When it rains, it pours. At least this was the case a few Saturdays back in Vienna. I’d been wandering around a certain street in town for far too long and found myself utterly sieged by a downpour. Bogged down by shopping bags I’d somehow collected between I’m just browsing and I’ll need these for fall anyway, with an umbrella that had just irrevocably blown out, I was a bit of a mess. Oh, and I was hungry. Sehr hungry. I ducked under the awning of a shop with a few other poor souls and pulled out my phone to scan through my list for options, but nothing jumped out at me. I was starving, tired, and soon to be drenched.  Then I remembered Bizzo.

Bizzo is a restaurant just off Mariahilferstrasse that opened in spring. I remember hearing about it back then but regrettably never added it to my list. Said list is my Vienna restaurant compass. Without it, all six Microsoft Word pages of it, I know nothing of this town and where to eat. So whatever it was that caused me to remember Bizzo on that rainy Saturday is beyond me; I just know I’m thankful. I wrapped my scarf over my head, grabbed my bags, binned my broken umbrella, and bolted a few streets over.

The concept? Organic food made with liebe. I tumbled in and asked for a table for one, which is actually something I don’t do enough; I love taking myself out to lunch.

Bizzo is downright cozy. A lovely place to pop into when out and about on Vienna’s packed shopping street. Inside feels a bit like Paris, a vintage furniture stop, and a library with creaky wood floors. All wrapped up into one darling restaurant tied with an organic bow.

Yup, that’s right. Everything here is organic from the beer to the bread, right on down to restaurant’s overall intentions. I chatted with the owner for a few minutes, a lovely lady with a kickin’ pixie haircut and peaceful aura about her. She told me she works with regional farmers and cooks according to availability and seasonality. Each day features homemade pasta, salads, and other special dishes like a casserole, stew, or quiche. Looking at the past week’s menu (available on their facebook site), they’ve had a wide assortment of delicious options like hokkaido pumpkin quiche or bruschetta with chanterelles, tomatoes, goat cheese and rucola. Um, yes please. I love how they use Austrian staples to whip up international favorites. New Austrian cuisine, ich habe dich lieb.

I went for the vegetarian spanish omelet with mixed salad on the side. Delicious. The omelet was hearty yet fresh, and the salad dressing was so good I made the chef come out and tell me how he made it. (One loooong list of ingredients with oils, citrus, herbs and more. I think he knew it was safe telling me because there is no way I’d remember everything he said!)

It’s so nice to know places like this are accessible from Mariahilferstrasse.  A few years back, this was not the case.

With options like Bizzo and others, you’re now more than set when out doing some retail therapy in this part of town.

(Which you can even do from within the restaurant’s confines.)

Another lovely place in Wien, handcrafted and served with heart.  Add it to your list.

Bizzo
Zollergasse 4
1070 Vienna
http://www.bizzo.at