Cheap and Disappointing

Location:Gasthof Mostalm
Address:Hainbach 20, 1140 Wien
Status:Open (last checked on 23 October 2015)
Eaten:Brettljause, mixed salad, a glass of Most, a glass of red Sturm

A Brettljause should not be expensive. At the end of the day, it’s just a few slices of sausage and cheese with some decoration. If these ingredients come from a supermarket, they hardly cost half of the price of the dish. If the restaurant is lucky enough to have its own production, they are even cheaper.

The problem with Mostalm’s creation is that at 5 Euros it’s a very cheap Brettljause indeed, but paradoxically that cheapness appears to be a sign of the owners’ stinginess rather than generosity. The dish contains two types of ham (no Speck), cold fat Schweinsbraten with annoying little bones that have to be cut off, tasteless cheese of dark yellow color and two big slices of Blutwurst with thick white skin resembling pig’s intestines (and most likely being pig’s intestines). Removing that skin alone is already off-putting. There was no horse-radish, just some mustard, a salty cucumber and a cabbage salad. Two slices of bread (included in the price) were rather stale.

On top of all this, the place, despite its brilliant location and nice surroundings, creates a strong feeling of decay. I would not like visiting their kitchen, for example, fearing what I would find there. The Most – also stupidly cheap – had a horrible smell, possibly coming from a badly washed glass; the salad, which wasn’t very bad overall, had some ingredients that were kept stored for a bit too long. Even the overweight waiter (who is possibly the owner) looked tired, pissed off and unhealthy.

The sad thing is that by increasing the prices by 10-20%, Mostalm would not lose customers. The garden was full of people, all of them hikers enjoying a pleasant day in the Sophienalpe. If this price increase could be put to good use to improve the cleanliness of the restaurant and the quality of the dishes, it would be worth a second visit.

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