Vorarlberg Restaurants

Vorarlberg Restaurant Reviews

The gastronomic scene of Austria's westernmost province is as varied as its landscape: first-rate gourmet restaurants, traditional inns, rustic local taverns, as well as international chains and ethnic cuisine are all part of the mix. In small towns throughout the region restaurants are often the dining rooms of country inns, and there are plenty of these. Most restaurants housed in hotels and resorts will be closed in the off-season, usually November and April. In ski season breakfast is typically served early enough so that you can hit the slopes, and dinner early enough for the tired-out to get to bed and rest up for the next day.

On The Menu

Vorarlberg long ago shed its culinary incivility, an image built around simple farm fare like Kässpätzle, a filling dish of bite-size noodles smothered in cheese. Today, Vorarlberg's cuisine is as good and varied as any in neighboring Tirol and the rest of Austria—albeit lighter—and is often associated with Swiss gastronomy, from which many of its elements originated. Fresh ingredients from the region's farms, lakes, and forests are the norm, with an emphasis on dairy products from the cows that graze the mountains and meadows of the region. Be sure to try a slab of Vorarlberg Alpine from one of the huge rounds, or any of the 30 other varieties of cheese produced at local farms. Cheese is also added to soups and noodle dishes and fried in fritters. Fresh Egli (as perch is called here), trout, and whitefish are caught in the waters of Lake Constance and in the surrounding lakes and streams. Fish—fried, broiled, and steamed—appears regularly on restaurant menus throughout Vorarlberg.