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Austrian Imbiss near Marble Arch

Hirter Korchl dark lager
Hirter Morchl dark lager

UPDATE May 2012: the Imbiss sadly closed at some point in 2010 or 2011.

Who opens an Austrian cafe in London? Seriously?

Imbiss is hidden away on Seymour Place, a back street near Marble Arch, in London’s West End. It’s next door to the Carpenter’s Arms.

Stepping inside is like travelling abroad. The staff are distinctly Germanic; there’s a huge display of various lurid leberkaese (meat loaves); and baskets full of pretzels. It’s minimalistic and bright, offering quite a contrast to the wonderful but gloomy Zeitgeist.

The food tastes authentic, too — i.e. processed, meaty and bad for your health — and it’s pretty reasonably priced, making Kurtz and Lang‘s overpriced sausages look a bit redundant.

The authenticity continues into the beer selection. Stiegl lager and wheat beer are available on tap, both fairly bland but crispy fresh, and much nicer than Stella Artois and Erdinger respectively. There’s a rotating range of bottled beer from Austria, too, including a selection from Hirter Morchl, whose dark lager we’ve enjoyed in the past. A quirky organic hemp beer is also on the menu.

If you’re jonesing for Mittel Europa but can’t get away from the UK, this is the perfect substitute, and deserves more custom than it seems to be getting.

It’s closed on Monday, but open until 11ish the rest of the week.

9 replies on “Austrian Imbiss near Marble Arch”

I’ve tried to like leberkaese on my many German visits, but it isn’t going to happen. As for currywurst – I haven’t tried to like THAT.

Thanks for the “heads up” though. I like the quirkiness of it and might call in one day. Unless it has gone bust before my next visit to London of course.

I wasn’t so keen on the obscene sausage which squirts “cheese” everywhere when you cut into it…

We have similar cheesy sausages in the Czech Republic, they are lovely – and as for currywurst – best in Berlin where the just dump ketchup and curry powder on a bratwurst, superb!

Thanks for the heads up. I had no idea about this place. Perversely, I became a bit of a fan of Leberkase when I lived in Munich. A ‘UFO’ (laberkase in a roll) is a fine thing for a hangover. I could live without ever tasting currywurst again. I was partial to the odd Stiegl on trips to Salzburg, too.

Nice blog, by the way. I live in Leytonstone/Wanstead and its nice to see some pubs near me.

Hey, just went to this amazing place, soooo cool, such great food and so central (Marble Arch Station).
See you again soon, SUe**

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