A time machine on the Naschmarkt, Zur eisernen Zeit is the oldest gasthaus (Viennese tavern) on this increasing modern culinary strip. Established in 1916, the tiny restaurant is frozen in time: yellowing walls, oiled floor planks and slate boards with the specials inscribed in chalk. The place even reeks of “authentic gasthaus” with the mingling scents of beer, gulasch and pipe smoke.

In this haven of unadulterated Viennese food culture, an entertaining ensemble of regular guests natter on animatedly about everything from politics to the daily trivia of their lives. Vienna’s mayor often passes by to throw in his two cents worth. The gulasch here is tremendously popular and is rumored to be the city’s spiciest.