RadioCafe

Review

Funkhouse down

Ö1 and FM4 have already moved out, Radio Wien and Wien heute are still there, but not for much longer. The Radiokulturhaus, founded 25 years ago, will probably continue to exist as a venue, while the rest of the charismatic Funkhaus Wien, built in the 1930s and partially listed since 1999, will become luxury apartments. When ORF conceived the Radiokulturhaus 25 years ago as a quasi-direct cultural channel between broadcaster and recipient in the Funkhaus, the concept surprisingly also included a restaurant. It was conceived by André Heller and designed by star architect Adolf Krischanitz in the style of historical recording studios, and Mario Manessinger, one of the most interesting restaurateurs on the Viennese restaurant scene at the time, was engaged. However, concept and reality are often two different things, especially when it comes to gastronomy: the RadioCafe was too expensive for ORF employees, who preferred to continue going to the canteen with its beautiful view of the Theresianum sports field. The influx of external guests wasn't that great either, after all the RadioCafe was a rather cramped basement restaurant and Krischanitz's interior is a lot of things, but not particularly inviting. Capable people such as Jürgen Wolf and Wolfgang Katzenschlager then tried the restaurant in succession, but it was never a real success. Not least because sluggish day-to-day business on the one hand and crowds of people after the end of an event in the large broadcasting hall are almost impossible to manage from a gastronomic point of view. The man who got the RadioCafe going again after a break of several years knows this because Askin Dogan also runs the buffet at the Rabenhof Theater. The small difference to the RadioCafe is that in the Rabenhof you are happy with sausages, beer and ham sandwiches because there has never been anything else, but in the RadioCafe I have already eaten lamb pita and home-made turkey ravioli with smoked sheep's cheese. At lunchtime he will offer two dishes, explains Askin Dogan, in the evening only snacks, "we are feeling our way", there will probably never be any big cooking. Too bad, but okay. The dishes on offer last week were an impeccable lentil soup (€ 4.90) and a plate with a kind of potato and meat goulash, not bad either (€ 9.90). Of course, you could counter the public dilemma with a few clever snack and drinks concepts, but Argentinierstraße will be rebuilt soon and the building site in the Funkhaus is only a matter of time. "I don't know what will happen then," says Dogan. RadioCafe, a swan song. Although it is open again, its primary purpose is to serve concertgoers at the Radiokulturhaus.

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