9 restaurants and mountain huts with a view

The warm wood of the sunbed on your back, your feet in the grass, and before you an unobstructed view of Attersee Lake, the Höllengebirge range, and the Schafberg. Whether on the lawn or the sundeck: at the Windhager family’s Druckergut, you can get a bit closer to heaven – also because of the superb food at this family-run hotel. The Druckerhof, a former farm now run as a hotel with restaurant, has been operated by fourteen generations of Windhagers now.

Once a year, the restaurants surrounding Traunsee Lake serve a small lake fish called “Riedling”. This high-quality fish, which is typically roasted on a stick, is found only in Traunsee Lake, Austria’s deepest lake with depths of up to 191 metres. The Riedling is a true rarity and thus greatly popular with fish aficionados. From the lakeside terrace of the Schweizerhof restaurant, you can even watch these fish swimming around in the water between March and October – but perhaps you prefer to let your gaze drift off into the distance to the impressive Traunstein and the Dachstein Massif.

Sitting on the lake terrace at Hotel Peter, we are a bit confused: “Who actually is Peter, and who is Paul der Wirt (Innkeeper Paul)?” It’s really quite simple: In 1872, Paul Peter opened the Peterbräu, a hotel and pension, in St. Wolfgang, and both establishments still bear his name. But at “Paul”, Ralph Elser and his wife Sabine now serve creative Austrian cuisine in a modern inn. Another special highlight is the “Breakfast on the Lake” – and not only because of the view of emerald-green Wolfgangsee Lake and the surrounding mountains. If you’re there at the right time, you can even wave to the “emperor” – when the vintage steamship “Kaiser Franz Josef” passes.

Dining on the sundeck of Schloss Fuschl in SalzburgerLand is a memory we will long treasure: the superb meal and the view of turquoise Fuschlsee Lake, embedded in fields of wildflowers and surrounded by forests and mountains. If you prefer a more casual atmosphere, visit the Schlossfischerei of Schloss Fuschl, right on the lake, and dine on the freshly smoked catch of the day or a delicious fish soup. Tip: Take the barge “Die Fuschlerin” from there across the lake to the town of Fuschl and back or hike around the lake.

Have you ever dreamed of dining very exclusively right out on the lake? The Seehotel am Grundlsee makes this possible with its “Plätte”, a small wooden barge. On board you enjoy an aperitif and the appetiser – with a view of the lake and the mountains. You then return to land for the main course: Alpine beef specialities or fish fresh from Grundlsee Lake are prepared with herbs and other products right from the Ausseerland and served at the hotel – either on the lake terrace of the Restaurant Seeplatz’l or in the lake pavilion.

Dining with a view of the myth-enshrouded Toplitzsee Lake. Art treasures and gold lie at the bottom of the lake – or so they say. Culinary treasures, on the other hand, are to be found on its shores at the Fischerhütte, a favourite destination for hikers, known for its creative and light cuisine. Freshly caught fish like trout and char are lovingly prepared and served in the wood-panelled dining room or in the garden.

It is still early in the morning when we observe award-winning chef Hannes Müller gathering herbs behind his Genießerhotel Die Forelle and obviously relishing their fragrance. At dinner on the lake terrace, we ask him what is particularly important to him as a chef. “The guests should taste Weissensee Lake and its natural surroundings in my dishes,” he says with a smile. Which is why he harvests the wild plants himself and has an intimate knowledge of the products he acquires from the farmers and fish suppliers in the region.

If you’re in search of a rustic hut in an Alpine pasture with beautiful views of Millstätter See Lake, then hike or drive up to the Lammersdorfer Hütte. The milk from the cows grazing in the Lammersdorf alpine pasture are turned into cream cheese, semi-hard cheese, and the traditional “Bergkäse” at the Alpine dairy. If you’re fond of the typical Carinthian cheese ravioli (Kärntner Kasnudeln), the Lammersdorfer Hütte has the best!

The stupendous views you are afforded of the Dachstein Massif from the Krummholzhütte, a hut located at an elevation of 1,856 metres / 566 feet on the Hauser Kaibling mountain in Styria, can leave you with your mouth hanging open and your delicious lamb roast growing cold. Please note: The only way up here is by walking or taking the cable car. If you want to experience the impressive mountain sunset, you can also book a room for the night.