A quick report from an out-of-towner...
I actually enjoyed the stylish interior and somewhat awkwardly shaped room, but I wondered to what degree these details belied priorities other than the food.
My worries were in vain. My sister, a DC resident who was treating me to lunch, highly recommended the bratwurst (though she admitted little currency with brats). I was leery of ordering a $16 brat for lunch, even if I wasn't paying. And I will say, no matter who was paying, I probably wouldn't do so again. BUT, this was a very fine plate. Two 5-inch pork-veal brats, pan-seared and cooked through were very good. Excellent texture, not too fine, not too course, with a delicate flavor balance. The celery sauerkraut served on the side and three smartly roasted fingerling potatoes rounded out the plate. Oh, and a healthy helping of a very potent Dijon mustard.
If this plate were $12, say, I'd be order it again no question. It's weird how $4 makes such a difference. But to put this in context, my sister's special (for a mere $2 more) really blew the brats out of the water.
She had a pork tenderloin, perfectly, I mean absolutely perfectly cooked pork tenderloin, glowing a nice pink medium rare in the middle, juicy throughout, well-seasoned all around and served with some absolutely terrific complements. On the one hand a sweet smooth butternut squash puree; on the other, a beautiful, purply-tart apple puree. Wow, this dish blew us both away. There was some green stuff (spinach, arugula, whatever) thrown in for your vitamins, but wow, what a terrific dish. You should hope this makes its way onto the menu.
I was jealous, certainly, but she shared. As a point of reference, my sis has eaten her way around quite a bit of DC, including a recent meal at Maestro, Citronelle, Jose Andres places, etc., and said this was the second best meal she'd had in DC behind one (of two) meals at Roberto Donna's Laboratorio. Was it the heat of the moment? Maybe. Still...
We also ordered as an appetizer, the olivenpissaladiere which was very tasty, though not strikingly unique.
The menu is full of interesting sounding German items (Geraeucherte Bachforelle auf Blattsalat, Dorsch Baccala) and it couldn't be an Austrian cafe without a large pastry case, which looked terrific but we were too full to sample.
Our service was not fast, but it was fine. I wouldn't let service concerns keep you from going to this place.
