Flavors · Viena

Tafelspitz

Beef cut slow-cooked for hours with roots and bones, served sliced with the broth, grated horseradish, chive sauce, and potatoes sautéed in butter.

Traditional dish from Viena, Viena

Also known as: carne cozida à vienense

Updated October 2026

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Tafelspitz — Viena, Austria — Tafelspitz

Tafelspitz — Viena, Austria

Tafelspitz is the name of a cut from the rear of the beef, with a strip of fat on top, and of the dish made from it. The meat is cooked over low heat for three to four hours, together with bones, roots such as celery, carrot and parsnip, roasted onion, leek and pepper. At the end it is sliced against the grain and brought to the table covered with its own strained broth.

The register of traditional foods of the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture explains why boiled beef became a Viennese dish. From the 16th century, large cattle herds coming from Hungary supplied the city, and in the 19th century the St. Marx cattle market ensured abundant beef. Boiled beef, in its various cuts, began to be served daily at the court table. According to the same register, Emperor Franz Joseph favored it.

The name Tafelspitz appears in writing in 1911. There is a story attributing the creation of the dish to a Vienna hotel; the register treats it as a legend. After World War II boiled beef lost ground in households and returned to the city's menus from the 1950s onward.

The dish is served in stages: first the broth, sometimes with noodles or dumplings, then the meat with its accompaniments.

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Where it comes from

Viena , Viena
The register of traditional foods of the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture presents Tafelspitz as one of the best-known specialties of Viennese cuisine.

Ingredients

Tafelspitz cut of beef, bones, celery, carrot, parsnip, leek, roasted onion, peppercorns and salt. To accompany: grated horseradish with bread or with apple, chive sauce (Schnittlauchsauce), vegetables and potatoes sautéed in butter (Röstkartoffeln).

How it is eaten

The meat is served sliced, covered by the strained broth. On the side, horseradish with apple (Apfelkren) or with bread (Semmelkren), chive sauce, boiled vegetables and potatoes sautéed in butter (Röstkartoffeln). Often the broth is served first, as a soup.

When it is eaten

A lunchtime dish, found on the menus of Viennese cuisine restaurants.

Your questions

Questions about Tafelspitz

What does Tafelspitz mean?

It is the name of a cut from the rear of the beef, with a layer of fat, and also of the boiled beef dish made from it.

What is Tafelspitz eaten with?

With the cooking broth, grated horseradish with apple or with bread, chive sauce, vegetables and potatoes sautéed in butter.

Was Tafelspitz created in a Vienna hotel?

It is a story told in the city, treated as a legend by the Austrian register of traditional foods. Boiled beef was already being served at the court table in the early 19th century.

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