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<p><strong>FDJ Score: 6.5/10 (High One-Star Level)</strong></p><h2 id="review">Review</h2><p>I first went to Mraz &amp; Sohn more than twenty years ago, when the kitchen was run by Markus Mraz alongside his father, whose wine pairings were poured with a generous hand. It has been a regular stop for me ever since, a place I revisit to follow its evolution rather than to look back. Today the stove is largely in the hands of Lukas Mraz, the mood is younger and looser, and the booking remains more difficult than ever.</p><h2 id="location-atmosphere">Location &amp; Atmosphere</h2><p>The restaurant sits on Wallensteinstraße in Brigittenau, a lived-in 20th district between Danube and Danube Canal, where tram bells, apartment blocks, and small shops share the street. We arrived at 18:50 for a 19:00 reservation and waited outside until the door opened precisely on time. A faint, sweet note in the evening air set a playful tone that would echo later on a cheeky line printed on the menu. Inside, we were placed in the open-kitchen room, close enough to feel the heat and hear the quiet choreography of the pass. A market trolley of the night’s key ingredients rolled by before the first bite, part briefing, part theater. At the entrance a sign reads "Wiener Schnitzi immer aus" (always out of stock), and everyone smiles.</p><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Entrance-2-1.jpeg" class="kg-image" alt="" loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1333" srcset="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Entrance-2-1.jpeg 600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1000/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Entrance-2-1.jpeg 1000w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Entrance-2-1.jpeg 1600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Entrance-2-1.jpeg 2000w" /><figcaption><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">Note at the entrance (Wiener schnitzel still out of stock)</span></figcaption></figure><h2 id="culinary-style-or-distinctive-character">Culinary Style or Distinctive Character</h2><p>Markus Mraz has inherited a storied house and steered it toward wit, agility, and an unbuttoned mood. Across the major guides the restaurant sits reliably in Vienna’s top tier, often within the city’s top four. The official tally is two Michelin stars; the unofficial tone is mischievous and light on ceremony.</p><h2 id="menu-the-dishes">Menu / The Dishes</h2><p>The tasting menu is priced at €188,88. Snacks set the rhythm: Sika Wild Pho, kale potsticker, kimchi börek with black truffle, shrimp cocktail, beet gyoza, and pikeperch sarma. Small, quick, and clean, they read like a tour of pantry ideas rather than a parade of garnishes.</p><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Boerek-1.jpeg" class="kg-image" alt="Close-up of a golden, flaky börek filled with kimchi, finished with thin shavings of black truffle." loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1333" srcset="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Boerek-1.jpeg 600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1000/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Boerek-1.jpeg 1000w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Boerek-1.jpeg 1600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Boerek-1.jpeg 2000w" /><figcaption><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">Kimchi börek topped with shaved black truffle</span></figcaption></figure><p>The Kräuterseitling Augsburger was the evening’s most persuasive joke. Augsburger is a mild, lightly smoked sausage; here a king oyster mushroom was seasoned and grilled until it mimicked the sausage’s gentle snap and savory warmth, giving you the memory of meat without the weight.</p><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Mushroom-Augsburger-1.jpeg" class="kg-image" alt="Char-grilled king oyster mushroom styled like an Augsburger sausage, sliced with browned edges and herb seasoning." loading="lazy" width="1333" height="889" srcset="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Mushroom-Augsburger-1.jpeg 600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1000/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Mushroom-Augsburger-1.jpeg 1000w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Mushroom-Augsburger-1.jpeg 1333w" /><figcaption><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">Kräuterseitling “Augsburger” - a king oyster mushroom grilled and seasoned to echo the classic sausage.</span></figcaption></figure><p>Sika appeared twice more. First, grilled, showing the species’ lean, mineral clarity.</p><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Grilled-Sika-Venison-1.jpeg" class="kg-image" alt="Two-part ceramic plate with a pink-centered slice of grilled sika deer in brown sauce topped with a green leaf on the left, and charred cabbage with a light creamy dressing on the right." loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1000" srcset="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Grilled-Sika-Venison-1.jpeg 600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1000/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Grilled-Sika-Venison-1.jpeg 1000w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Grilled-Sika-Venison-1.jpeg 1600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Grilled-Sika-Venison-1.jpeg 2000w" /><figcaption><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">Grilled sika with rich jus and a side of charred cabbage.</span></figcaption></figure><p> Then as a curry goulash, a comforting bowl reframed with spice and brightness. For context, sika is Cervus nippon, the small East Asian deer you might meet in Nara; same species, different landscape.</p><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Sika-Gulasch-Curry-1.jpeg" class="kg-image" alt="Blue ceramic tray holding a small bowl of sika venison curry, a round toasted bun." loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1333" srcset="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Sika-Gulasch-Curry-1.jpeg 600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1000/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Sika-Gulasch-Curry-1.jpeg 1000w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Sika-Gulasch-Curry-1.jpeg 1600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Sika-Gulasch-Curry-1.jpeg 2000w" /><figcaption><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">Sika goulash curry</span></figcaption></figure><p>Cheese arrived as a tidy “hybrid,” then desserts refreshed rather than cloyed: Ayran kakigori to cool and salt, Crêpe Yuzette for citrus lift, and a final topinambur cacao busserl with an earthy sweetness.</p><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Crepe-Suzette-1.jpeg" class="kg-image" alt="Folded crêpe in citrusy yuzu-orange sauce beside a scoop of vanilla ice cream." loading="lazy" width="2000" height="1333" srcset="https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Crepe-Suzette-1.jpeg 600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1000/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Crepe-Suzette-1.jpeg 1000w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/size/w1600/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Crepe-Suzette-1.jpeg 1600w, https://thefinediningjournal.com/content/images/2026/02/Mraz-Vienna-Review-Crepe-Suzette-1.jpeg 2000w" /><figcaption><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">Crêpe Yuzette with vanilla ice cream.</span></figcaption></figure><h2 id="wine">Wine</h2><p>We drank a 2018 Chablis Premier Cru from Thomas Pico, its cool stone and measured weight suiting the grilled game. Mid-service my glass was topped from another table’s bottle. The mistake was seen but not addressed until a gentle joke later prompted a complimentary glass of wine. Minor, but not the standard the room otherwise keeps.</p><h2 id="verdict">Verdict</h2><p>Mraz &amp; Sohn is fun. Among Vienna’s top addresses, it is the most relaxed: come as you are, feel at ease, and let the kitchen nudge you toward pleasure rather than reverence. The cooking is very good, clever, and humane, though it does not chase the microscopic precision or relentless innovation of the most exacting two or three star houses. Presentation follows that spirit, sometimes looser and less polished than one might expect at two stars. That may be precisely why it is so hard to book. The mood is singular, the experience welcoming, and the restaurant lands on many shortlists for the right reasons.</p><hr /><p><strong>Location:</strong> Vienna, Austria<br /><strong>Chef:</strong> Lukas Mraz<br /><strong>Michelin rating:</strong> ★★<br /><strong>Visited:</strong> January 2026</p><p></p><p><strong>How to book Mraz &amp; Sohn</strong> - Online reservation is almost always via the waitlist. Your best chance is to join for mid-week dates on less popular days and times.<br /></p>