What no one has done before

BEST OF | Sommer 2024

These grounds would be perfectly suitable for a Star Trek set. As the home base of the Fleet to the stars, for example. And gentleman captain Jean Luc Picard, aka the renowned Shakespearian actor Sir Patrick Stewart, would assuredly be a regular guest here so that he, together with his crew, could savour galactic-exquisite culinary sensations at the star-studded Ikarus restaurant.

Ikarus Team: Martin Ebert, Eckart Witzigmann, Martin Klein, Stefan Howells

What we are referring to, of course, is Hangar-7 at Salzburg Airport. The vision of its developers was to create a place where technique, art, entertainment and culinary adventures begin. Here is where legendary airplanes are parked, top-premium meals are served, and sophisticated works of art are exhibited, amidst innovative architecture with an incomparable atmosphere. Last but not least, Hangar-7 was intended to become a meeting spot for people who in their leisure time want to see, taste and experience the extraordinary. These dreams of the pioneers of yesteryear were turned to reality. Every since then, the concept has awakened the enthusiasm not only of locals but also of passengers who land here from all over the world.

Restaurant Ikarus

“Nicely done” – the Ikarus guest-chef concept

One outstanding example for the success of Hangar-7 is an unusual restaurant concept that until now no one has dared to introduce: at Restaurant Ikarus, every month another top notch chef de cuisine is invited to cook as honoured guest. This guest-chef concept occupies a niche in the top ranks of restaurants and Hangar-7 is the unbeatable ambience for the experiment. Restaurant Ikarus was awarded by Guide Michelin two out of a possible three stars. Gault & Millau awarded it five toques/19 points, Falstaff 100 points/four forks, five spoons in the Schlemmer Atlas. Above and beyond that, the restaurant is a member of the illustrious clan known as “Les Grandes Tables du Monde.“ No one less than Eckart Witzigmann set the standards for this innovative concept. The chef-of-the-century had Martin Klein at his side as executive chef of the restaurant.

Unique, rich in nuances, daring, open to the world

For the house team, the guest-chef concept means there is a new menu every single month, and a new chef-de-cuisine whose wishes and methods need to be carried out. That demands a superlative degree of talent, adaptability and team spirit. Also for the service brigade surrounding Florian Kempinger, who analyses each current menu down to the last details and aids restaurant guests in exquisite fashion. Which, by the way, also includes learning the perfect wines to accompany the sophisticated new dishes which are new every month.

Regardless whether Sergio Herman, Ryan Clift, Dominique Crenn, Xavier Pellicier, Grant Achatz and Harald Wohlfahrt – all of them answered the call of Hangar-7 in order to pamper and spoil the restaurant guests with sometimes traditional, sometimes unusual, but invariably tasty creations. Here, old masters from the best restaurants of the world are just as welcome as the young wild guys with a feverish ambition to reach the top and have the talents to go along with it. It is an exciting proposition. All five continents are still sending lots of fabulous chefs to Hangar-7. And Martin Klein and Eckart Witzigmann are searching the world to engage more.

Additional culinary highlights at Hangar-7

At the Carpe Diem Lounge – Café you can enjoy not only a selection of the finest coffee and tea specialties but also delicious breakfast variations, scrumptious homemade cakes and desserts. The finest lounge dishes for in-between are much in demand. In this atmosphere, you certainly will never just gulp down an espresso.

The “Mayday Bar” spoils visitors with international cocktails and delicious bar food dishes. It boasts a huge selection of exquisite cocktails from all over the world as well as a foodsharing concept which promises another large dose of internationality.

For the Hangar-7 “Outdoor Lounge” Martin Klein and his team have created a menu which will make the mouths of every cultivated barbecue-chef water. It includes choice delicacies from the grill at the highest imaginable level, and where even vegetarians will find their share of great dishes.

Hangar-7 Outdoor Lounge

FACTS AND DETAILS

Conceived by architect Volkmar Burgstaller, Hangar-7 opened its portals on 22nd August 2003, after a mere four years of planning and building! Striking feature of the building is the unparalleled steel-and-glass construction. As much as 14,000 m³ of cement, 1200 tons of steel and 7000 m² of glass went into it. The glass was processed in 1754 large, often specially finished panels of varying size. Hangar-7 stands on a surface plot of 3700 m², overall built-upon surface amounts to 4100 m². The hall is about 100 m long, 67 m wide and 14.5 m high. The accumulated length of the grout filled with silicon holding all that the glass together is 16 km.

Hangar-7 Mayday Bar

And in addition to that, Hangar-7 is also:

• home base for the historic fleet of The Flying Bulls
• exhibition space for outstanding works of art and a zone of exchanging inspiring ideas between artists and art lovers
• a museum for aircraft, racing fireballs and many other exhibit objects
• the largest and most beautiful glass house in the world with rare and impressive plants
• an imposing set for Servus TV programmes

Carpe Diem Lounge – Café