Vienna Restaurant & Bar

Bex (2 November 2008)

This is a stunning and stylish bar and restaurant, which makes the environment very relaxing and enjoyable. From the door to the restaurant, the members of staff are highly attentive and helpful. The food was delicious. On Saturday night the DJ played nice background chilli music, I would definitely recommend it. It would be nice to have some more choice of non-alcoholic cocktails, the one they had was delicious, like a mojito. I am looking forward to going back.

Mr. G. from Great Grimsby (30 October 2008)

A bit of personal and intrusive context to begin with. One son established in Nottingham and the moving of another to the fair city on the weekend in question. Quick suggestions from son already there led me to book in at Vienna on Saturday - much against my principles, given the spelling mistakes to be viewed in the online menus. A hectic but very successful moving day and we’re ready for the Saturday night exploration of one of the newest eating venues in Snottingham – so pleased they dropped the ‘S’. Scunthorpe… Don’t even consider it! An inauspicious start as we decant from the taxi and are met by the heavy mob, bouncers maybe, who inform Nottingham’s latest inhabitant that he’s a bit underdressed for entry! However, the quaint custom of booking without being told about dress code is quietly and smoothly circumnavigated and we’re sitting, ready to order cocktails. Just a suggestion – do get staff to ask what customers’ plans are for the evening. We were booked in for the restaurant but no-one took the trouble to ask! Drinks, all five different, were interesting and enjoyed by each imbiber. Realisation that we were there with serious eating intentions had got through and we were ushered to one of the circular tables visible on the restaurant website. Of course, round tables are utterly impractical with their propensity to ship everything off their surface. It took a while for the staff to decide who had drawn the short straw and would serve us on the night but after a succession of menu-deliverers, further-drinks-orderers and coat-handlers we landed Matt.

The menu speaks plain and tells you mostly what you’ll get, while reserving a few surprises which will be discovered on the plate. All orders in, we were regaled with the chef’s ‘amuse bouche’ – a rock-steady shot of parsnip soup. Now it’s a great confidence-booster when something as humble as parsnip soup has everyone at table gurning with pleasure. The secret was getting the seasoning spot-on and letting the main ingredient shine through - objective achieved. It should be remembered that our assembled company were, by various degrees, physically drained from the exertions of heavy lifting and removals, mentally strained from the pressures of relocation, the emotional disturbances of youth in all their manifestations and the fretting of doting parents who want everyone to ‘have a lovely time’. All these weighty distractions had been rendered meaningless by the time we were served our starters. I refuse to detail the delights that ensued since I reckon that the six-week renewal cycle of menu items has kicked in and any reader of this will be considering different choices. It must simply be said that we enjoyed a meal which was delicious and memorable. As a family, we don’t find it difficult to communicate but we struggled to fit in the usual inconsequential banter between prolonged bouts of praising the chef and his creations. Inconsistencies in cooking, fish texture, and ‘skin’ on Star Anise crème brûlée, were so small that I struggle to mention them in retrospect. Food that is so flavoursome and well-presented overcomes any need to dwell on this.

‘Even Vienna, the new, glam, high-profile opening by award-winning restaurant manager Dave Caddick and the Marco Pierre White-trained chef David Lem, is pin-droppingly quiet.’ - The Independent - Sunday, 19 October 2008. To contradict this misleading opinion, a word of warning to the less forgiving – this is a bustling, noisy venue with soft-swelling-to-hard-core dance music as your constant companion. Two hours in and we were being DJayed by a music mix no less insistent but slightly less professional than the kitchen productions. Vienna is not up to Michelin star rating (service will have to be unnecessarily dickie-bowed); the wine list is of adequate, if fledgling, status but, if you want your palate to be challenged and constantly pleasured, you are in for a treat which will demand a speedy re-visit. Finally, a big thank-you to the aforementioned Matt who was a regular and welcome element of our evening. I’d been warned to go easy on staff but Matt put up with my inevitable nonsense throughout the meal. He was attentive, informative and gave as good as he got with a wit and friendliness in advance of his tender years. I hope he enjoyed his taxi ride home. Come to think of it, he might have ordered a private helicopter on the fat tip which he fully earned and deserved! Both sons settled in the same city, we’ll be finding any small excuse to return and enjoy the Vienna experience again. Thank you, chef. Thank you, and good night Vienna!

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