Anyone who thinks Austrian charm isn’t compatible with exclusive gourmet dishes clearly hasn’t had the opportunity to try Mario Lohninger’s cuisine. This Austrian-born chef has been a leading light on Frankfurt’s top-flight gastronomic scene for a good many years now, and has made a name for himself well beyond the borders of Hesse. His flavoursome and technically sophisticated cuisine has excited restaurant guests right from the very beginning.

Even as an eight-year-old boy, Mario Lohninger preferred to help bread the schnitzels in the kitchen rather than watch TV with the other kids. After completing his culinary training in South Tyrol, Mario worked under top chefs Rudi and Karl Obauer** before joining Eckart Witzigmann in his Tantris restaurant in Munich at the age of 19. He then worked for celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck*** in Los Angeles and for Guy Savoy*** in Paris before once again returning to the USA.

This is where, in 1999, he met David Bouley, one of New York’s most innovative gastronomic figures. In the talented young Austrian Mario Lohninger, Bouley found exactly the partner he was seeking for his top-class Danube restaurant in the Big Apple. His head crammed full of ideas and recipes from Tyrol, Munich, New York, Los Angeles and Paris, Mario put together menus that soon enthused even the most demanding New Yorkers, gaining praise and attention from a legion of prominent guests from the worlds of culture and politics. Regular guests included actor Bill Murray and DJ Sven Väth. In August 2004, Sven Väth encouraged Mario Lohninger to take over the two restaurants he was planning at his new club in Frankfurt. Mario opened these two gourmet restaurants, Silk and Micro, in the same year. Making eating there an unforgettable experience for his guests, he was awarded a Michelin star for his outstanding work.

2010 saw the opening of Restaurant Lohninger – with its wooden furniture and stucco ceilings a hugely successful blend of style and conviviality. The artfully simplistic atmosphere, cosiness and quality of the products make a visit to Restaurant Lohninger a particularly rewarding outing.