written in English and German so we managed to work out all of the dishes, even though some were fun and unique Viennese classics or twists on dishes we know and love. Plus, many of the waiting staff spoke pretty fluent English as I unfortunately only have limping knowledge of German linguistics.
The beer menu was absolutely expansive and covered so many local breweries, including a brew made by Bier und Bierli themselves! Their menu is not actually on their website but I found it via this link which shows prices and dishes accurately to that date. It would be great to see these uploaded onto the Bier und Bierli website so people who use a screen reader can enlarge the text or have the text read aloud to them.
Richard ordered a stein of beer as it definitely felt like a traditional Austrian way of drinking. It was very reasonably priced to say we were in the capital city and that elsewhere, dining and drinking did tend to be on the more expensive side. He really enjoyed his beer while I sipped on a sweet white wine and enjoyed the scenery. The outdoor decking gave us a view of some of the traditional, historic white buildings that Vienna is famous for architecturally. It was so nice to just soak up the ambience of passing tourists and locals going about their day while we sipped our alcohol in the heat. Luckily, the canopy above the seated area shaded us from direct sunlight which was a relief.
You can just see the lovely window boxes of flowers behind Richard. These geraniums gave a welcome pop of colour in the otherwise urban area behind us.
We spoke to the friendly waiter to see what his recommendations for food were and he suggested we try some of Vienna’s specialities. Richard and I love to experience new sights, cultures and tastes when we travel so we absolutely supported this decision and chose to go with an array of more classic Viennese dishes. For the starter, Richard and I chose to share an amazing dish of pork belly that had been slowly cooked for twelve hours and covered in a rich honey glaze. This savoury treat was partnered with the hearty brown bread that is regularly used across of mainland Europe so it was a very filling dish for a starter. The small terracotta pots also contained mustard and a pickled horseradish sauce to give the pork belly an extra array of flavourings and tartness.
The portion was very generous and the food prices overall were very reasonable to say Bier und Bierli did have a very central location within Vienna city itself.
After the starter, we followed a similar pathway of ordering traditional Viennese dishes since we loved the authentic dining experience we were having. Of course, Vienna is very well-known for schnitzel which is a very tasty traditional dish where a flattened escalope of meat is encased in a tasty batter and fried. This meat is traditionally veal (as was Richard’s schnitzel from Bier und Bierli), but many restaurants serve other meat varieties too including the pork and turkey variants on the restaurant’s menu.
It was so wonderful to experience authentic dining; Richard and I had never tried schnitzel before so it was a really unique experience to participate in. You could choose to have the large portion of breaded escalope on its own with the cranberry jam that was served beside it, or you could add side dishes. We chose to add the traditional Austrian potato salad which was a richer, creamier version of the similar dish that we have in the UK. The schnitzel also came with a wedge of lemon to add a zingy zest to the natural taste of the batter. How cute is the mini Austrian flag in there also! I think the pork lard that they fry this schnitzel dish in gives the crispy batter a heartier and meatier flavour.
We shared a salad in the centre of the table. This was such a generous portion that it would truly be filling enough to eat as a large main meal on its own. This was actually one of my favourite parts of the meal since it was so hot outside in the Viennese summer weather that a salad felt crisp and refreshing. We chose the warm goats cheese salad which came with grilled tart pears and was drizzled with brightly coloured beetroot chutney and honey. It was also lavishly sprinkled with walnuts. It was such a lovely balance of flavours and the aesthetics of the dish were stunning too with contrasting colours and homely presentation. As with all of the dishes on the menu, Bier und Bierli did label the allergens clearly and the lovely waiting staff actually spoke enough English that I could ask them about allergies if we had any. Do make sure to notify the staff and chef if you do have any dietary requirements. Plus, it is always handy to translate some phrases that are key to you such as “does this dish contain nuts?” or “do you have a wheelchair friendly toilet?”.
Alongside this refreshing salad, I chose to order the reuben XL slider. This was a fantastic contrast to the salad as it was meaty, rich and another truly filling dish. The amount of beef pastrami within the slider was so generous; you can just see the delicately sliced meat piled up in the centre of the sandwich. The depth of the rich flavour of the meat was increased by the creamy swiss cheese topper and the acidity of the sauerkraut. I personally love all things pickled so the gherkin at the top of the slider and the sauerkraut within the dish were fantastic additions to diversify the flavour palette and also to give an experience of hearty Viennese food. The reuben slider was served alongside crispy fries and coleslaw to add even more filling aspects to the dish.
This really was a meat-lovers’ dream dish as the helping of beef pastrami was so generous and clearly of such a high quality!
Unfortunately, all of these filling starter and main course dishes meant that Richard and I had no room in our stomachs for dessert. Bier und Bierli do have some traditional Austrian dishes though that I would highly recommend including apple strudel (apfel strudel) and Kaiserschmarm which is a very unique dish of shredded pancake fried in butter and then topped traditionally with plum jam. You can also order the pancakes with apple sauce or belgian chocolate as a topping if you prefer a more conventional flavour. Both of these are very popular dishes in the area and I loved how well that Bier und Bierli were representing their national cuisine whilst also elevating it and adding their own personal twists to the dishes. It was fantastic to see all of these varieties whilst also presenting more conventional, safe options for travellers who just want to tuck into a high-quality steak, cheeseburger or vegan burger after a long day of exploring Vienna!
Beyond the huge variety of food and drink options, Richard and I love the quirkiness of the interior decoration with the beer thematics running throughout. It gave a very welcoming feel to the restaurant and the waiting staff were also so lovely that it put us both at ease.
In terms of accessibility, I had no problem within my wheelchair accessing the outdoor dining platform, travelling in and around indoors and also within the accessible bathroom. There were sturdy grab rails and a lowered sink so I could access these things easily. I would have preferred for Bier und Bierli to have their menu available online as well as in-person printed physically as then those with low visibility or screen-readers can peruse the menu prior to visiting.
Overall, we had such a fantastic experience at Bier und Bierli and tasted dishes we had never even seen in person before. Exploring culinary delicacies of one of the most fun aspects of international travel so I was thrilled that Richard and I got to explore this in such an accessible and welcoming location.
Thank you again to Bier und Bierli for inviting us to visit; we look forward to visiting again when we return. If you want to ask any questions about anything within this review or my previous ones, please do feel free to email disabledtravelwithgeorgina@gmail.com. You can also email Bier und Bierli directly at bierundbierli@gmail.com. Or, feel free to contact them on Instagram at @bierbierli.
