5 Best Restaurants in Salzburg, Austria

The Pepper Ship is one of the most acclaimed restaurants in Salzburg, despite being five kilometers (three miles) northeast of the Neustadt. It's in a pretty, renovated rectory (dated 1640) and adjacent to a pink-and-cream chapel. You'll receive a friendly welcome and then settle in to a pampered experience in the country-chic atmosphere, adorned with polished wooden floors, antique hutches, and tabletops laden with fine bone china and Paloma Picasso silverware. The menu changes seasonally. A taxi is the least stressful way of getting here, but if you have your own car, drive along the north edge of the Kapuzinerberg toward Hallwang and then Söllheim.

In a 500-year-old building with vaulted ceilings and windows looking out onto the bustling Getreidegasse, the restaurant of the Blaue Gans Hotel offers innovative, modern interpretations of traditional Austrian cooking. The fresh flavors are evident in dishes like the house-smoked Lachsforelle (salmon trout) and perfectly prepared beef carpaccio. There are always vegetarian choices, too. Ask your server for suggestions from the expertly selected Austrian and German wine list. The modern elegance extends to the setting, and the service is top-notch. Peer into the building's history through the dining room's glass floor, which reveals an old cellar; this was the site of the oldest inn in Salzburg, mentioned in documents from the 15th century.

This cozy Old City restaurant offers some lovely Italian and Mediterranean specialties on its extensive (and expensive) menu. Try the roasted veal chop with truffle ravioli. To save some money, consider coming for lunch when there's a good value three-course set menu (€28). The setting is unique too, with a vaulted rock ceiling at the back of the restaurant, and the "Almkanal"—a subterranean aqueduct—flowing right through the room.

Legends swirl about this famous Altstadt beer cellar: locals claim that Mephistopheles met Faust here, others say Charlemagne dined here, and some believe Columbus enjoyed a glass of its famous Salzburg Stiegl beer just before he set sail for America in 1492. But there is no debating the fact that this place—first mentioned in a document dating from 803—is Austria's oldest restaurant. Choose between the stately, dark-wood-panel Prälatenzimmer (Prelates' Room) or one of several less formal banqueting rooms. Elegantly presented Austrian standards and international dishes made with top-quality ingredients fill the menu.