Reservations open today (February 9, 2016) for the twice-yearly Vienna Restaurant Week. But get in quick as the best tables are quickly snapped up as diners seek to eat top flight food for more modest prices.

Twice a year restaurants across Vienna get together and revel attracting diners from around the city, country and further afield to take part in Restaurant Week. The next mini-festival starts on February 22 and is one of the city’s culinary highlights offering us the chance to enjoy a wide variety of high-end dining the city has to offer, at much reduced prices.

Surprise’ menus cost €14.50 (£11.2) at lunchtime (for two courses) and €29.50 in the evening (for two courses). Establishments with two or more toques (chefs hats/ award ‘stars’ from Gault et Millau) may charge a supplement of €10.00 both at lunchtime and in the evening.

This month restaurants taking part include Clementine im Glashaus, das Turm, Sakai, Flatschers Restaurant, Lugeck, Labstelle, Ella’s and Tancredi.

Reservations open today (February 9, 2016) … make yours here Restaurant Week. The next ‘week’ is likely to be held in September. For more information about Vienna look at http://www.wien.info.

Top four cookery schools

And while you’re in Vienna, why not try your hand at a cooking or baking course. Here are my suggestions for four of the best cookery schools in the central Europe’s most imperial city, where’ll you learn the secrets of making goulash, apfel strudel and Wiener Schnitzel.

1) Kochen in Wien
Focussed on classic Viennese cuisine from goulash to Wiener Schnitzel, classes at Kochen in Wien are held in German or English language.
www.kochen-in-wien.com

2) Vienna Cooking Tours

Run by Andrea Beck, Vienna Cooking Tours start with a tour of the fabulous outdoor food market, the Naschmarkt. Here, you’ll buy the necessary ingredients before heading off to create a typical Viennese meal cooked in the kitchen of the Gegenbauer vinegar brewery. Cookery courses are offered in German, English, French and Spanish. You can also book at tour of the vinegar brewery.
www.viennacookingtours.at

3) Gerstner Beletage

At the Cooking Course in the Gerstner Beletage, the chef presents the menu of the day after an aperitif, then recipes and ingredients are discussed. Two fine wines from the Gerstner wine cellar accompany the social cooking event. English cooking course available upon request. www.gerstner.at

4) Hofbackstube
Arguably one of the Austria and Vienna’s best-known dishes, the apfel strudel takes centre stage at Hofbackstube at Café Residenz where guests learn how to make a traditional strudel themselves from pulled strudel dough under the watchful eyes of champion pastry chefs. The finished strudel can be eaten on site, taken away or delivered. Classes delivered in groups German and English.
www.cafe-residenz.at