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Category: Urban Discoveries

Posted
June 7, 2018
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Urban Discoveries
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Urban Discoveries featuring Brothers’ Barbers

This article is part of the “Urban Discoveries” series, in which we seek and discover exciting and well-designed places to eat and drink around Europe, especially in Vienna. This time, though, we did something else, and on the occasion of a bearded friend’s birthday and the need to buy him a present, we visited a barber shop and did a shoot there. The text was written again by my collaborator in this series Maximilian Martsch with the birthday child and soon to be model (probably) Lukas standing in. Thanks to the lovely guys at Brothers Barbers for the warm welcome and the excellent time.

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When you think about a beauty salon for men, Brothers’ Barbershop is probably pretty close to what you’d imagine. It’s a happy place for the well-bearded half of the population until they leave again. Or a little less bearded. Or bearded in a more sociable way. Anyway, you get the point.


Right when you enter, you will be completely taken in by the stylish yet relaxed vibe of the place. Wooden shelves full of products for your manly hair and beard, exposed brick walls, a lovely lounge corner if you have to wait for your appointment, and the old-fashioned, black leather barber chairs. It’s a mix of modern interior design and nostalgia, best displayed by the vintage ads for shaving necessities. While you wait for your appointment, you can enjoy a beer, a coffee, or even a cocktail if you are up for the extra kick – they want you to feel comfortable.

And yes, they also have a traditional barber’s pole spinning happily outside their shop. A little trivia on the side: the red, blue, and white striped pole is the conventional sign for a barber to label his shop. It is said to have been in use as a trade sign since the Middle Ages. There are several explanations for using red, blue, and white. Probably the most ghoulish one refers to the spill of blood (blue represents venous blood) and the use of white bandages, which goes back to when barbers were consulted for simple medical procedures like tooth extractions.

Blood is luckily not an all too frequent sight at Brother’s Barbershop – at least nothing happened during our visit. But joke aside, even though the barbers use open razors, they are all well-trained and know how to handle their equipment, so you always feel safe. The barbers are also part of the experience at Brothers. Not only are they living examples of up-to-date hair and beard styles, but they are also constantly cracking jokes with each other and the customers, which contributes to the friendly, fraternal feeling in the shop.

In the end, the interior, banter, clean shape, and hot towel make a visit to Brothers’ Barbershop a real treat. It might not be the cheapest option to get a haircut and shave, but the quality and overall experience compensate for that. If you want to visit Brothers’ Barbershop, get an appointment beforehand because their waiting list can be extended.

For more information, impressions, and appointments, go to http://www.barbershop.wien/.

Posted
March 20, 2018
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Urban Discoveries
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Urban Discoveries presents: Burger Bros.

This article is part of the “Urban Discoveries” series, in which we seek and discover exciting and well-designed places to eat and drink around Europe, especially in Vienna. Again, I worked together with my colleague and dear friend Maximilian Martsch, who is a researcher and works on the topic of food history. The pictures were shot by myself. Thanks to the folks at Burger Bros. for the invitation and the excellent talk.

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The Bermuda Triangle in Vienna is well known for many things, including bars and drunken teens, but certainly, it was never known for good food. Is this about to change? We visited the new Burger Bros. restaurant to investigate. The franchise subsidiary opened its doors just a couple of months ago, and it’s the latest addition to the Burger Bros family. The small Vienna-based franchise already has two other locations in the city, one at Hauptbahnhof and another in the Wien Mitte shopping mall. All three restaurants have a similar design to establish a corporate identity that is easily recognizable to the customer.
Nonetheless, the interior of Burger Bros Bermuda doesn’t feel generic or uncomfortable. A couple of excellent design elements create a distinct, relaxed atmosphere, like the hand-painted walls, the colorful bar chairs, and the ceiling lamps. Also, use the washrooms to avoid missing out on the hilarious Chuck Norris quotes on the doors.

But certainly, the design is not, or at least not, the only reason to visit Burger Bros Bermuda – it’s their food. During the last few years, several premium Burger restaurants have sprung up around Vienna, saying goodbye to the burger as the classic incarnation of the fast food generation closely linked to global chains like Mcdonald’s, Burger King, and others. Following this trend, Burger Bros emphasizes quality and innovation rather than price.

All their burgers were created by trained (starred) chefs, using only fresh and regional ingredients. The quality of beef is critical to a great burger; at Burger Bros, they use Black Angus or Simmentaler beef for their burger variations. And let me tell you, you can really taste the difference! The beef patty is thick, juicy, and simply delicious. It’s the heart of the burger and, therefore, calls for quality. The second most important part of the burger is arguably the bun. The soft brioche buns are not made in-house but are delivered to all three Burger Bros locations in the morning. The bun has a smooth, quiet, lightly toasted texture, perfectly accompanying the beef patty. Besides their delicious burgers, they offer tasty ribs, steaks, hot dogs, and various salads and sides. If you are up for a special treat, order their Rossini burger with foie gras or go for the burger of the month.

What goes better with a burger than a nice cold one? Aside from the obligatory draft beers, Burger Bros Bermuda offers an excellent selection of national and international craft beers. If you are more into wine, they also have a great choice to ensure you find the right pairing for your food. Overall, they have a nice range of alcoholic drinks. Cocktails and shots are also on the menu for a very reasonable price. Make sure to check out their changing deals on food and beverages. For instance, on Wednesday, they have 30% off craft beers. If you are not just looking for a quick, cheap bite but a high-quality, tasty Burger and a nice drink in a relaxed atmosphere, Burger Bros Bermuda is an accurate tip. You can even enjoy their food and drinks outside in their pub garden from May.

For more information and opening hours, visit http://www.burgerbros.at.

Posted
March 13, 2018
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Urban Discoveries
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Urban Discoveries: Bao Bar

This article is part of the “Urban Discoveries” series, in which we seek and discover exciting and well-designed places to eat and drink around Europe, especially in Vienna. Last time, I worked with my colleague and dear friend Maximilian Martsch, a researcher who works on food history. The pictures were shot by myself. Thanks to the folks at Bao Bar for the invitation and the excellent talk.

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If you are searching for new restaurants in Vienna serving delicious, foreign food besides the usual suspects, Bao Bar might just be the right place for you. Centrally located in Zollergasse, right around the corner from Vienna’s busy shopping street, Mariahilferstraße, Bao Bar offers high-quality Asian food conveniently tucked into a steamed bun.


Bao, or Gua Boa, is a Taiwanese street specialty consisting of a soft, steamed wheat bun filled with mouth-watering ingredients. Originating in the Chinese province of Fujian, Gua Bao was adopted into Taiwanese culture and ultimately became a staple of the country’s street food scene. Gua Boa had its breakthrough into Western mainstream street food culture in North America, where it is still a popular pick among urban foodies ­– naturally, there even is a short Vice documentary on it. International trends always seem to take some years before they find their way to Vienna, but with Bao Bar, you now have the right place to get your hands on this delicious treat. The owner is a young, trained cook who came up with the restaurant idea after traveling and eating his way around Southeast Asia. Since one and a half years, Boa Bar has been open for business and serves its burgers to the hungry Viennese crowd.

The name already implies that Bao Bar is relatively small. The design is inspired by Japanese art and the movie Blade Runner. The combination of pink signs, black and white floor tiles, a wooden interior, and steel pipes gives the place a stylish, sleek vibe. There are several bar-style seating possibilities at the window and along the wall. The heart of the place is the open kitchen, where you can place your order and watch the skilled personnel swiftly assemble your burger. If you choose the menu option (Bao box), you can choose two buns, one side, and a soft drink. They have crispy sweet potato fries with nice kimchi ketchup, sesame slaw made of pickled vegetables, and Japanese edamame beans as sides, as well as a variety of drinks available, ranging from home-made lapacho ice tea, over Asian beers to Taiwanese soda. If you are in for a special treat, they even have Japanese Kirin beer on tap!

Bao Bar offers three burger variations: pork belly, crunchy chicken, and a vegan tofu option. All three are accompanied by pickled, crisp vegetables and rounded off by one of their homemade sauces. For instance, the traditional pork belly bao comes with a juicy slice of marinated, red-cooked pork belly, pickled cucumber, house-made hoisin sauce, some fresh cilantro, and ground peanuts. It’s delicious, and all the ingredients are high quality. Apart from the meat from a small family-run butcher shop in the city, all ingredients are self-made. You can even see the vegetables slowly fermenting in big jars over the counter. The heart of the bao burger, the white wheat buns, are produced fresh every morning in the back before being steamed over boiling water right in front of the customer.

Overall, Bao Bar is a great place to have a quick bite or order for takeaway. It’s a well-thought-through place that offers fresh, high-quality fast food. If you don’t have the time to check it out in person, you can order their food via Foodora, but then you’ll miss out on the great design and lively atmosphere.

To learn more about Bao Bar and their opining hours, visit https://www.baobar.at/.

Posted
January 31, 2018
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Urban Discoveries
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Urban Discoveries: Disco Volante

This is part of the “Urban Discoveries” series, in which we seek and discover exciting and well-designed places to eat and drink around Europe, especially in Vienna. The article we present today was written by my colleague and friend, Maximilian Martsch, a researcher who works on food history. The pictures were shot by myself. Due to the longer text this time, we decided to change the format a bit; the images are now included within the article and not placed at the end. Thanks to Disco Volante for the invitation and especially to Verena Piontek for the warm welcome and the interview.

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I still remember my visit to the famous Antica Pizzaria Da Michele in Naples and the sensational joy of enjoying a purist pizza Margarita. The Soft, moist dough and fluffy crust, the rich marinara sauce topped with tasty slices of mozzarella cheese, and perfectly balanced with a couple of fresh basil leaves. And it’s not only the food but also the bustling and lively atmosphere. After all, pizza is a fast dish; you get in, sit, order, eat, maybe round it up with a coffee, and leave again. In many ways, it encapsulates the Italian lifestyle in a nutshell.
So, to get that authentic experience of Neapolitan pizza, you have to hop on a train or plane and travel down there, right?

Well, not necessarily…right in the middle of Vienna’s trendy 6th district in the busy Gumpendorfer Straße, you can get a taste of Naples’s most iconic dish. The Pizzeria Disco Volante is dedicated to dishing out flat pies topped with all kinds of fresh ingredients right from their steaming hot wood-fired oven. Not only is the pizza inspired by its Neapolitan models, but also the restaurant’s design.

The name Disco Volante is Italian and means “flying disc,” which refers to the pizza’s flat shape and how the dough is thrown in the air to stretch it out before it’s garnished and baked in the oven. But besides this rather obvious correlation, the name also hints at the actual eye candy of the restaurant: the wood-fired oven in the design of a disco ball. We visited during the daytime, and the sunlight’s reflection in the disco ball’s small mirrors created a distinctive atmosphere. However, colored spotlights and Italian disco music also make visiting during the evening worthwhile.


The design concept can be best described as pure and clean. The restaurant immediately reminds me of the unique style of Italy in the 60s; everything looks bright, clean, and minimalistic.
The owners work with regional producers to ensure the best quality, but you also find imports on their menu, like an assortment of delicious Italian lemonades.

The restaurant opened its doors in 2013, and you might have heard of its sister location, “Pizza Mari,” in the 2nd district, which is well known among urban pizza lovers. Both restaurants are owned by Maria Fuchs, who fell in love with Naples and its pizza culture while spending an exchange semester there and decided to bring this experience back to Vienna.


All the pizza cooks at Disco Volante are Italians, and they must go through special training before mastering the art of pizza making, which is really a form of art. The wood-fired oven reaches a temperature of 300–400° and is big enough for eight pizzas baking simultaneously. Due to the high temperature, the pizzas can get burned quickly and must be rotated repeatedly until finished after a couple of minutes. The work requires a crafty technique and a lot of practice. The cooks at Disco Volante know precisely what they are doing, and it’s a joy to watch them scurry around the kitchen while cracking jokes in Italian.

Disco Volante doesn’t do home delivery, so you best pick up the phone and order for pick up, or you just put on your sneakers and run over there to get your hands on their delicious pizza and indulge in the busy atmosphere of southern Italy.

For opening hours and further info, please visit http://www.disco-volante.at

Posted
January 15, 2018
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Urban Discoveries
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Urban Discoveries: Bros. Pizza

Prologue. This is part of the “Urban Discoveries” series, in which we seek and discover exciting and well-designed places to eat and drink around Europe, especially in Vienna.

START GAME. You are in the center of Vienna, walking down Mariahilferstraße, and suddenly, you see an endearing sign of a Pizza with a Super Nintendo inside the room. You decide to jump into the tasty world of BROS. PIZZA.

The Pizzeria started a few years ago as a project of two friends deciding to work together – hence the Bros. in the name. Legend has it that when they saw the place with many ventilation tubes on the ceiling, they thought of Super Mario and came up with the restaurant’s video game theme.

At Bros. Pizza, you order your meal at the bar for takeaway or dining inside. There is a choice of around 10 pizzas, sometimes with changing additions. We decided on “L’Atomica,” a pizza with a hot topping consisting of Spanish chorizo, mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions, and Red Eye hot sauce, and for “Hot Goat,” also called Pizza Bianca with spinach, mozzarella, goose cheese, and pecorino. Both were delicious and crisp, the hot one having a nice spicy flavor. We just ordered soft drinks this time, but there is a fine craft beer from the “Brussel Bier Project.”

During the waiting time (which usually is not very long), you are invited to play Super Nintendo. It’s not just there for decoration – indeed, it is working! The available games are changing, but when we were there, we could play Street Fighter while waiting and after the meal. What a great idea! Other lovely easter eggs also reference video game culture, especially the Super Mario Bros. in the room – just keep your eyes open.

BROS. PIZZA is open daily from Monday to Sunday from 12:00 to 15:00 and again from 17:00 to 21:00 and on Sundays from 12:00 to 20:00. You’ll find it at Zollergasse 2, close to U3 Neubaugasse. For more information, check out their Facebook page.

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Posted
September 23, 2017
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Urban Discoveries
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Urban Discoveries: BrewDog Tallinn

In “Urban Discoveries,” we seek exciting and well-designed places to eat and drink. Usually in or around Vienna, but this time around, we checked out a new place for craft beer in Tallinn, Estonia.

BrewDog, of course, is not new but an already-established brand from Scotland. They are a craft brew company but also license pubs. Estonia is unique to the family. The first BrewDog was opened just a couple of months ago in the fresh Rotermanni Kvartal (Rotermann District), right around the corner from the magnificent old town of Tallinn.

It is a welcoming place with lots of choices for beer lovers. There are some staples, but much of the menu is changing constantly, so to offer new brands for trial. The prices are modest, if so, not as cheap as you would expect from a former Soviet country. Estonia is becoming increasingly part of the West (or North). The barkeepers are always up for a chat and are very friendly. They will gladly explain to you the nuances and differences of the assortment. Don’t be shy!

You’ll find more info about the place right here. They also have a well-done Instagram account.

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