Terrace with a view
Text: Gregor Ladenhauf • Photography: Zanshin Kuge
It is an open secret that one swallow alone does not make a summer. This saying can also be wonderfully applied to culinary experiences, for it is never just one dish, one taste, or one drink alone that makes us rave and rejoice.
It is the sum of sensory impressions that makes a restaurant visit a special experience. How euphoric it can be to celebrate an exquisite menu in the company of like-minded people in a hospitable atmosphere! And even better: in pleasant outdoor temperatures – and the dishes, of course, masterfully prepared by Christoph Mandl and his kitchen family.
The spacious terrace with its wooden arbor offers a picturesque view of Straden and immediately invites you to let everyday life fade into the background, stay in the moment, and indulge in the pleasure with full attention. Saziani does not hold back with its charms but plays its strengths with effortless understatement.
Even during the short walk from the gravel lot, with the play of shadows from the parking canopy among the towering cypresses visible from afar, anticipation for the surroundings begins to build. The restaurant, with its low profile, blends unobtrusively into the landscape and almost hides behind the hedges lining the entrance, but this is only a means to an end. Here, nothing is ostentatious; instead, everything is accompanied with playful ease. The path leads past the vegetated winter garden that opens the vault to the actual destination of our journey of discovery, the veranda, which exudes the coziness of a traditional wine tavern.
Enjoying a good glass of wine while letting your gaze wander far into the Styrian volcanic landscape and all the way to Slovenia, listening to nature, watching the bees at work.
Enjoying a good glass of wine while letting your gaze wander far into the Styrian volcanic landscape and all the way to Slovenia, listening to nature, watching the bees at work. The occasional chatter of the neighboring runner ducks accompanies the course of the meal as the sun slowly heads towards a colorful finish on the horizon, making eternity seem to be poured into the moment. Who would want to go home now? The cellar is well-stocked with many treasures from Styrian wineries, whether natural or classic, and of course, vintage Neumeister. Or perhaps a chilled long drink? Hostess Ruth joyfully brings whatever the heart and palate desire.
All around, nature lends scents to the air, with water lilies, ivy, bamboo, and various flowers providing soothing greenery and shade, while a cool breeze gently caresses the spirit. Here, you can simply let everything hang loose, not just the proverbial soul, and feel welcome and invited. It feels even more private in the company of loved ones, whether partners, friends, or family, slightly hidden at the cherry table in the shade of the trees.
In close proximity to the hotel’s own garden, where it thrives and grows with the herbal scent of rosemary, it’s worth taking a stroll through the greenhouse, where the cherry tomatoes hang heavily on the vines. The grapevines at Ried Saziani also deserve a look, while the children enjoy themselves on the playground behind the house, and the young at heart entice each other to swing. Saziani is an unobtrusive feel-good place of ease par excellence, why travel far when the good is so close.
And if the day, spent so lavishly, flows into an expansive evening and eventually, alas, comes to an end, the cozy hotel rooms are not far away..
