Fairytale lavender roof in Vienna's city center

A living roof for a house that's full of life

In the spring, the roof of the Boutiquehotel blossoms in a riot of colors

We welcome many guests here at Boutiquehotel Stadthalle Some of them don’t need reservations or room cards. Of course we’re talking about the busy bees and beautiful butterflies that have made themselves at home on our lavender roof.
The roof is an especially colorful highlight of our house, especially in June when the lavender is in bloom. Because in addition to the aforementioned bees and butterflies, there are also magnificent red roses growing in the heart of the purple lavender. A beautiful scene you can admire from most of our rooms. A rare view in Vienna.

But the lavender does a lot more than look pretty, smell nice, and feed our small, winged friends.
Once a year, it’s harvest season at Boutiquehotel Stadthalle! That’s when we go up to the roof and harvest the lavender, which we then dry and use to make your stay even nicer. For example, we fill little cloth bags to scent your closet. And lavender can do much more! This wonderful plant can be used to prepare delicious dishes. We’ve put together a short list of ideas for you.

Before you get cooking though, book a room online now with a view of our enchanting lavender garden.

Lavender Panna Cotta with blueberries

600ml cream
4 tbsp honey
20 lavender blossoms
2 sheets of gelatin
2 tbsp honey
Juice of half a lemon
300g blueberries

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Rest time: 3 hours
Difficulty: easy

Preparation
Steep 2 sheets of gelatin in water, then drain. Add to other ingredients and stir well.
Fill cold, clean ramekins and chill in the refrigerator for three to four hours. Turn out onto plates.
Mix together 1 tbsp honey with the juice of half a lemon, and drizzle on top.
Decorate with 150g blueberries and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

From the whole team at Boutiquehotel Stadthalle: Enjoy!

Lavender Crème Brulée

1/2 liter milk
6 sprigs of flowering lavender
1 vanilla pod
2 eggs
100g lavender sugar
Butter for the ramekins

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Rest time: 6 hours
Difficulty: easy

How to make lavender sugar: ip off the blossoms from a few sprigs of lavenders and mix them with 1kg sugar. Let the mixture sit in a closed jar for a few days. The sugar will take on the lavender’s aroma, and lavender sugar always comes in handy.

Make an incision in the vanilla pad and cook it in the milk (full-fat!), then add the lavender blossoms and let the mixture cool. Remove the vanilla pod anda the lavender blossoms. Beat the eggs with 75g of lavender sugar, and stir them into the cooled lavender milk.
Butter the ramekins and coat them with a bit of sugar, then pour in the batter and bake them in a water bath in the oven at around 150 degrees Celsius for half an hour. Then let the ramekins cool for a few hours.
Just before serving, sprinkle with the rest of the lavender sugar (after removing the lavender blossoms) and caramelize in the oven or using a Bunsen burner.

From the entire Boutiquehotel Stadthalle team: Enjoy!

Apricot jam with lavender

8kg ripe apricots
4kg jam sugar 2:1
4 sprigs of lavender with flowers
Juice of 8 lemons

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Rest time: 5 hours
Difficulty: easy

Slice the apricots and add them to a big pot with the lemon juice and jam sugar. Cover and let soak for approx. 5 hours.
Then bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Pull off the lavender blossoms and add them to the mixture. Turn off the heat.
Fill hot, clean glass jars up to the brim and seal.

From the entire Boutiquehotel Stadthalle team: Enjoy!

Sea bass with a lavender salt crust

2 sea bass
4 sprigs of rosemary
4 tbsp dried lavender flowers
2kg coarse sea salt

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: normal

Rinse the sea bass and pat it dry. Make sure not to scale the fish.
Line a baking tray with parchment and preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Put the rosemary and a half-tablespoon of the lavender flowers in the abdominal cavity of the fish. Mix the rest of the lavender flowers with the salt. Dampen the salt with water and make a layer of salt on the parchment paper for the fish. Carefully lay the fish on the salt and cover with the rest of the salt. It should be completely covered.
Put the tray in the oven and bake the fish for approx. 15 minutes.
Break open the salt crust (guests enjoy seeing this done at the table), remove and fillet the fish.

The team at the Boutiquehotel Stadthalle wish you bon appetite!

Roast pork with lavender

1.5 kg organic roast pork
1 liter red wine
3 tbsp. lavender blossoms
salt and pepper
2 tbsp. clarified butter
3 onions
2 carrots
1 clove of garlic
1 slice of white bread (crusts cut off, cubed)

Preparation time: 2 1/2 hours
Resting time: 1 day
Difficulty level: normal

Sprinkle the meat with pepper and lavender blossoms. Marinate in red wine overnight. The next day, peel and coarsely chop the onions. Peel the carrots and cut them into approx. 3 cm pieces.
Heat the clarified butter in a pan and briefly, but deeply, sear the dried pork roast on all sides. Add the onions and carrots and roast. Peel the garlic and press it, then add it to the roast. Pour some of the red wine over the vegetables, but not the meat, and season with salt and pepper. Cover the roast and let it braise for around 2.5 hours. Turn it every 20 minutes, basting with the red wine sauce each time. Remove the roast from the pan and slice it. Puree the braised vegetables with the remaining liquids, to create a smooth sauce.
If necessary, thin the sauce with some red wine and water. If the sauce is too thin, thicken it using white bread. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot!

From the Boutiquehotel Stadthalle team: enjoy!