Restaurant in Graz, Austria
Michelin-recognised, easy to book, Old Town address.
A Michelin Plate-recognised restaurant (2024 and 2025) in a palais on Graz's historic Sackstraße, Schmidhofer im Palais offers International cuisine at the €€€ tier with a 4.7 Google rating across 262 reviews. Booking is straightforward relative to comparable Austrian restaurants, making it one of Graz's more accessible serious dining options. Best suited to a weekday dinner in spring or early autumn.
Getting a table at Schmidhofer im Palais is not the obstacle it might be at comparable Michelin-recognised restaurants elsewhere in Austria. Booking is direct — this is one of the easier reservations to secure at the €€€ tier in Graz, which makes it a sensible first call if you're planning a serious meal in the city without the lead-time anxiety. The real question is whether it earns its Michelin Plate recognition in a city that punches above its weight for food. On the basis of a 4.7 Google rating across 262 reviews and back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025, the answer is yes — with some caveats depending on what you're after.
Schmidhofer im Palais sits at Sackstraße 16, one of Graz's most architecturally significant streets in the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed district that gives the restaurant a locational weight few dining rooms in Austria can replicate. This is not incidental to the experience. Eating here connects you to the physical grain of a city that has preserved its Baroque and Renaissance fabric more completely than almost anywhere in the German-speaking world. For a food and travel enthusiast, that context is part of what you're paying for.
The cuisine is classified as International, which at a venue of this standing in a palais setting typically means a European fine-dining framework drawing on seasonal produce rather than a commitment to any single regional tradition. Graz and Styria are among Austria's most food-focused regions , the area's pumpkin seed oil, beef, and wine have a serious local following , so an International menu in this city tends to have a Styrian spine even when the presentation reaches beyond it. That regional gravity is worth factoring into your expectations.
The atmosphere at Schmidhofer im Palais is shaped by the building itself. A palais interior in the Old Town carries a particular ambient register: high ceilings, stone or plaster architectural detail, and a quieter energy than a modern restaurant fitout would generate. This is not a loud room. If you're after the kind of conversation-friendly dinner where the noise level doesn't force you to repeat yourself, this address works in your favour. Compare that to some of Graz's busier contemporary spots, where the energy skews younger and louder , Schmidhofer im Palais is the choice when the evening calls for something more considered.
For first-timers to Graz, this is also a restaurant that anchors you to the right part of the city. Sackstraße feeds into the Hauptplatz and is within easy walking distance of the Schlossberg, the Kunsthaus Graz, and the main concentration of the city's better wine bars. Building a dinner here into a walking evening through the Old Town is a practical and rewarding approach, particularly in the spring and early autumn when the Graz evenings are mild enough to extend the night after the meal.
The leading time to visit Schmidhofer im Palais is a weekday evening in spring (April to May) or early autumn (September to October). Graz's Old Town sees meaningful tourist traffic in summer, and weekend evenings in July and August fill the streets around Sackstraße. A Tuesday or Wednesday dinner in shoulder season gives you a calmer room, easier parking if you're arriving by car, and the full attention of service. If your schedule is fixed to a weekend, book as early in the evening as the kitchen allows , the room's atmosphere is at its leading before the later sittings fill.
For visitors combining a meal here with broader Styrian food and wine exploration, autumn is the stronger choice. The Styrian wine harvest runs through October, and the regional produce at its peak , including the new-season pumpkin seed oil and late-summer vegetables , aligns well with what an International menu in this region is leading positioned to deliver.
Reservations: Easy to secure relative to comparable Michelin-recognised restaurants in Austria , book a few days to a week ahead for weekday evenings, and at least two weeks out for weekend dates in summer or during major Graz events (Styriarte, Aufsteirern). Dress: Smart casual is safe; the palais setting rewards the effort of dressing appropriately without imposing a formal code. Budget: €€€ puts this in the 60–100€ per head range for a full dinner with wine, positioning it above the city's casual bistro tier but well below the leading end of Austrian fine dining. Address: Sackstraße 16, 8010 Graz , central Old Town, walkable from all major hotels in the district. Access: No lat/long data available; confirm the nearest car park with your hotel if driving, as Old Town parking in Graz requires advance planning.
See the full comparison section below.
If Schmidhofer im Palais has you interested in what the broader Austrian dining scene delivers at the leading end, the reference points worth knowing are Steirereck im Stadtpark in Vienna, Austria's most decorated restaurant, and Döllerer in Golling an der Salzach, which takes a more regionally focused approach in a different Alpine context. For Michelin-level cooking in mountain settings, Gourmetrestaurant Tannenhof in Sankt Anton am Arlberg, Griggeler Stuba in Lech, and Ikarus in Salzburg each offer a distinct read on Austrian fine dining. If Styrian produce and seasonal cooking are your focus, Kräuterreich by Vitus Winkler in Sankt Veit im Pongau is worth a detour. For International cuisine comparisons in a European context, Haubentaucher in Rottach-Egern and Loumi in Berlin offer useful benchmarks.
Within Graz's own dining scene, the full picture is covered in our full Graz restaurants guide. For everything else the city offers, see our Graz hotels guide, our Graz bars guide, our Graz wineries guide, and our Graz experiences guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schmidhofer im Palais | International | €€€ | Easy |
| Artis | Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Kehlberghof | Seasonal Cuisine | €€€ | Unknown |
| Mohrenwirt | Regional Cuisine | €€ | Unknown |
| Restaurant Scheucher | Farm to table | €€ | Unknown |
| Starcke Haus | International | €€€€ | Unknown |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Specific menu items are not publicly documented for Schmidhofer im Palais, so go with what the kitchen is steering you toward on the day. The cuisine is listed as International, which at a Michelin Plate-recognised address in Austria typically means a European foundation with broader technique. Ask the front-of-house for the kitchen's current strengths when you arrive — at €€€ pricing, that conversation is reasonable to have.
The address is the first thing to register: Sackstraße 16 puts you on one of Graz's most architecturally significant streets inside the UNESCO-listed Old Town. Schmidhofer im Palais holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, meaning the quality is recognised but this is not a starred room — expectations and pricing (€€€) should align accordingly. Booking is straightforward relative to comparable Austrian restaurants, so a few days' notice on weekday evenings is usually sufficient.
No specific dietary policy is documented in available venue data. At a Michelin Plate-level restaurant in the €€€ range, accommodating dietary requirements is standard practice — check the venue's official channels ahead of your reservation to confirm. The International cuisine format gives the kitchen flexibility across multiple dietary profiles.
Within Graz, Restaurant Scheucher and Starcke Haus are the most direct comparisons worth considering. If you're willing to travel outside the city, Kehlberghof and Mohrenwirt represent the Styrian regional cooking angle at a comparable price tier. Artis is another Graz option worth evaluating depending on your format preference.
Yes, it works well for a special occasion. The Sackstraße 16 location in Graz's UNESCO Old Town adds a setting that does some of the heavy lifting before you sit down, and the Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025) gives the meal credibility. At €€€, it is priced for occasion dining without reaching the top tier of Austrian fine dining — a reasonable spend for the context.
At €€€ with two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions (2024–2025), Schmidhofer im Palais is priced at a level where the quality signal supports the spend for most diners. It is not a Michelin-starred room, so if your benchmark is Ikarus or Steirereck, adjust expectations. For what Graz's Old Town offers at this price point, the combination of setting and recognised cooking is a reasonable deal.
Tasting menu availability and pricing are not confirmed in the venue record. If a tasting menu is offered, the International cuisine format at Michelin Plate level suggests it will run as a multi-course European structure. Ask when booking — at €€€ pricing, it's the format that typically justifies the per-head spend at this category of restaurant.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
