Restaurant in Hadersdorf am Kamp, Austria
One Michelin star, limited seats, plan ahead.
Esslokal holds a Michelin 1 Star and was rated the number-one wine list in Austria by Star Wine List in 2025. Chef Roland Huber serves a contemporary menu with Asian influences, available à la carte or as a three- to six-course tasting menu. Book well in advance — operating hours are narrow, the room is small, and this is the anchor restaurant for any serious Kamptal itinerary.
Getting a table at Esslokal requires planning. The restaurant opens Tuesday through Thursday evenings only, adds Friday and Saturday lunch service, and stays closed Sunday and Monday. With a single seating window of 6 PM to 8:30 PM on most nights, availability is limited by design. Book well in advance — this is not a walk-in venue. The effort is justified: Esslokal holds a Michelin 1 Star (2024) and was named Star Wine List #1 (2025), making it one of the most credentialed small-town restaurants in Austria. A Google rating of 4.7 from 281 reviews confirms consistent delivery, not just critical praise. If you are driving through the Kamptal wine region or building a Wachau-area itinerary, this is the restaurant to anchor your schedule around.
Esslokal sits on the main square of Hadersdorf am Kamp, a small town in Lower Austria's Kamptal valley. The restaurant belongs to the foundation of artist Daniel Spoerri — a fact that shapes the physical space as much as the menu. Modern art is woven into every room, and the open kitchen is the first thing you see when you walk in. The atmosphere across the various rooms is considered and unhurried rather than formal, which makes the Michelin star feel earned rather than performed.
Chef Roland Huber cooks a contemporary menu that draws on Asian influences without abandoning its Austrian regional roots. The result is a kitchen that can present sweetbreads alongside carabinero, or work cauliflower with lemon leaf, hazelnut, and truffle , combinations that read as considered rather than showy. Dishes are available à la carte or as a three- to six-course menu, which gives you genuine flexibility depending on appetite and budget. The wine program, rated number one by Star Wine List in 2025, is a serious asset in a region already known for exceptional Grüner Veltliner and Riesling. The front-of-house team, described in Michelin's own notes as attentive and highly knowledgeable, adds measurable value to the experience.
In summer, the terrace beneath a walnut tree in the garden changes the character of the meal. The outdoor setting is quieter and more relaxed than the interior rooms, and the garden context suits the venue's art-foundation identity. If your visit falls in the warmer months, the terrace is worth requesting specifically.
Esslokal rewards repeat visits more than most restaurants at this price tier. The à la carte and tasting menu formats mean you can approach the kitchen from different angles across two or three visits without repeating your experience.
On a first visit, the tasting menu is the clearest way to understand what Huber is doing. A three-course entry point gives you range without overcommitting on time or budget. The wine pairing, given the Star Wine List ranking, is worth adding , the Kamptal cellar access is part of what makes Esslokal distinct from a comparable one-star in a city setting.
A second visit justifies the à la carte route. You will already know the kitchen's register, which makes individual dish choices more confident. Friday or Saturday lunch is the practical window here: the midday service runs 12 PM to 1:30 PM, the light in the garden is different, and the pace is noticeably less formal than evening. Lunch also tends to be the easier booking, which matters if you are planning a same-trip return.
A third visit, for those building the Kamptal into a regular travel circuit, is the moment to push to the six-course menu and work more deeply with the wine team. The front-of-house knowledge at Esslokal is an active resource rather than a background courtesy , use it.
Reservations: Book well in advance; availability is limited given the narrow operating hours and small room count. Hours: Tuesday–Thursday 6 PM–8:30 PM; Friday–Saturday 12 PM–1:30 PM and 6 PM–8:30 PM; closed Sunday and Monday. Price range: €€€€ , expect fine-dining spend per head, with the longer tasting menus and wine pairing pushing the total higher. Dress: No stated dress code in available data, but the Michelin and art-foundation context suggests smart casual at minimum; avoid overly casual attire. Format: À la carte and three- to six-course menus available. Location: Hauptpl. 16, 3493 Hadersdorf am Kamp, Austria , on the main square of the town, accessible by car from Vienna or from the Wachau. See our full Hadersdorf am Kamp restaurants guide for additional options in the area, and our Hadersdorf am Kamp hotels guide if you are planning an overnight stay.
Within the Austrian one-star tier, Esslokal occupies a specific position: serious kitchen credentials, an exceptional wine program, and a setting that is genuinely different from a city restaurant. Steirereck im Stadtpark in Vienna operates at a higher complexity level and is the harder booking, but Esslokal closes the gap considerably on wine and offers a more intimate room. Landhaus Bacher in nearby Mautern an der Donau is the most direct regional peer , classic Austrian cuisine with a celebrated wine list , but Huber's Asian-inflected contemporary approach at Esslokal reads as more forward-looking. For diners who want the Wachau-Kamptal wine context with the most technically current kitchen, Esslokal is the stronger choice.
Döllerer in Golling an der Salzach and Ikarus in Salzburg are both worth comparing for multi-day Austrian itineraries, but they require a western Austria routing rather than a Lower Austria one. If your trip is Wachau- or Vienna-based, neither is a practical same-trip alternative. Obauer in Werfen sits in a similar rural fine-dining category and is worth knowing about, but again the geography separates them. For the Kamptal specifically, Esslokal is the clear anchor restaurant , nothing else in the immediate area combines the wine credentials, the art context, and a Michelin star at this price point.
If you are building a broader Austrian fine-dining trip, consider pairing Esslokal with Griggeler Stuba in Lech or Gourmetrestaurant Tannenhof in Sankt Anton am Arlberg for a contrast between the region's alpine and Danubian culinary registers. For diners curious about how Esslokal's contemporary approach compares internationally, Jungsik in Seoul offers a useful reference point for Asian-influenced fine dining at a similar price tier.
If you are spending more than one night in the area, our Hadersdorf am Kamp bars guide, our wineries guide, and our experiences guide cover the full picture of what to do around your Esslokal booking. The Kamptal DAC wine region makes the area worth a full day or two rather than a single-meal detour.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Esslokal | €€€€ | — |
| Steirereck im Stadtpark | €€€€ | — |
| Döllerer | €€€€ | — |
| Ikarus | €€€€ | — |
| Konstantin Filippou | €€€€ | — |
| Landhaus Bacher | €€€€ | — |
Comparing your options in Hadersdorf am Kamp for this tier.
The à la carte menu is the most reliable entry point for a first visit, letting you sample the kitchen's range without committing to the full tasting format. Michelin's reviewers have highlighted dishes involving sweetbreads, carabinero, cauliflower, lemon leaf, hazelnut, and truffle as representative of Roland Huber's style. Asian influences run through the creative contemporary cooking, so expect precision rather than straightforward Austrian classics. The wine list has earned the Star Wine List #1 ranking for 2025, so lean on the front-of-house team for pairing guidance — they are noted as attentive and knowledgeable.
At €€€€ pricing, the three- to six-course menu format makes sense if you want to see the full range of Huber's kitchen in one sitting. The à la carte option gives you flexibility if you already know which dishes interest you or prefer a shorter meal. Given the limited operating hours and the effort required to reach Hadersdorf am Kamp, most diners will get more value from the tasting menu on a dedicated visit. If you are combining it with a wine focus, the Star Wine List #1-ranked cellar justifies building the meal around the pairing menu.
Esslokal operates on a tight schedule — Tuesday through Thursday evenings only, with lunch added on Friday and Saturday; it is closed Sunday and Monday. The restaurant belongs to the foundation of artist Daniel Spoerri, so the space itself carries a distinct character: modern art throughout the rooms and, in summer, garden terrace dining under a walnut tree. Bookings fill quickly given the limited capacity, so contact well in advance. Hadersdorf am Kamp is a small town in the Kamptal valley, so plan your travel and accommodation before you confirm a table.
The venue description points to a laid-back atmosphere across the dining rooms, which suggests the dress code sits below formal. At the €€€€ price point with a Michelin star, arriving in neat, considered clothing is appropriate — think relaxed dinner wear rather than a suit or black tie. The art-foundation setting and open kitchen reinforce that Esslokal is serious about food without being stiff about formality.
Yes, with the right expectations. The Michelin one-star credential, a wine list ranked #1 by Star Wine List in 2025, and an unusual setting within a Daniel Spoerri art foundation all add up to a memorable occasion dinner. The intimate room count and attentive front-of-house team (noted in Michelin coverage) support the kind of service that makes a special meal feel considered rather than rushed. Book well ahead — availability is tight given the restricted weekly hours — and plan to stay in the Kamptal region rather than treating it as a day trip.
Lunch runs Friday and Saturday only (12 PM–1:30 PM), which makes it harder to schedule but worth prioritising if you are already in the Kamptal for a wine-focused weekend. The shorter lunch window suits a lighter meal, while evening service (Tuesday–Saturday, 6 PM–8:30 PM) gives you more time to work through the tasting menu formats. For a special occasion or first visit where you want to explore the full menu and wine list, dinner is the stronger choice.
There are no comparable fine-dining alternatives within Hadersdorf am Kamp itself — the town is small and Esslokal is the destination. In the broader Austrian one-star and above tier, Landhaus Bacher in Mautern is the closest regional alternative, offering a more classical Austrian kitchen with strong Wachau wine credentials. For a Vienna-based comparison, Konstantin Filippou delivers a similarly creative contemporary approach in a city setting. Döllerer in Golling is worth considering if you are travelling through Salzburg province and want alpine-influenced cooking at a comparable level.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
