"Vienna's original schnitzel house, opened 1905 behind St Stephen's — the plate-sized, hand-breaded pork Wiener schnitzel that built the name."
Figlmüller Wollzeile sits at Wollzeile 5, in a narrow lane behind St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna's Innere Stadt. It anchors part of our Vienna coverage as the city's most famous address for Wiener schnitzel.
Johann Figlmüller opened the wine tavern here in 1905, and the family is now in its fourth generation. The schnitzel became internationally famous in the 1960s; this Wollzeile room is where the story began.
The kitchen is built around one dish: the Figlmüller schnitzel. The meat is pork rather than veal, pounded paper-thin, hand-breaded and fried so the crust crisps golden — the result spills over the rim of the plate.
It comes with the classic sides — potato salad, lamb's-lettuce salad — and the house-brewed Figlmüller beer. Pricing is moderate by Vienna standards, and the focus stays firmly on tradition rather than reinvention.
The room keeps the feel of a traditional Viennese wine tavern, snug and wood-panelled, that has welcomed guests for more than a century. It runs busy with locals and visitors alike.
Expect a queue at peak times; booking is wise. The nearby Figlmüller Bäckerstrasse branch handles overflow when Wollzeile fills.
Figlmüller suits a casual first date, a team dinner with visitors or a hearty business lunch. For other Vienna tables, compare Plachutta Wollzeile, Figlmüller Bäckerstrasse and Café Central.
Not for diners after a quiet, refined dinner or a long modern tasting — it is a busy, tradition-bound schnitzel house where one famous dish, and the queue for it, are the point.
It is Vienna's original schnitzel house, opened in 1905 behind St Stephen's Cathedral. The signature is its plate-sized Wiener schnitzel — pork pounded paper-thin, hand-breaded and fried until golden, larger than the plate it is served on.
At Wollzeile 5 in Vienna's Innere Stadt, down a narrow lane behind St Stephen's Cathedral.
Johann Figlmüller opened the wine tavern in 1905. The business is now run by the fourth generation, and the schnitzel became internationally famous in the 1960s.
The Figlmüller schnitzel is made with pork, pounded thin and hand-breaded — the technique the family perfected over generations. It comes with the house Figlmüller beer.
Booking is wise, as the room is small and very popular. The nearby Figlmüller Bäckerstrasse branch handles overflow when Wollzeile is full.
Book ahead — the room is small and very busy. Find Figlmüller at Wollzeile 5, behind St Stephen's, Vienna.
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Figlmüller Wollzeile anchors part of our Vienna guide — the original schnitzel house since 1905, home of the plate-sized hand-breaded pork Wiener schnitzel.
See the Vienna guide →