Emperor Franz Joseph's daily lunch for 68 years — a slow-simmered top rump of beef with its own broth served first, then the meat with apple horseradish.
About Tafelspitz
Emperor Franz Joseph's favourite — the top rump of beef simmered for hours in a court bouillon of root vegetables and bone marrow until it reaches a fork-tender perfection; served with its own broth as a first course, then sliced at the table with apple horseradish and chive sauce.
Emperor Franz Joseph ate Tafelspitz for lunch almost every day of his 68-year reign. This tells you both about the dish's quality and the Emperor's habits. The top rump of beef — a lean, flavourful cut that rewards slow cooking — is simmered in a court bouillon of root vegetables, leek, bone marrow and bay leaf for two to three hours until it reaches a fork-tender perfection.
“Emperor Franz Joseph ate Tafelspitz for lunch almost every day of his 68-year reign.”
Tafelspitz is a two-course meal in one pot. The broth comes first, served in a cup alongside a beef marrow dumpling or a scattering of chives. Then the sliced beef arrives — pale, juicy and deeply flavoured from the vegetables it cooked with — accompanied by apple horseradish (Apfelkren) and a roasted cream sauce (Rahmsoße). The horseradish is the dish's brightest moment: the cold, sharp, fresh bite against the soft, warm meat is exactly right.
What to Expect
Tafelspitz comes to the table in stages: first a bowl of the cooking broth with bone marrow, then the sliced beef on a separate plate. The apple horseradish arrives cold in a small bowl alongside. You eat the broth first, then the meat with generous portions of the Apfelkren. The combination of warm, soft beef and cold, sharp horseradish is one of Vienna's great flavour contrasts.
Why Try It
Tafelspitz is the dish that separates Viennese cooking from German cooking. It's restrained, elegant and built on quality ingredients rather than bold seasoning. Understanding it means understanding the Austrian approach to the table: precise, classical and unhurried.
Insider Tips
- Plachutta Wollzeile is the city's most respected Tafelspitz restaurant — their ten-cut menu lets you compare different parts of the same animal.
- The Apfelkren (apple horseradish) should be used generously, not sparingly.
- Ask for extra marrow with the broth course — most restaurants will oblige.
