Schillingers

Hauptstrasse 46
A-2002 Grossmugl
Austria

Hours
Monday, Tuesday, and Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 12 midnight; Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 12 midnight; closed Wednesday and Thursday.

If your travels take you to Austria, be sure to include the small town of Grossmugl on your itinerary. Grossmugl, located about 20 miles north of Vienna, is home to a distinctive vegetarian restaurant called Schillingers or, as the locals call it, Vegetarisches Gasthaus Schillinger. Owner and chef Karl Schillinger delights visitors from all over the world with a vegetarian menu featuring authentic Austrian dishes based on traditional recipes that he learned from his mother.

Chef Karl’s secret to success is his ability to convert animal product-based recipes into vegan dishes while staying true to the original by using the same herbs and spices for flavoring. He uses vegetables to add color and texture to each meal and says that even nonvegetarian customers enjoy dishes made with the popular mock meats that he imports from Taiwan. “If a dish looks like meat, has the same consistency as meat, and also tastes like meat, it will convince a lot of meat-eaters” to try vegan foods, he explains.

Traditional Austrian favorites include spätzles, schnitzels, and vegan “blood” sausage, but Chef Karl also branches out into international fare. “Our cordon bleu is one of our bestselling dishes,” Schillinger says. “It is served with fried potatoes and a mixed salad. The meat is fake pork and it is filled with a ‘blood sausage’ made in Switzerland and some vegan cheese made in the U.K. … It tastes and looks exactly like a real cordon bleu.”

If a hearty Austrian meal doesn’t quite fill you up, Schillingers also offers some sweet treats to tempt you. Vegan “ice cream” is made at the restaurant, and a delicate and delectable tiramisu is prepared fresh every day. “Very popular in Austria are pancakes filled with jam or chocolate sauce,” says Schillinger. “We serve them with vegan whipped cream. Instead of eggs and dairy milk we use soy milk and soy cream …. They are tasty like ‘normal’ pancakes—no one would find a difference.”

Schillinger describes the feeling in his restaurant as “a very casual ambiance,” a place where guests like to linger after their meals, “hanging around, playing some of our large assortment of board games, drinking cocktails, or enjoying some vegan ice cream.” He says some guests compare the restaurant’s comfortable atmosphere to their own living rooms. Schillinger also likes to host special events like fondue dinners by candlelight.

Whether you’re visiting Austria on a skiing holiday or you’ve lived there all your life, Schillingers is a restaurant you will want to return to again and again.

Recipes From Schillingers

Vegan Horseradish Soup

8 g vegan margarine
4 1/3 cups cream substitute
2 1/3 cups water
1 large handful fresh grated horseradish
Vegetable stock, to taste
1/2 tsp. caraway seeds

Cook all the ingredients together and then purée with a hand-held mixer. Let the soup cook gently for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

Spaghetti Bolognese

2 onions
2 carrots
9 oz. smoked tofu
Oil, for frying
2 large “beefeater” tomatoes
2 1/3 cup sieved tomatoes
Salt, to taste
Oregano, to taste
16 oz. spaghetti
2 fresh basil leaves, torn up

Finely chop the onions, carrots, and tofu in a food processor. Lightly fry these ingredients in a saucepan with a little oil, until soft. Coarsely chop the tomatoes into cubes and add to the saucepan along with the sieved tomatoes. Add the salt and oregano and let simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of salted water. Remove from heat and add the basil leaves. Serve the sauce over the spaghetti.

Makes 4 servings

Marzipan Dumplings

4 large potatoes, peeled and cooked one day in advance
3 1/3 Tbsp. flour
Pinch salt
2 1/2 tsp. potato starch
Water or soy milk
7 cups water, salted
5 3/4 oz. marzipan
3 1/2 oz. vegan margarine
7 1/2 oz. bread crumbs

Finely grate the potatoes and mix with the flour, salt, and potato starch. Add water or soy milk until the mixture has the consistency of dough. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Shape the marzipan into walnut-sized balls. Mold the potato dough around the marzipan balls to form dumplings about the size of apricots. Place the dumplings in the boiling water. Meanwhile, melt the margarine in a saucepan, add the bread crumbs, and cook until golden brown. Take the dumplings out of the water with a spoon when they start to float on the surface and turn in the water. Roll in the bread crumbs and serve with a fruit purée, such as strawberry.

Makes 8 to 10 dumplings

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