Rhiz is a bar and concert room set into the Stadtbahn arches at U-Bahnbogen 37-38 on Vienna's Lerchenfelder Guertel. It has been a fixture of the city's electronic and experimental music scene for years, with several concerts a week. The arches it occupies belong to Otto Wagner's early-1900s rail architecture along the Guertel belt.
Published December 9, 2025 · By Sofia Reeves
The room
The venue runs through the brick vaults beneath the elevated U6 line, a stretch the Vienna tourist board files under nightlife under the subway. The room is small and stripped back, built around the stage and the bar rather than decor. That setting puts the audience close to whatever is playing.
The Guertel arches hold a run of bars and clubs, and Rhiz is one of the longest-standing among them. Its neighbours make the strip an easy place to move between rooms across a night. The U6 stops at Josefstadter Strasse and Thaliastrasse put it within a short walk of public transport.
What to order
Rhiz is a music bar first, so the drink is a beer or a simple mixed drink rather than a cocktail program. The point is the booking on a given night, not a signature list. A bottle at the bar while a set plays is the standard order.
The programming leans to electronic and experimental music, with vienna.info noting concerts held several times a week. At the weekend the room often shifts into a free-entry party once the live set ends. Checking the night's listing before setting out is the practical move.
Who it is for
Rhiz suits a listener after new electronic music in a close room, and anyone working the Guertel bar strip on a weekend. It is not a fit for a quiet conversation or a polished cocktail night, since the draw is volume and the stage. Fans of laptop-driven and experimental sets are the core crowd.
Best time to go
The bar opens in the evening and runs late, with the Guertel scene typically building from around 10pm. A concert night gives the fullest read on the room, so the listing is worth checking first. Weekend nights bring the free-entry parties after the live act.
Reaching it is a short walk from the Josefstadter Strasse or Thaliastrasse U6 stops, both on the Guertel line. Entry is free on many nights and ticketed for some concerts, so the listing settles both the time and the cost before a trip. The neighbouring arch bars make it easy to start at Rhiz and move along the strip as the night runs.
The detail worth knowing
The detail that defines Rhiz is the setting, a working bar inside Otto Wagner's century-old rail arches, which Songkick and the venue's own calendar show in steady use for live music. That mix of heritage architecture and forward electronic booking is why it has lasted on the strip. It reads as an institution of the Vienna scene rather than a passing club.
The bottom line
Rhiz is Vienna's long-running electronic music bar under the Guertel arches, a small room with several concerts a week and free weekend parties. Check the listing, take the U6, and come for the booking rather than the bar list. For new and experimental sound in the city, it is a default stop.
Keep exploring with our best live music venues in Vienna guide, the full Vienna bar guide, and our edit of live music bars worldwide. Pair Rhiz with Porgy & Bess, Chelsea, and B72.
