Gottfried - essen trinken schlafen

Right next to Linz Hauptplatz, this is a top restaurant. The five-course menu was excellent, and so was the service in English.

Refined traditional Austrian cooking, an efficient team, and a good wine selection. I’ve had few Wiener schnitzels this good in a long time. Maybe the best ever?

The rooms are lovely, tidy, clean, and cozy, with a very comfortable bed. We had room 10, which had a small balcony and a coffee machine. The cleaners were lovely too. It’s right in the center and about 10 minutes from the train station. In summer the rooms get hot, and lots of mosquitoes try to come in. A screen on the balcony door would let you leave it open at night without getting bitten. Reception closes at 5pm, so tell them ahead of time if you’ll collect the keys from the lock box outside. The restaurant looked amazing, but it was closed while we were there. There’s no breakfast, though plenty of breakfast cafes are 50m away.

The food was excellent, and the wines we tried were good quality. The restaurant near the Hauptplatz is well located, with a stylish vaulted dining area. But the service was like Fawlty Towers. The head waiter rushed us through the menu with forced cheer and didn’t explain the dishes. We hadn’t booked, so we were asked to start early at 6.30 and told the table was needed by 8.30. That was fine, but everything happened so quickly we were out by 7.15. It didn’t feel like the pace of a decent restaurant. We weren’t offered a choice of wine, though the Grunner Veltleiner we got was very decent. The service let the food down.