Koko is located in Vienna’s 2nd district, a multicultural area filled with old high-rise apartment buildings that are gradually being renovated and spruced up. The main draw for tourists in this district is the Prater, a large amusement park with the giant Reisenrad Ferris Wheel, which has been operating since 1897. A less well-known tourist site is the house at Praterstrasse 54, where Johann Strauss wrote The Blue Danube in 1867.Koko is about a five minute walk from the Vienna Nord train station. It’s a basic little family restaurant – nothing fancy, and definitely not geared for tourists. Tables are covered with plastic cloths, and napkins are the paper kind. The owner seems to be cook, server, and cashier, and he speaks very little English, but the menu is a combination of Austrian and English, so we managed to stumble our way through ordering. Daily specials are written on a chalkboard near the entrance. The menu is limited and focuses on pastas, pizzas, schnitzels, and salads. Prices average €6, which makes this a good budget option.
Much of the business seems to be carry-out for locals living nearby, so there are only about half a dozen tables inside and a few outside on the sidewalk. Since Praterstrasse is incredibly busy any time of the day, we decided to forego the noise and exhaust from the numerous vehicles and eat indoors. We were staying in an apartment just a few blocks away, so we ate at Koko a couple of times during our week in Vienna. Bea was so impressed with the spaghetti Bolognese that she ordered it on a couple of occasions. Tracey was equally impressed with the pizza, cooked in the wood burning oven near the front of the restaurant. The individual-sized, thin crust pizza was still large enough to cover her plate and was loaded with pieces of pineapple, lean ham and lots of gooey melted cheese. I had lasagne served in a heavy casserole dish, and although the square of pasta didn’t initially look that large, it was so thick and loaded with meat, cheese and tomato sauce that it was definitely a meal in itself. To die for are Koko’s breadsticks, made with pizza dough and served piping hot, topped with parmesan cheese. They were so good that for one meal, I just ordered a large cucumber and tomato salad drizzled with olive oil and vinegar so that I could eat extra bread sticks.
After our meal, we took a walk to Prater Park in an attempt to burn off some of those breadstick calories. We strolled the tree-lined path and went for a ride on the Reisenrad (€7.50 per person). From the top of the Reisenrad, the views of Vienna made the perfect dessert, and as an added bonus, it was calorie-free.
Koko is open for lunch and dinner every day.