Meet The Team

Chef Gutenbrunner has worked at several prominent restaurants across Europe and New York City including the Michelin-starred Tantris in Munich, Rotisserie Prinz Eugen in Vienna, Mangostin in Munich, Windows on the World’s Cellar in the Sky. He was the culinary director of David Bouley’s expanding enterprise, then executive chef at Monkey Bar where he became known for his inspired seafood dishes before venturing out on his own and opening his first restaurant Wallsé in 2000. Wallsé serves authentic Viennese classics with Chef Gutenbrunner’s contemporary touch and fun twist. Wallsé held a coveted Michelin star for 17 consecutive years. 

In 2009, Chef Gutenbrunner opened The Upholstery Store - a small jewel box of a wine bar in a former furniture store located in the West Village just around the corner from Wallsé that is now expanded into a full-service restaurant Upholstery: Food & Wine offering a quaint and intimate alternative gathering place and is beloved by West Village locals. It is now newly reinvented as Wallsé Next Door.

Chef Gutenbrunner’s first cookbook was released through Rizzoli Books and Random House in October 2011. The book includes over 100 of Chef Gutenbrunner’s favorite traditional and contemporary Austrian recipes, such as apple strudel and Wiener Schnitzel and features works from the Neue Galerie, New York’s museum of early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design. 

On September 23rd, 2011, Chef Gutenbrunner was awarded the “Decoration of Merit in Gold of the Republic of Austria” by the Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister, Michael Spindelegger, at the residence of the Austrian Consul General, Dr. Ernst-Peter Brezovszky. 

Chef Gutenbrunner continues to be devoted to maintaining the superior quality of his restaurants through his attention to detail. His well-respected passion for food, art, and culture has made him a culinary icon in New York, the United States, and the broader international community.