Melker Stiftskeller occupies one of Vienna's oldest cellar vaults, beneath the Melkerhof at Schottengasse 3 in the first district. A 1629 certificate records a wine cellar already tied to the Melkerhof at that date, which gives the room a near-four-century history. The kitchen has served the same roasted pork knuckle for almost that long, by the restaurant's own account.
Published January 4, 2026 · By James Harlow
The room
The cellar drops below street level into a stone vault, a low-lit room of arches and long tables rather than a modern dining floor. Fodor's files it among the city's atmospheric cellar restaurants, traditional and unhurried. The Schottengasse entrance near the Herrengasse keeps it close to the inner-city core. Worn stone steps lead down from the street into the candle-lit vault.
The Melkerhof above, the Vienna townhouse of Melk Abbey, gives the cellar its name and its link to the Wachau. That connection ties the wine list to one of Austria's great monastic estates. The setting draws diners after old-Vienna character rather than a quick drink.
What to order
The list pairs Austrian wines, several linked to the Melk Abbey estates, with a deep beer selection, by the restaurant's own description. The set-piece plate is the roasted pork knuckle, the Stelze, served for close to four centuries. A glass of Wachau white with the Stelze is the order the cellar is built around.
The format is wine and a hearty plate in a historic vault rather than a cocktail night. Reviewers single out the pork knuckle as the dish to come for. A wine from the abbey list with the Stelze shows the cellar at its best.
Who it is for
Melker Stiftskeller fits a traveller after a historic Vienna cellar, a wine drinker curious about the Melk Abbey link, and anyone who rates a vault and a roast over a modern room. Skip it for a quick cocktail or a late night, since the cellar keeps dinner hours and a traditional pace. It rewards a table that books ahead and settles in for a long evening underground. It also suits a group marking an occasion with a long dinner among the arches.
Best time to go
The cellar opens for dinner from five in the evening, Tuesday to Saturday, and closes on Sunday and Monday. An early booking catches the vault before it fills, since reviewers note it packs out for dinner. Weekends are the busiest, so a reservation is the safe call.
A weekday evening is the calmer way into the room, with more space among the arches. The vault stays cool year-round, which suits it in any season. With Sunday and Monday closed, the midweek-to-Saturday window is the time to go.
The detail worth knowing
The 1629 record is the detail worth knowing, since it documents a wine cellar at the Melkerhof nearly four hundred years ago. The restaurant traces the roasted pork knuckle back almost as far, a continuity few Vienna kitchens can claim. The Melk Abbey link keeps the wine list tied to a single Wachau estate.
Few inner-city cellars carry a record this long with the vault intact. The pairing of monastic-estate wine with a centuries-old roast is the identity. For a historic cellar restaurant rather than a modern wine bar, it is a steady recommendation. Its standing across Vienna dining guides keeps the cellar on most first-district lists.
The bottom line
Melker Stiftskeller is a historic cellar restaurant beneath the Melkerhof at Schottengasse 3, with a wine cellar documented since 1629 and a roasted pork knuckle served for almost four centuries. Come for a Wachau wine and the Stelze, book ahead for dinner, and plan around the Sunday and Monday closure. It is a historic vault rather than a modern bar, and the cellar is the reason to descend.
Keep exploring with our best wine bars in Vienna guide, the full Vienna bar guide, and our edit of wine bars worldwide. Pair Melker Stiftskeller with Augustinerkeller, Zwölf-Apostelkeller, and Esterházykeller.
