Enthusiastic service, really tasty food. Small space, and it’s a bit hard to find- it’s on the back side of the building.

As fellow food-plan reviewer Dave once noted (see Mykonos Grill), good Greek restaurants are hard to find, because Italian food pays the bills.

Same must be true of Austrian, because only three dishes of all the soups, starters, subs, pizzas, pastas, and entrees listed on the menu are clearly Austrian; the rest are Italian. There’s nothing wrong with that, but as Austrian food is hard to find, it’s disappointing to find the menu so unbalanced.

Preliminary indications are good. The goulash was tasty, if somewhat unusual (large pieces of beef in a pleasant paprika sauce), and accompanying spatzle or bread dumplings are quietly satisfying. A dish of sea scallops and linguine was declared quite good. Fried zucchini was straightforward but competently executed. Cannoli and profiteroles were merely acceptable; the tiramisu was much better, but big enough for two to share.

Cafe Tirolo is a counter service deli/carryout with scattered seating for about two dozen. The service is friendly as can be, and accomodating. It’s a great neighborhood place that I’ll remember if I happen to find myself in the morass known as Arlington, but I wouldn’t make a destination of it.