Das Kropf – Serenity with Taste
A portrait of Raphael Kropf, showing how modern restaurant culture can come very close to perfection even without much fuss.
Anyone opening a restaurant today has to make a choice: Do you want the big show? Or the honest moment? Raphael Kropf, a trained chef, a host with conviction, and a quiet visionary, has chosen the latter. Das Kropf in Bad Loipersdorf is not a culinary stage in the classical sense – but precisely for that reason, it’s a place that is perfectly suited for excellence. Because he doesn’t want to impress. But to move.
A new place – with a familiar soul
Just a few minutes’ walk from the thermal spa, on the edge of the village, lies the new restaurant. Airy, bright, relaxed. Wood, glass, clean lines. A place that doesn’t try to be pretentious – and isn’t. Café, bar, restaurant in one. Brunch and aperitivo during the day. In the evenings, dishes that listen to the season – not to trends.
It’s a family project with a fresh approach. Raphael Kropf has embraced the region’s culinary heritage – and translated it with his very own approach: less heaviness, more clarity. No potato powders with decorative towers, but: fermented vegetables, aromatic fish, wild herbs.
No pretense, but clean plates, refined technique – and the will to allow flavors to unfold.
Beef tartare with pickled red onions and microgreens
by Raphael Kropf
Cuisine with Conviction – not with Affectation
Kropf's style is hard to categorize. And that's a compliment.
He combines a classic Austrian appreciation for local products with an international outlook. You can tell: Here, someone is cooking who knows how to handle salt – and time. There’s celery with hazelnut, beer goulash re-imagined, light soups with depth, breakfast with oats, turnip, and egg.
No dish tries to overpower. Everything remains in balance. Additionally: a small, curated drinks menu with natural wines, fermented lemonades, and – if you’re lucky – homemade ginger beer. Finally, a touch of something lands on many plates. No mere decoration. No playful gimmick. But greens from Herbeus – precisely placed, with flavorful accents.
“I don’t use the greens for the photo, but for the finish.
They bring freshness, structure, and aroma where it matters. And they fit our idea: close, reliable, honest.”
– Raphael Kropf
The connection to Herbeus is organic: Regionally produced, vertically grown, uncompromising in freshness and availability. No import hassle, no shelf-life gamble. But simply what you need if you want clarity on the plate.
Why Das Kropf is on the Stage of Perfection
Because Raphael Kropf shows that perfection isn’t about overstepping – but about knowing oneself. That it doesn’t always take grand choreography, but honest kitchen moments. That quality isn’t about the grand pronouncement, but about the steady rhythm. And that a breakfast in Bad Loipersdorf can tell just as much as a seven-course menu in the city.
The Stage of Perfection is not a trophy. It is a spotlight that makes visible people who go their own way – with conviction. Raphael is one of them. And Das Kropf is a place that should be experienced for precisely that reason.
A place to arrive – and return to
Whether for day visitors from the thermal spa or those dropping by for an evening drink: Das Kropf maintains its composure.
And precisely in this composure lies its strength.
Because perfection, as Raphael Kropf impressively demonstrates, is not the applause. It is the honest nod at the neighboring table.
