Review: Restaurant Zirbelzimmer, Hotel Sacher Salzburg, Austria

Vienna’s Hotel Sacher is well known for its Sachertorte, devised in 1832 by Franz Sacher for Prince Metternich, the legendary diplomat.  Sachetorte is perhaps one of the famous of all Austrian specialties – vying with Wiener Schnitzel and, for those in the know, Mozartkugel and Salzburger Nockerl.  Sacher’s son Eduard went on to open the Hotel Sacher in Vienna in 1876 and the cake is believed to have been instrumental in establishing the hotel’s renown.

Today, Sachertorte continues to be served at the Hotel Sacher in Vienna as well as its sister hotel, the Hotel Sacher Salzburg.

The Hotel Sacher Salzburg was built between 1863 and 1866 as the Hotel Österreicher Hof by the Austrian builder Carl Freiherr von Schwarz.. The hotel changed hands along the way several times until, in 1988, Peter Gürtler, the owner of the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, acquired the structure and performed a complete renovation that left the property as the leading luxury hotel in the city.

I arrived in Salzburg earlier that day, which was Reformationstag or Reformation Day in both Germany and Austria, a 90-mile (144 kilometer) drive from Munich. After a pleasant walk around the Altstadt, which was fairly quiet due to the holiday, I crossed the Salzach River to reach the Hotel Sacher Salzburg.

The Sacher offers multiple places for guest and visitors to eat, including the elegant Roter Salon, the Salzachgrill (which was closed for renovations during my visit), and the Restaurant Zirbelzimmer, which has kept its traditional ambiance intact since the hotel’s opening.

The Zirbelzimmer, with its elegant pink Sacher tablecloths, rich wood paneling, and stuffed animal heads, was largely empty when I arrived, although several diners arrived shortly after I did.

Click here to continue to Page 2 – No Sachertorte, Please!

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