Der Wiener Deewan

You must have heard about the stories and legends of this place and its famous thing 'Eat as much as you want, pay as much as you want'. There have been mixed feelings about it and reading the comments on their Facebook page I saw many positive critics but also some very bad ones. I'll tell you my personal experience. Also I'll just stick to what I saw there and ate, not commenting other activities that are happening I have no idea about.

I haven't tried everything nor explored all the space this restaurant has, but if you're looking for a lunch and cannot afford yourself 5-7 Euros per lunch every day, or just want to enjoy some meal for the affordable prices, I hope this will help you and you'll be sitting there and enjoying food as well.

Let's start with some info.

Location and working hours

It's around 7 minutes by foot from U2 Schottentor Uni Wien which is a really good location in my opinion and especially good for the students who study near (or if you're near Karlsplatz, it's less than 10 minutes by Ubahn). If you're heading from the direction of Shottentor, walk towards the Votiv church and along the Währinger Street, cross the road into Hörlgasse and on the second crossing it is there left to you in Liechtenstein Street.

Pay attention that it's open to the hungry guests Monday-Saturday from 11-23h (the buffet is open from 11. 30-22. 30h), on Sundays and Holidays it's closed. If you're reading this during Christmas holidays, they put the note that they'll stay closed until 5th January (unfortunately).

What kind of food do I get here?

Deewan is a Pakistani restaurant. So expect Pakistani kitchen (click here to check the menu in general), always hot/warm and spicy with some dessert. There is also food for vegetarians. You can also pick up glasses of water anytime you want and there is usually a filled cup of it at every table, you just need to take your own glass. You can additionally buy some of the drinks, there is a menu.

Now don't expect a huge buffet (or "Swedish table" ) but there's enough for everybody and for what you get and pay you shouldn't complain. There are always students restaurants or the 'normal' ones near. I personally (and my friends) find it more than good enough and are happy that such place exists.

I mostly took a bit of everything; chicken, rice, tasty sauce, beans, some vegetable.... and when you're hungry and eating delicious warm meal, there is no better feeling in the world!

The interior

As far as I'm concerned there are 3 parts of the restaurant and each one has lots of decorations on the walls.

The first two you see when you enter it with the first one having several tables close to the doors and the fresh food (so if you like to fill your plate a lot, maybe you're lucky to have some free tables here! ). You also have a stand to leave your clothes if you wish. The other part is downstairs and there's also a toilet. And sometimes there are chairs or improvised sofas with pillows. The third room is also the biggest one and I think it's used for other activities that take place here.

All in all, the space seems to be cosy and it's made so that you can also socialize.

Paying after having the meal

After you're done and don't want to fill any more plates (and hopefully took the dessert), you pay at the doors and simply tell the cashier how much you'd like to pay. Since I'm coming from a place (Croatia) where 2-3 euros for one plate is normal, I did the same here (after all, the majority of the ingredients are produced in large numbers and pretty cheap). I payed 3 € per plate. For two plates people give 5 or 6 €.

In the end it's up to you but of course it is expected that you don't pay 1 € for a big plate but still their philosophy is to be affordable so you're not at the ordinary restaurant and it should be affordable.

In conclusion, you won't be feeling hopefully hungry after having a meal and you don't need to worry about the high prices - that's why you're here (or at least partially). It's worth a visit. Give it a try!

Thanks for reading.