Austrian Airlines' Business Lounge flower wall.

Chef Elisabeth Geisler of Sitzwohl.

Sitzwohl means "sits well" in German, and that well describes a meal enjoyed in this fine restaurant in Innsbruck.  Located in an old school on Stadtforum, a traffic-free square in the Old City, the grand building with spacious interiors is home to two chefs who share the kitchen at Sitzwohl; that both are women makes the restaurant something of a rarity in the upper echelons of fine cuisine.

Innsbruck is one of Austria's most creative cities; the summer season is packed with concerts, recitals, and dance performances by some of the world's leading artists.  That creativity is also found in the kitchen, where Tyrol's organic ingredients are grown across the valley, not across the world.  Elisabeth Geisler and Irmgard Sitzwohl have worked together for more than twenty years; the current realisation of their collaboration is the culmination of valuable experience gained while working across Austria, ever climbing the slippery ladder of culinary success.

Sitzwohl's outdoor wood deck allows restaurant patrons to take full advantage of Innsbruck's glorious summer weather, though they are then deprived of the interior's subtly glamorous décor focused on illuminated-from-within marble consoles that serves both as a discreet sources of light and as dividers between tables.  Service is ultrafriendly without crossing the line to ultracasual.  The whole place exudes a genuine welcome; staff go about their business with barely concealed glee, awaiting moans of "Hmmmmm" from guests having their first tastes of various dishes.

The restaurant is even more popular during lunchtime, when nearby office workers are disgorged from their work premises to engorge themselves on the premises of Sitzwohl.  They all leave smiling, some with tasty souvenirs from Geislerei, Sitzwohl's adjacent boutique selling all sorts of delights to take home.  The name Geislerei is a play on words with the German Greisslerei, which is something akin to a modern-day deli, hence the many tins and jars of delicacies to be enjoyed at home—if you can wait to get home to taste them.

Innsbruck Tourism can give you plenty of excuses to visit Innsbruck; with Austrian Airlines, it's an easy flight from Vienna, where the Austrian Business Class lounge offers tasty food provided by famous Viennese caterer Do & Co in an eclectically artistic ambience.