Vienna birthday restaurant

I'm certain Emily will check in on the restaurants , her recommendations are spot on . However, one comment about when you eat . It depends on two issues - How well can you handle a late night meal , and what opera you will attend , As an example - A Wagner opera or one like Richard Strauss " Der Rosenkavalier " is a long affair , usually four to five hours . Eating that late might be a problem . On the other hand ,a shorter work like, for instance , Richard Strauss' " Salome " might be possible " après de la representation. "

It is a Wagner opera and is from 7PM tp 9:30pm. I think it may be best if we eat a quick snack before the opera and then a proper meal after the opera? Are the restaurants open late ?

The restaurants are likely to be open , but which opera ? Two and a half hours seems short for Wagner . Flying Dutchman or Rheingold ?

Sure, It's DAS RHEINGOLD

https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/season-tickets/detail/event/969263788-das-rheingold/

I'm envious , to say the least !

Palmenhaus is walking distance from Staatsoper, with a wonderful menu in beautiful surroundings.

If you change your mind and want a 'super fancy' dinner :), one worth the effort is Steirereck Restaurant, in Stadtpark: https://www.steirereck.at/en/restaurant/ Reservations are a must!

Eating in the late evening restricts your choice of restaurants, not only because it is not so common in Vienna (e.g. as compared to Spain) but also due to the enormous lack of staff which forced a lot of places to cut opening hours. Consequently, my advice would be to have dinner before the opera performance. Be sure to plan sufficient time for it. You won't get the bill presented the very moment you swallow the last bite of your dessert. :-)

We don't want a super fancy restaurant but a special one will be nice.

Therefore the Steirereck is not the right choice. This is Austria's #1 restaurant, awarded with 3 Michelin stars, and you will pay from €200 per person upwards.

Here you get very fine Austrian and Viennese cuisine: https://www.plachutta-oper.at/en

I was coming to say the same as wmt1 - eating that late in Vienna is not really common. The kitchen at Palmenhaus, for example, closes at 9:30 pm. You could easily do what the locals do - eat a larger late lunch and go to the Bitzinger Wurstelstand next to the Opera for a sausage (yes, seriously, this is a thing and fun to see the queue of well-dressed people waiting for their sausage). I would suggest pre-ordering food during intermission, but I see there is no intermission for this performance (oy-vey).

So for a pre-performance meal, I really love Gastwirtschaft Pürstner (as do my teens) which is a 10 minute walk, Palmenhaus (already mentioned) in the greenhouse of the Hofburg Palace and Plachutta on Wollzeile (classic Vienna, fancy but not too fancy).

... go to the Bitzinger Wurstelstand next to the Opera for a sausage ...

Get acquainted with Vienna's most popular street food:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jMdLfZ7sDk

Thank you everyone for your kind replies! I agree, we will likely do a late heavy lunch and go to our AirBnB to dress up for Opera, will plan some snack after the opera.. or street food as some suggested!

We are not entirely on a budget trip, but feeding 4 people in a Michelin star restaurant does get expensive! so perhaps after the kids go off to college, we can enjoy some top end restaurants on our vacations:)

I see there is no intermission for this performance (oy-vey).

I see you've been spending more time at Balthasar ;-)