What to Eat in Graz: Your Guide to Austria’s Foodie City

The best Graz restaurants show you the spirit of the city as well as serving the best food. Here’s where and what to eat in Graz and the ultimate food guide for Austria’s second city.

The Food Guide for Where to Eat in Graz

If you’re wondering what to eat in Graz then you’re in for a treat. Austria’s second city is renowned for its food and its food events. Here’s a food guide that will help you discover what to eat and where to eat in Graz.

See also our five different ways to spend one day in Graz and guide to unique things to do in Graz.

Why You Should Visit Graz

Graz. I think if I had to be a city I’d choose to be Graz. Pretty yet punchy, wearing traditional Austrian churches with their coppery-domed spires alongside new design features like the glass bubbles of the Friendly Alien. The unmissable, sparkling Murinsel amid the swirling Mur river. And the many more unusual things to do in Graz.

And then there’d be the confidence boost of the awards: UNESCO city of design. European Capital of Culture 2003. Austria’s Capital of Culinary Delights.

Yet all with barely a tourist in view.

Recommended reading: Käsestrasse: The UNESCO Cheese Road in Bregenzerwald, Austria

The Best Food Festival in Graz, Austria

The Long Table

The most glamorous expression of the culinary delights title takes place at the Long table of Graz each year, when 700 diners sip local Styrian wine and taste buttered alpine salmon and spleen as twilight settles over the old town.

But even if you’ve missed tickets for that – or just happen to be in town on another day, there are plenty of ways to discover the culinary delights of Graz.

Here’s a collection of Graz restaurants to fall in love with. And what is so good about them is that they help to tell the story of the city and its surrounding swoopingly high mountains.

They are grand, they are casual, they are café cool (did I mention yet that they love a bit of design?)

And they are all there for the taking.

The Best Coffee Shops and Cafes in Graz

Ducks Coffee Shop

Let’s get started with Ducks Coffee Shop. Yes, yes, I know that if you haven’t travelled to Austria for a while, you’re probably desperate to get into the traditional side of the cuisine.

All schnitzel and strudel and sachertorte.

But Ducks Coffee Shop is fun! It’s inventive! It’s bright, it’s airy, it’s creative, and, well, it serves pretty good food too.

And, like the café, I wanted to get your attention. This is the rest of Graz, its modern energy, its creative fuel.

Flavours to look out for: Iced tiger tea and Olivia’s Green Mango Smoothie.

Paying attention? Now let’s move on to the rest.

Parks Bio Fairtrade Coffee Shop

Slip a bit of bright light and eco-consciousness into your dining at the Parks Bio Fairtrade Coffee Shop. It’s a little on the small side to call it a restaurant but serves much more flavour than the coffee shop description would lead you to believe.

Das Dekagramm

Part eco-conscious delicatessen and supermarket, part chic café, Das Dekagramm is a great place to stop and spend a few hours, no matter your age.

Sip rosehip tea and educate yourself with one of their zero waste workshops.

Grand Café Kaiserfeld

Soak up some of the creative gloom of Vienna’s famous coffee houses at the Grand Café Kaiserfeld. While you’re there, pay homage to local boy turned movie star and Governor of California, one Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Try the potato strudel with herb sauce and salad or the trout, if you can. However, the menu changes regularly so visit with an empty stomach and an open mind.

Omas Teekanne on Nikolaiplatz

Founded by two women in a coffee town and decked out with imaginative crockery, Omas Teekanne is a cute little escape from city life. It fits well into a morning spent in Lend & Gries.

Kaffee Weitzer

The Kaffee Weitzer is bringing back the coffee shop culture made famous throughout Vienna.

The Best Restaurants in Graz with a View

Aiola Upstairs

High on the Schlossberg, within stumbling distance of the landmark clocktower, Aiola Upstairs allows diners to see the city of Graz beneath them, twinkling and sparkling as the sun goes down. Or up, actually, since it also serves breakfast (with prosecco), as well as lunch and dinner. This is the restaurant for first dates, even if (especially if?) that first date happens to be with the city of Graz itself.

The food here is good but it is the location that steals the show.

Look out for the handmade gnocchi and the soups.

Freiblick Tagescafe

Forget about the food, this is a place to shop and be seen in. Perched at the top of Graz’s oldest department store, Kastner & Öhler, (the gilded and manicured doors opened in 1837) the café and restaurant also offers superb views across the terracotta rooftops of the centre of the city. Zip up to the sixth floor and order cocktails and cool like there’s no tomorrow.

Great for coffee and strudel, the Freiblick Tagescafe menu also offers burgers and other more substantial dishes.

Where to Eat in Graz for Local Food

Der Steirer

For the perfect introduction to Styrian food in Graz, head to Der Steirer near the Tegetthoff Brücke (bridge).

Embracing the trend to call all small dishes tapas, Der Steirer serves up Styrian tapas beneath a warm yet cool trendy décor with wooden wine crates, vaulted ceilings and suspended wine bottles.

Here’s where you can find a real introduction to Austrian food. The ‘Emperor’s recommendation’ is Tafelspitz, which is prime boiled beef with bouillon and sliced pancakes or meat strudel served with pan fried potatoes, creamy spinach, chives cream and apple-horseradish. In the tapas section you can’t miss the strudel with pears and marzipan.

What to Eat in Graz

When you find yourself wondering what to eat in Graz, make a start with these local specialties. See also our guide to traditional food in Austria here.

Pumpkin seed oil – this green, full throated liquid is the signature, er, slosh for Graz. I’d never heard of it before I went there but  by the time I’d left, I’d had it with ice cream, over salads, in risotto and, well, I suspect infused into the air itself. OR at the very least the coffee.

Thoughtful market traders even serve it in metallic containers small enough to fit under the 100ml hand luggage only rule if you want to take some home.

Schmarren – is affectionately known as a mish mash of shredded pancake and often stewed apricots. Sometimes the apricots are replaced with apple sauce or another sweet touch.  

Zotter – known for their chocolates, the Zotter cakes are also now very popular. I highly recommend the dark chocolate cake.

In 1987 the first Zotter confectionary shop opened in Graz and in 1992 Josef Zotter accidentally invented his now signature handmade scooped chocolates. These days you’ll only find carefully sourced organic ingredients in the chocolates. 

Backhendl – this is breaded fried chicken; a specialty of Viennese cuisine and really rather tasty. You’ll find it served in many restaurants in Graz. There are even articles dedicated to finding the best Backhendl in the city.

Brettljause – shared cold platter of cheese, sliced meats, cooked fish and more. Enjoyed all the better in a Styrian Buschenschank high in the mountains.

Schnapserl – fruit brandy.

Sissi busserl – sweet, light biscuity treats with a dashing of chocolatey swirl.

Related: Buschenschank Steiermark: A Beautiful Austrian Tradition

Other Notable Places to Eat in Graz

Salon Marie at the Wiesler Hotel

Once a grand art deco hotel, the Wiesler has reinvented itself as hipster with a capital H. Bare brick walls mingle with chandeliers and hotel rooms say “you can smoke here if you like but you’ll soon be joined by ten angry firemen.”

Salon Marie is a treat for breakfast or dinner, with its riverside location, fascinating design and fresh, wholesome flavours.

Look out for the Soul Brunch, tagged as a Sunday with a lot of soul at the (turn)tables.

Kunsthaus Café at the Friendly Alien

Sometimes, you can’t beat a museum restaurant or café. They’ve come so far from the dreary stale scones and tea offerings found (ahem) in some parts of the British Isles.

The bulbous, glassy swelling of the Friendly Alien marks the Kunsthaus or art museum on the distinctly cool side of the river. The Kunsthaus Café has a hipster vibe and serves food to eat inside or take away.

Hofbäckerei Edegger-Tax

Dressed in polished wood and glistening gold, there’s no way of getting around this. Herein lies a glorified sweet shop. One with quite a lot of glory, though, dating back to 1569 and still claiming the title of the oldest functioning bakery in Graz.

It’s signature sugary sweet is the  Sissi-Busserl, a kind of chocolate drizzled macaroon named after a former Empress of Austria, but you’ll also find plenty of standard loaves and the odd vanilla croissant.

Apart from anything else, Hofbäckerei Edegger-Tax is the place to go if you need to buy fancy treats for your boss at the office for when you get back.

The Markets of Graz

Surrounded by spellbinding green-fielded and mountain countryside, it comes as no surprise that Graz has hearty farmers markets too.

Kaiser Josef Platz near the Opera House is open Monday to Saturday, with Saturday being the most popular with locals.

Lendplatz is in the “wrong” side of town and is nestled in the banks of the river Mur. You’ll find crusty farmhouse loaves, meats, fruit, vegetables and more here.

While it’s fun to wander through the aisles, looking at the plump pumpkins and juicy apples, they also make good spots to stop for morning coffee and fresh fruit and to stock up your suitcase with the signature green pumpkin oil.

The Best Ice Cream in Graz

With all that Mediterranean, Italian influence, it’s no surprise that ice cream’s a treat in Graz. Here’s the best of the best.

• Harry’s Ice Cream – the best ice cream in Lend
• Saxeis – tasty ice cream shop that uses locally sourced ingredients (I’ve even visited the dairy that supplies the milk
• Die Eisperle – vegan ice cream and queues that suggest that it’s great!

The Best Graz Restaurants According to Locals

Back in Graz again, I caught up with locals who loved to share their recommendations with me. I haven’t managed to try them all yet but here they are:

• The Delikatessen Frankowitsch – apparently offers the best sandwiches and has a deli counter. 
• KLYO Alte Münze – in one of the most beautiful squares in the city, with a fountain and view up to the Clocktower
• The Winter Garden Cafe and Ernst Fuchs Bar at the Hotel Erzherzog – beautiful spots in the centre of town
• Die Herzl – another beautiful square, another gorgeous restaurant
• Landhauskeller
• El Gaucho
• Altsteirische Schmankerlstube – delicious traditional food served in an historic building and outdoor terrace. Don’t miss the Styrian schnitzel – coated in pumpkin seeds and oil.
• Hummel – opened in 2022, this earth toned restaurant serves mezze platters from the Levant and has a leafy, outdoor terrace near the Friendly Alien art museum. ]
• Gut Schlossberg – regional delicacies from a farming cooperative.
• Cafe Schwalbennest – the swallow’s nest cafe by the side of the river.
• Geruchtekuche – gourmet vegetarian restaurant with daring menus.
• Linzbichler Chocolate Shop – a range of tasty bites sold in an historic chocolate box shop.
• Ginko Vegan cafe – one part of why Graz has more veggie options than anywhere else in Austria

Local Specialties in Graz

Sure, there’s traditional Austrian cuisine and the produce from the local region of Styria, Austria’s culinary cauldron. 

But also, there are things to eat and drink that come specifically from Graz. And they are…

• Eule Bier
• Makava
• Grazider

More on Travel in Austria

• Why summer in Austria is good for you
• Unique things to do in Graz, Austria’s city of design
• The 10 traditional Austrian dishes everyone should try at least once
• How to enjoy summer in Lech in Austria
• The secrets of the Cheese Road in Austria
• Buschenschank Steirmark. Tricky words, great concept
• Dark tourism in Vienna: is it ethical?
• How to swim in a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Salzkammergut
• Why St Johann in Tirol is Your Secret Tonic this Summer
• How to plan your perfect trip to Innsbruck
• 15 Beautiful lakes in Austria

Disclosure  – I travelled to Graz in Austria as part of a project with Captivate and Visit Graz to discover the different tastes of Austria. As usual, I kept the right to write what I like. Prost!