Amador

Review Highlights

Alexander returns to Amador for his third visit, ducking in from the rain at this three-Michelin-starred restaurant housed in a former wine estate in Vienna's Heiligenstadt district. He's joined by fellow Hungarian Ádám Bencze, the resident sommelier, whose talent he's quick to highlight. The single tasting menu — called MOMENTUM — runs €375 per person, and Alexander wastes no time pulling a 2019 Puligny Montrachet Leflaive off the wine list while it has time to open up.

• ·Tafelspitz tapas — a crunchy roll filled with beef tartare, fresh chives, and an apple salad on top, served alongside a layered horseradish custard with root vegetables and a silky beef consommé; "full of collagen, smokey, and meaty aromas"
• ·La Gilda — an elevated take on the classic Basque pintxo: a small basket loaded with fish tartar and covered in green foam; "silky, light, and super intense," the olive saltiness and acidic green pepperoni tying it all together
• ·King Crab — the final amuse, with Iberico ham foam, teardrop peas, and crumble on top; sweet, slightly smoked, with dry-aged depth, confirming that "the chef has a remarkable style and I'm totally in love with it"
• ·Beurre Blanc ice cream — one of the chef's signature dishes, pairing hazelnut milk foam, pieces of oyster, tarragon oil, and N25 caviar with ice cream made from the classic warm sauce; "the game with the temperatures and just the idea to turn a warm sauce into ice cream… stunning"
• ·Norwegian Lobster three ways — a rich bisque made from the shells, a crispy dumpling filled with lobster on crustacean mayonnaise, and the whole lobster tail covered in tomato vinaigrette with melipona honey, pineapple, macadamia puree, and jalapeño foam; "one of the most exciting dishes I've ever had… mindblowing"
• ·Scallop and sweetbread 'surf & turf' — paired with black truffle and Chervil bulb in a sauce that is "silky, shiny, vibrant, and beautiful"; the truffle, which Alexander normally finds overrated, works perfectly here
• ·Pigeon — a signature dish with the breast covered in a curry spice and black bread rub, surrounded by coconut puree and mango pieces; "one of the best pigeon dishes I've had," with perfect texture and plating that reflects Chef Amador's side passion as a painter
• ·Brick in the Wall — a Pink Floyd-inspired dessert created while the song played in the kitchen: a Lego-shaped custard painted with white chocolate and beet varnish, sitting on chocolate flooring, with beet macarons, beet sorbet, and beet puree; a "very complex dish" with the recipe publicly available

Alexander's third visit confirms Amador as a kitchen operating at the highest level: "absolutely brilliant" with unbeatable signature dishes that keep him coming back. Service has improved to immaculate — precise and professional, if a touch pale in personality — and he singles out sommelier Ádám Bencze as full of energy and knowledge. The meal closes with a deconstructed Mozartkugel that he calls a "worthy closure." Total: around €4,100 for five. For Alexander, Amador remains worth returning to again and again.

About

Amador is a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Vienna's Heiligenstadt district, housed within the Hajszan Neumann wine estate — a former Heuriger (wine tavern) with vaulted brick ceilings and a working vineyard. Chef Juan Amador, born in Germany to Spanish parents, earned Michelin stars at multiple restaurants before opening his own in Langen in 2005, later relocating to Mannheim and finally to Vienna in 2016, where he earned three stars within three years — making Amador Austria's first restaurant to hold that distinction. His cooking blends avant-garde technique with Spanish roots and Austrian ingredients, served as a single tasting menu format.