When I arrived between 7 and 8 pm on a Friday it was pretty busy on the patio. Walking into the downstairs bar revealed that it was indeed smokey, and I had little intention of trying the Rauch version of Hop Devil. We went upstairs and were greeted by a server who gave us one of the only remaining open tables. It was crowded and loud with people eating and drinking. I couldn't completely get my legs under the table which didn't make for the most comfortable of seating. We were planning on getting food, and I figured I should take my opportunity to have a schnitzel in Vienna, so my decision was quick.
In little time my beer had arrived. I sat back and scanned the room and began to enjoy my surroundings. Not long after I was slapped with a vicious wave of body odor. I looked over to see two men and a small child had arrived. At first I thought it couldn't be that bad, but as the moments passed I came to realize that this was some next level stink. When I caught a server's eye, I asked if we could move to another table. She said that we couldn't, and I contemplated walking out. He removed his jacket, and the stench flowed forth like a dense morning fog into the valley of my nostrils. Our food arrived and in my stunned state I was not a man of action, I was trapped.
My schnitzel and potato salad were decent, but there was this funky taste to them. It paired decently with the Hop Devil. Several times during the meal people walked into the table. Twice it wasn't too bad as it was an average jostling. One time though a man waddled into our table and propelled it several inches. I addressed him with a fitting title and question, but he just lumbered away with no apology or notice. I guess I need to work on my Deutsch. I didn't mind the two instances much as they apologized, but the other was too much. I understand wanting to maximize space in a dining room, but if there isn't adequate space to walk by then the floor plan needs to be retooled.
My time at 1516 started with promise but spiraled out of control into a deluge of man rot and space invasion. The food and beer were decent, but I expect a small level of comfort when paying 10 plus euro for an entree which is basically not smelling other customers and not having people impale themselves on my table. If I lived in Vienna I would probably never eat here again, but would possibly drink a glass of beer outside if the weather was nice. I doubt my terrible experience is completely typical there, but that didn't make it any less real for me.
Overall: 3/10
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