This modest, neighborly restaurant is named for the Austrian hometown of its chef and owner, Kurt Gutenbrunner. It's possible that in this mountain hamlet you can obtain slow-cooked lobster with your spaetzle, or light, improbably flaky strudels stuffed with portions of perfectly cooked salmon, but doubtful. People forget that the Austrians had their own empire once, and their cuisine has a diverse lightness and sophistication to it. If you're tired of France, like everyone else, and searching for classic cooking in a great European tradition, this is the place to find it. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld
Brunch
Sat.–Sun., 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
Recommended Dishes
Wiener schnitzel, $32; Hungarian beef goulash, $32
Went to Wallse this weekend for the first time and had a phenomenal meal. We each devised our own 4 course tasting menu. Our waiter was spot-on; not too 'in your face' but very attentive. He took particular care to ask us if we wanted to slow the pace of dinner down; i.e. holding our menu orders from the kitchen so we could enjoy our cocktails, and our courses were evenly and leisurely paced, but not too slow. A highlight was their use of ramps (soups, garnish, veggie side) which I love. The proteins were all excellently cooked, sauces well seasoned and balanced and the menu choices seasonal and appropriate. Our waiter also chose some excellent wine pairings as well.
The desserts were excellent. Of note was my quark panna cotta with vanilla rhubarb compote which the waiter paired with a lovely auslese.
And to counter a previous poster, our waiter was very conscious of our comfort, he asked several times how the temperature was.
I've dined at Wallse at least 10 times and each time was a terrific experience. The food is consistently excellent and authentic, and the staff is extremely courteous. My father is from Germany and is a stickler when it comes to american restaurants serving "german/austrian cuisine" and he loves both Wallse and Blaue Gans. Also, the cuisine at restaurants can tend to fall flat after its been around for a while - since many founding chefs go on to new endeavors to expand their culinary empire. 75% of the time I see Kurt Gutenbrunner at Wallse or Blaue Gans and I think that explains why the food has been consistently good over all these years. I've yet to have a meal here that wasn't simply delicious. Be sure to get the Nockerl for dessert!!!