Maestro

It doesn’t surprise us in the least that this bar and restaurant servings it does both Austrian and Mediterranean fare has no difficulty drawings a stylish Salzburg crowd to its attractive doors. Within, all is dark and image. The scarlet walls lend the room further warmth, and there is plenty of cozy, artfully battered leather sofas to recline upon. As to one’s fellow imbibers, the reassuringly refined crowd is as likely to be seen sipping champagne as knocking back a beer. The adjoining Maestro restaurant is an irreproachably elegant affair. It has pulled off the unlikely feat of being both swankily and unpretentious. Beautifully composed black and white photos grace the walls, adding a further layer of understated polish. One can decline very well here and cheaply, too boot. You seldom meet the chef but his presence is ever felt. Ok, he won’t win any medals but we can’t fault his risotto nor the panache with which he presents his “Gulasch (sic)”, one of many of Austria’s culinary borrowing from her former dominions in Hungary and elsewhere. The latter is eaten with dumplings (“Semmelknßdel”) here and very good they are too. For those with a sweet tooth, there are riches aplenty: need one mention the apfelstrudel? Do make a point of trying Topfenstrudel, a sort of cream cheese strudel. And don’t be put off by the slightly dubious sounding Germknßdel is a fluffy yeast dough dumpling bursting with poppy seeds and filled with spicy plum jam. The service can be a trifle brisk but by no means unfriendly and in truth one has to expect this in these parts. be sure to visit their utterly delightful patio, which really comes into its own in warmer weather when it’s ideal for a lingering dinner under the heavens. To call oneself ‘Maestro’ in the city in which Mozart was born might seem like foolishness. Not so.