Schwechaterhof
Next to west-side Steyr's Stadtpfarrkirche at Brucknerplatz, a former brewery-turned-Gasthof (in 1835) now functions cheerfully as Wolfgang Pötzl's old-fashioned restaurant. This popular family hangout comprises three dining rooms. Best of the trio: the woodsy Bürgerstube, unashamedly kitschy, complete with an antique porcelain-tile stove and chain-hung light fixtures. An ample beer garden, complete with the inevitable leafiness of chestnut trees and pouring Feldschlossen Hopfenperle beer vom Fass (on tap), turns buzzy and oom-pah-tuneful in balmy weather.

Main courses feature regional Schmankerl specialties. Your chance to taste-test sliced morsels of turkey doused in beer sauce, accompanied by homemade, truly Austrian Knödel potato dumplings (€10.80). If not that, choose the braised beef cutlet with baked potatoes and onions (€10.80, too), or a mixed Feuerspitz grill blending pork, beef and turkey (€11). Or opt for a choice of fish (pike-perch, trout, €12.50).         

• Contact: Schwechaterhof, Leopold-Werndl-Strasse 1, tel. +43/7252/53067, fax 477054,  office@schwechaterhof.at, www.schwechaterhof.at
• Rating: Quality 15/20, Value 16/20

Rahofer Café Restaurant
Make your way through one of innermost Steyr's courtyards to reach a Viennese-type Kaffeehaus sharing attractively decorated space with a chic eatery devoted primarily to Italian/Mediterranean cuisine. Opened in 1980, stone-floored and candlelit for rusticity, the intimate restaurant section (accommodating 25-30 customers) has earned a coveted Gault-Millau toque for culinary excellence and a connoisseur-caliber wine list. Main courses range €12.50-23. Among those: carpaccio with risotto and mushroom salad (€13), selected portions of garlic-buttered scampi (€10.50-12.50) and noodles/mushrooms (€12.50).       

• Contact: Café Restaurant Rahofer, Stadtplatz 9, 4400 Steyr, tel: +43/7252/54606, fax 54606, café-rahofer@liwest.at, www.restaurant-rahofer.at
• Rating: Quality 16/20, Value 15/20

knapp am eCK
It's on a Steyr River island, reached by a network of pathways and footbridges, that Josef Wernl developed his 19th-century armaments factories-long since transformed into an architecturally modernistic complex housing the city's influential technical school. So expect a predominantly young crowd at Josi, Otto and Jürgen Klement's small, chatty Wirsthaus. Two traditional oberösterreichischer on the menu are recommended: Rogl-Strohsau roast-pork filet (€13.50) and a hefty bowl of Beuscherl soup cooked with veal and lamb (€4.80).       

• Contact: knapp am eCK, Wehrgrabengasse 15, 4400 Steyr, tel. +43/7252/76269, fax 749/904, wirsthaus@knappameck, www.knappameck.at
• Rating: Quality 10/20, Value 12/20

Schlossrestaurant Lamberg
A good reason to ramble through the Schlosspark, high above the cityscape's rivers, rooftops, steeples and towers is to linger over a midday meal in the castle's aristocratic restaurant-memorable because this high-ceiling Baroque dining hall was originally the rulers' horse stables. Some tables, in fact, are set inside the former stalls, each with their fanciful wrought-iron enclosures.
Among much-requested entrées are Bratl in der Rein, marinated pork-loin pot roast served with cabbage and bread dumplings (€12.20) and Knödlgemischt, dumplings with sauerkraut (€7.80). Overall, meat dishes range €7.80-15.80), unless you'd prefer filet of trout (€10.50).                    

• Contact: Schlossrestaurant Lamberg, Berggasse 2, 4400 Steyr, tel. +43/7252/48675, fax 486/7513, schloss@ooenet.at                      
• Rating: Quality 16/20, Value 14/20

Christkindlwirt Baumgartner
In the charming Christmas village, right next to the post office, the Baumgartner's balconied restaurant, here since 1972, opens onto sweeping views of the broad Weisser Heide meadows and Steyr River valley. Full-course lunches and dinners  range €9.50-10.60 (except for top-of-the-list roast duck with dumplings and cabbage, €11); vegetarian meals range €5.90-8.90. For dessert, try not resisting the house specialty: Cremeschnitten layer cake (€2.20).

• Contact: Christkindlwirt, Christkindlweg 6, 4400 Steyr, tel. +43/7252/52184, fax 52346,  christkindlwirt@aon.at, www.christkindlwirt.at
• Rating: Quality 13/20, Value 15/20

Coffee Break on the Platz
Six Konditorei-Bakery-Cafés are essential to the city center's pleasant ambiance: Fröhlich (Stadtplatz 28), Hohlrieder (Stadtplatz 17), Luxor (Stadtplatz 6), Postmann (Stadtplatz 13), Schmidt (Stadtplatz 1), Segafredo-Espresso (Stadtplatz 39).