We get older. Depending on how old we are, we get a less older every year, relatively speaking. If you’re ten, a year is a tenth of your life! If you’re eighty, that one year suddenly doesn’t matter as much. So turning 83 doesn’t hurt as much as turning 35 or 23, right? Another thing I’ve got to get out of the way before we can start: why do people complain about getting older so much? Being young sucks infinitely more: a lot of stuff you don’t get to do because you’re too young, you’re not allowed to or you simply don’t understand. Compared to that, turning 16 (you’re allowed to drink beer now), turning 18 (you’re suddenly allowed to drive a car, if you’ve got your driver’s license, and buy liquor), turning 25 (you no longer need to pay extra insurance fees when renting a car in the USA) or turning 35 (you may run for Bundespräsident in Austria).
Now that we’ve established that getting older is in fact awesome because you get to do more things, let’s get to the main topic of this post: birthday specials.
A Little Disclaimer
This is a snapshot in time. I write about stuff that I tried or got told about. I tried to verify my information by checking the homepage of the establishment, but it might be that the information there was simply outdated. I’m sorry if you went to a place to enjoy a free drink you read about here, but it’s most likely not my fault. That out of the way, please email me if any conditions for birthday-specials change or a special is dropped all together.
I further would encourage you to visit the restaurants and bars I write about not only on your birthday. I’ve been to all of them, they’re definitely worth the time and the money you spend there. Another thing: don’t let the homepages of some of the restaurants scare you away. Many restaurants in Austria have appalling web presences, while serving excellent food. It annoys me, but I’d rather go to a restaurant with a nausea-inducing homepage serving excellent food than the other way round.
Caffe Latte
… the original!
This one is truly great: They invite you to a complete three-course-meal – soup or starter, main dish, dessert – on your birthday. If you main course is more than 10 €, you pay the difference (e.g. 2 € for a dish that would normally cost 12 €). Don’t forget to bring a valid ID. I had super tasty Rocket-Soup, incredible Filet Laces in Pepper Souce and a Cheese Platter to round things of. Top that off with a Caipirinha as an appetizer during the cocktail happy hour – every day from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. to closing hour (!!!) – for 4.90 € and a Trumer Pils during my meal, and you’ve got one happy Bobsch. Go eat there, trust me.
A great, not-so-little café and restaurant and lounge right within Vienna’s seventh district. They’ve got a pretty big »Schanigarten« in the courtyard, too, which means that going there in summer is extra awesome if you enjoy sitting outside. (A »Schanigarten« is an outside dining/restaurant area.)
Curry Insel
Specialities from sri lanka
Their birthday special is one of those »bring four friends, and get a main course free«-deals. The average main dish costs about 7 € to 10 €, so I guess it’s a pretty good deal for you.
One of my absolute favorites in the city. Some of the best curries you can get. They had a so-called »limited meal« for lunch during the week, which consisted of three choices of vegetable curry and one meat curry with rice and Papadam for about 8 € with unlimited seconds. They discontinued it, though, due to financial reasons. They still have »running curry« on every first Saturday of the month for 13 €.
Restaurant Colombo Hoppers
We lay our hands together and say »Ayubowan« to welcome you at our restaurant, where we offer you exotic treats from Sri Lanka.
Their birthday special is a lottery: you enter with your name, email-address and date of birth. If you’re drawn, you get a main dish for free, if you visit the restaurant within one month after the birthday together with at least two of your friends. The winner is determined one month in advance.
This is one of the hints I got from Irene, who is among other things working for Tupalo.com. Check out her numerous reviews on Tupalo, or watch her stream on twitter for hints to current events or great places to check out. Really, it’s worth it.
Churrascaria
»Churrasco« is a typical Brazilian experience.
This is one of those »bring your friends, we’ll invite you to dinner« deals. If one books four Churrasco-Dinners via the homepage and enters »Geburtstag« into the additional information field, the fifth dinner for the birthday girl or boy (or whatever in-between or outside) is free. A »pay 4, get 5« deal. Does not include drinks! With 24.50 €/person a bit on the pricey side, but it’s all you can eat. Reservations are mandatory! I haven’t been there myself, but I’m told it’s worth it if you like meat (check) and Caipirinhas (check).
There is no information to be found on their homepage about this special, but they wrote about it on facebook some time ago. But I have to verify, whether they still have this special or not, since they only announced the offer for a limited time, from November 2010 till the beginning of March 2011.