Eyal Shani and the Miznon Crew on expansion course
The Seven North restaurant, the Miznon and 7 other restaurants are all part of the empire that the Israeli Chef Eyal Shani created. I personally love the Miznon in Vienna and the Miznon in Tel Aviv and all in all most of his restaurants are good to great except one. The North Abraxass restaurant in Tel Aviv has the worst service I have ever had in any place on this planet. The rudeness and pretentiousness of the staff is almost like a bad comedy. But as usual I digress.
Interior – Look Mom! Pretty!
Back to a new golden gem in Vienna. Usually Hotel Restaurants are mostly either bland and or expensive with a couple of exceptions like Alain Ducasse in the Hotel Plaza Athenee. Somehow the people behind the Max Brown hotel had the brilliant idea to give a creative concept a chance an Booomm here we are at the Seven North. Designed like an oversized industrial garage for eating with lots of brass, copper and tiling it has a cool charm to it. Of course there are a couple of aspects that are copy pasted from the “hipster interior book” like mismatching chairs and tables, industrial lamps and waiters in suspenders but hey at least the took it and gave it their own spin.
From the get go the service was fresh, a bit stressed as the house was packed and my reservation got lost but they quickly found me a space at the bar and I was ready to take the menu for a spin.
Food This Food That
I started out with the sticky oily delicious brick (literally a brick) covered in Roast Beef and drizzled with mustard and beet jelly. This dish is already the most famous thing here and is an experience in itself just be careful to NOT get it all over your clothes as it sits like the picture on the table. No plate!
After that I continued with a fluffy charred sweet potato with creme fraiche a fine intermission meal to continue with the lamb shwarma on flatbread that was full of flavor and had a crunch to it that I loved – a perfect main dish. Still looking for a finisher I went for something called Eggplant Lines which wins you over with its simplicity. Basically it is a black charred eggplant cut open drizzled with olive oil and Tahini and then cut with precision without losing the shape of the eggplant. I skipped the whole cauliflower (already know that one very well) but it is a classic and a great choice if you’ve never had any.
With the hustle and bustle going on in the restaurant and the amazing gigantic open kitchen (try to get a seat there) were 10 cooks create your dishes with gusto and the music hitting your eardrums with tracks from all over the globe it somehow gives you energy.
Not suited for a quiet night, a candle light dinner or something like that. Just by the design of the food I am guessing kids would have a blast eating here.
Eyal Shani did it again with his nonchalance and I am happy to now have two restaurants to bring back the beautiful memories I made in Israel. Now take care of that mess at North Abraxass. (Look at me pretending he would ever find this article).
L’Chaim! (Takes a shot of Arak)
Seven North – Website
Schottenfeldgasse 74
1070 Vienna, Austria
Wanna read more about another Israeli Hotel Restaurant – Check out Neni in Berlin
