Lukas Mraz is chef of the year

VIENNA (11 March 2025) With over 2,050 restaurants rated and listed, Falstaff presents the most comprehensive Restaurant & Inn Guide 2025 to date this year and also surprises with a "newcomer" at the top: "Landhaus Bacher" in Lower Austria was listed for the first time with the highest rating of 100 points and now shares first place with "Steirereck am Stadtpark", "Amador" and "Ikarus". The winners of the special awards are also both a showcase of achievement and a reflection of the many facets of Austrian gastronomy: Lukas Mraz is Chef of the Year, Peter Friese is honoured for his life's work and Sepp Schellhorn is an international ambassador for Austrian cuisine with a strong voice in the world.

More than 20,000 registered Gourmet Club members rated over 2,050 restaurants and inns throughout Austria in the categories of food, service, wine list and ambience. The surprise at the top: this year, Falstaff voters were very clearly in favour of including a new restaurant in the Olympus of the country's leading 100-point establishments: Thomas Dorfer and Landhaus Bacher have been consistently at the top for decades - but the remodelling of the traditional establishment last year seems to have given the whole team a special boost of energy. In addition to Steirereck, Amador and Ikarus, the legendary restaurant in the Wachau region is now the fourth restaurant in the country to be awarded the highest rating of 100 points.

"Despite challenging times, Austria can look forward to an extraordinary gastronomic diversity that only a few European countries can boast. However, it is not only the breadth but also the top that continues to develop pleasingly, and so we are particularly pleased that the Falstaff community has included Landhaus Bacher - a true Austrian institution with reliable top performance - in the ranks of the 100-point establishments. For more than 20 years, our Falstaff community has used its votes to ensure that chefs in the country receive authentic feedback on their performance from guests. Professional testers and their view of gourmet cuisine are one thing - there is no shortage of self-appointed experts. How you experience a restaurant as a paying guest is something completely different. These unfiltered impressions are the backbone of the Falstaff Restaurant Guide with its ratings and offer connoisseurs reliable recommendations - from guests for guests!", says Falstaff publisher Wolfgang M. Rosam.

The Falstaff Awards

Everywhere you read about the challenges facing fine dining in the face of changing consumer habits and a new generation of connoisseurs. And there is hardly a chef who knows how to meet these challenges with more great ideas, more humour and quick-wittedness, combined with flawless technique and great creativity on the plate than the young man with the beard. It is therefore with great pleasure that Falstaff honours Lukas Mraz as Chef of the Year 2025.

Peter Friese was honoured for his "life's work". As the landlord of the Schwarzes Kameel - an icon of local gastronomy - and operator of the Campari Bar, he is one of Vienna's most successful restaurateurs and has built up a remarkable reputation.

The Gastronomic Entrepreneur of the Year is none other than the parade restaurateur Toni Mörwald, who has turned the name Mörwald from the unassuming Feuersbrunn into an unrivalled trademark in the Austrian culinary scene over more than three decades. Today, Mörwald is present in almost all areas of gastronomy: as a chef and restaurant owner, as a catering entrepreneur, as the leading figure of a flourishing cookery school and, last but not least, as the author of countless cookery books, some of which have become bestsellers.

The "international ambassador" of the year comes from the Salzburg region: Sepp Schellhorn not only promotes Austrian cuisine to an international audience hands-on with his own catering businesses, but also politically and digitally as "Pepssch" and with formats such as "Sepp, was machst du". And he does so with humour, a "Geht scho, gemmas an" mentality and a generally infectiously cool way of being Austrian.

Upper Austria, which is generally so lively in terms of gastronomy, presents the new opening of the year with the "Belétage" , which is housed in a sensational extension to the Hotel Post in Traunkirchen. And it has turned out beautifully: with a breathtaking view over the lake, with a cuisine that is wonderfully cosmopolitan, but with a sharp focus on the region. Lukas Nagl, the grandmaster of the sister restaurant Bootshaus, has installed his sous chef Max Deuker here - and he cooks to perfection.

Hannes Müller from the Forelle am Weissensee, one of the best chefs in Carinthia and the whole country, has always prioritised sustainability and innovative ideas - be it close cooperation with local producers, strict seasonality or creative nose-to-tail processing: awareness of local connections and world-class cuisine are part of the DNA here and the reasons for the Falstaff award for sustainability and innovation.

The competent Josef Neulinger has not only been the sommelier at Almhof Schneider in Lech am Arlberg for over two decades, but is also this year's Falstaff "Sommelier of the Year".

The "best Viennese pub" is the equally excellent and relaxed "Reznicek" in 1090 and the "Service of the Year" can also be found in Vienna at the Mochi Group with its F&B manager Toni Tossmann. The "Gasthaus Gruber" in Euratsfeld, Lower Austria, which has just been taken over by the next generation, is "Best Country Inn" and the "Gartenrast" in Radenthein, Carinthia, secured the special prize for "Commitment to Beer Culture" .

In a festive setting at Vienna City Hall on 10 March, Falstaff publisher Wolfgang M. Rosam, Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig and Stiegl head brewer Christian Pöpperl from marketing partner Stiegl presented the awards to the best restaurants in each province, as well as the awards in the special categories.

The award categories at a glance:

• Chef of the Year:Lukas Mraz (Mraz & Sohn, Vienna)
• Lifetime achievement: Peter Friese (Zum Schwarzen Kameel, Vienna)
• Gastronomic Entrepreneur of the Year: Toni Mörwald (Toni Mörwald, Feuersbrunn am Wagram)
• International Ambassador: Sepp Schellhorn (Goldegg/Salzburg)
• Sommelier of the Year: Josef Neulinger (Almhof Schneider, Lech)
• Sustainability & Innovation: Die Forelle (Weissensee)
• Best Service of the Year: Toni Tossmann (Mochi Group, Vienna)
• Opening of the year: Belétage (Traunkirchen)
• Best Viennese pub: Reznicek (Vienna)
• Best country inn: Gasthaus Gruber (Euratsfeld)
• Commitment to beer culture: Gartenrast (Radenthein)

THE TOP TEN OF THE FEDERAL STATES

The ratings in the Falstaff Restaurant & Inn Guide are based on a concept that is unique in Austria: the Falstaff Gourmet Club. Over 20,000 registered gourmet club members visit restaurants throughout the country all year round and provide Falstaff with their votes via the internet or app, optionally with comments. These guest ratings are used to compile a democratic overall rating for each restaurant, which is published once a year in the Falstaff Restaurant & Inn Guide. The restaurant ratings can also be found in the Falstaff Guide app and on www.falstaff.com.

Each voting takes place in the four individual areas

• Food (max. 50 points)
• Service (max. 20 points)
• Wine list (max. 20 points)
• Ambience (max. 10 points)

The highest possible total score is 100 points.

The guide is now available for EUR 15.90 in book and magazine shops and online at falstaff.com/guides. All ratings can also be found in the free Falstaff restaurant app.