Butter became a thing on our Riverside cruise. There was a big wooden tub of farmer’s butter at the end of the bread counter, the nightly featured butter and then the new favourite, bread & butter with blue cheese, a revelation suggested by Alexa helping at the cheese counter one day.

We spent 13 nights on Mozart over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays 2025 & 2026. Starting in Vienna, a wonderland at Christmas with beautifully decorated markets full of handcrafts, delicious food and drink around every corner.

The ship is double the width of most riverships and can only be accommodated on the Danube. That double width means a much bigger kitchen. They use that space to create the best food I’ve ever had on a river.

My first meal on the Mozart has led to an obsession.  We arrived late, unpacked and crashed without supper.  I only eat breakfast when travelling and my favourite indulgence has always been crab benedict, rarely seen, rarely perfected, it’s now in my rearview.  Shakshuka is my new love.

Breakfast is buffet style at Waterside Restaurant.  Hungry after the missed dinner I enjoyed checking the options and came upon a big pan of Shakshuka with a bowl of tiny red pepper rings to add pizzazz.   Eggs in a rich tomato sauce, traditionally baked with a soft yolk.  I’ve tried to make this at home and could not get the eggs right.  These were poached in the sauce. I’ve tried. It works.

The breads and croissants were freshly made, the croissant exploded perfectly.

Lunch was again buffet style with great daily changing hot specials, lots of salads and soups, fresh bread and an excellent cheese counter.  Desserts and ice cream were getting rave reviews. 

On a galley tour we learned that everything is made from fresh ingredients and the soups all start from a vegan stock.   

There were 4 of us dining every night and we never had one bad meal. The breads even more irresistible with nightly changing butters and spreads.

This tuna appetizer my favourite appetizer.

Chef Johannes has an excellent touch with fish and seafood. There was something tempting every night. The always available salmon entree was so good I had a hard time not ordering it more often.

The kitchen went all out on New Year’s Eve with a multi course menu that took our personal preferences into account and allowed us to simply indulge and celebrate.

Lobster is our favourite NYE meal and it was perfect. Rumour has it the filet mignon was equally good. I had double lobster.

Riverside Mozart has an exceptional culinary program. The wines are very good. A wine tour to Schloss Gobelsburg was one of the best.

Thanks to Peter behind the bar for great cocktails.

The entertainment excellent.

Hats off to Riverside Mozart for the best river cruise I’ve experienced.