Tiroler Hut

Up to a point I would have to say this was one of my favourite restaurants for the sheer comedy value alone. The place is absurd. It’s Austrian for a start and I think that explains a lot*. For starters it’s down in the basement accessed by a doorway and some steep stairs, you’d totally miss it if you didn’t know it was there. It’s been around since the 1960’s and still appears to be a favourite of many. The Austrians I dined with said it was more Austrian than anything you’d find in Austria, with staff dressed in full Lederhosen and food being somewhat questionable but not bad if you like boiled bread and sausage….. and beer, huge stein-fulls of it. It’s like being in a ski chalet with low ceilings and small fake windows with fake snowscapes and deer antlers taking up every conceivable square inch. Little wooden tables and chequered table clothes with wine bottle candle holders encrusted with wax complete the ‘look’. I’d say it’s best to come with a group as it’s too loud to do a lot of talking due to the ‘performances’ of the owner playing 80’s pop music on his accordion, the random Japanese guy who apparently just ‘turns up’ every evening to serenade with Italian opera not to mention the cow bells the owner rings in accompaniment to the music. Just when you think you can continue with your conversation everyone has to stop and watch the stuffed goat sing songs from the sound of music – oh yes they play tunes from the sound of music a lot. All of this I can handle, and actually quite enjoy, the problem is the people who come here. There are the ‘just left the office’ types getting very drunk with annoying girls screaming and singing along to karaoke. On this occasion there was a huge party of Americans getting WAY to into it prompting the question “Why are Americans always so fucking enthusiastic?” Be aware though that they have a tendency to keep the drinks coming which although this could be conceived as a good thing, will give you a shock when the bill comes.