I thought the all-you-can-eat buffet brunch had gone out of fashion due to covid, but in some places it continues to thrive – including Tisch in Vienna. Their brunch includes one hot drink, one “egg” dish, and unlimited buffet access.

The egg options during our visit were: omelette a la Bear, eggs Benedict, ham and eggs (scramble), and a cheese plate. The omelette is a veganised version of the famous one Sydney makes in The Bear, and we both ordered this as it seemed too good an opportunity to turn down. And it was absolutely delicious! I would guess it was made with some kind of liquid egg replacer rather than tofu, because it was unlike any vegan omelette I’ve had before and it had a good eggy taste and texture. The last cheesy omelette I had was absolutely disgusting, so it was nice to bounce back in such style. The mushrooms were nicely fried and the cheeses (cream cheese and parmesan) were good. The vegetable crisps on top maintained a nice crunch and are convenient for the kitchen, but I’m sure regular potatoes would have been better! This is the smallest of quibbles for a properly sensational dish though.

The buffet had plenty to offer too. There were some breakfasty bits, including granola (nutty and seedy, with a choice of oat or soy milk) and bread and butter (margarine was also available, but I can’t resist a good vegan butter).

There were lots of exciting savoury dishes. The standout was a pumpkin lasagna (pictured above alongside a polenta cutlet), which fortunately was not one of those terrible ones that replaces the pasta with a vegetable: it had pasta, along with a pumpkin layer which added a nice bit of bite. There was also some mince and a cheesy top. We both loved it.

There were also oysters! Really they were just nicely dressed mushrooms. The dressing was a bit too sharp for me, but Dr HH loved it, and we were both excited to have the opportunity to shuck an oyster for the first time in our lives.

Other savoury dishes included a polenta cutlet, goulash, and carpaccio, all of which were tasty and enjoyable.

There was also a decent selection of sweets, including a milchrahm strudel, carrot cake, and apple crumble, alongside some custard.

Dishes were replenished quickly. We arrived at 11am and the staff were replacing platters of food as necessary. We certainly felt like we were getting our money’s worth.

Brunch is only served once a month, and we were just lucky that it coincided with our visit. Booking is definitely recommended, it was totally full when we were there. Honestly, I think it’s worth going purely for the omelette, and the rest of the spread is just a bonus!