Schnitzel, Kasnocken and the Austrian Menu Kids Will Eat Every Night

Austria is the easiest country in Europe to feed children in, and it is not close.

The Wiener schnitzel is the national dish for a reason. A veal cutlet pounded thin, breaded, fried in butter, served with a lemon and a potato salad. It is the size of the plate and it is the same in a mountain hut as in a Vienna institution. Order one for two kids to share and a second for the adults. The pork version is cheaper and half the menus call it Wiener Art, which means Vienna style, not from Vienna.

Kasnocken is the one nobody tells you about. Little dumplings baked with mountain cheese and crispy onions, served in a cast iron pan. It is what you eat at a hut halfway up a hike, and it is what my kids ask for before they ask for pizza. Find it anywhere west of Salzburg.

Kaiserschmarrn is a torn up sweet pancake with plum compote, and it is served as a main course, not dessert. Order it for lunch on a mountain and watch a whole table go quiet.

The cafe rule

Austrian cafes are not fast. You order, you sit, the waiter leaves you alone for an hour, and a glass of water arrives with every coffee without asking. Kids get a hot chocolate with whipped cream that counts as a meal. Nobody rushes a family with a toddler, which is rarer than it should be.

Wurst stands are the fast option. A Kasekrainer, a sausage with cheese inside, with a roll and mustard, standing at a counter on a Vienna street. Under five euros and the best late lunch in the city.

Water from the tap is Alpine spring water, free, and better than anything in a bottle. Ask for Leitungswasser and skip the two euro bottles.

Planning Austria with kids? Start with the full Austria family travel guide, or send me the ages and the dates and I will come back with what is really available.