When you look up the various options for wiener schnitzel in Vienna, the name Figlmueller (since 1905) frequently pops up. It has gathered opinions ranging from best schnitzel the world has ever seen (rated restaurant #19 in Vienna on tripadvisor) to a simple tourist trap. Of course it is difficult to know without going there.
I'm a believer that "touristy" does not always mean overpriced/underqualitied, although it is certainly more common than not. Nonetheless given there were no consistent other nominees and that multiple sources rated this as the godfather of schnitzel venues (guidebooks, maps, hostel staff, internet various sources) there was no way other than to try it. In any case, despite serving 1400 schnitzels per day between two locations they are all (allegedly) hand cut from pork tenderloin, flattened to 34cm wide and 4mm thick, breaded with kaiser roll crumbs and fried a few at a time.
Once you reach the place and stand in line with other tourists (there is a small original venue in an alley and a larger expansion around the corner) you understand why so many write this off just from the principle of it.
After a 45min combined wait in line & at table after ordering, the recommended dishes of Figlmueller Schnitzel and Potato-Fried salad with styrian pumpkin-seed oil arrived.
I'm not an expert on schnitzel as I don't eat it often - but I would like to think I can recognise a decent one. Although deep fried, there is only a slight of oil on a napkin pressed against it - a nice start. The pork is very thin, reasonably juicy with a lovely crispy coating of golden crumbs to give it texture. It is huge - I could have finished it but the repetitive taste would need to have been broken up by something. The salad was adequate (nothing special) and not enough in itself to offset the fried crumbs/pork flavour.
Not an unreasonably expensive dish at €13.90 considering how popular and tourist-frequented this place is, but I was certainly content with it. The central areas were a little softer than the edges but I suppose this is expected as it cools down and the crumbs were far from the soggy-falling-off kind that I would expect from a thicker schnitzel or have certainly had in pubs back home.
Next time I would order the Figlmueller schnitzel again if I was a first-timer. However if I was to go again, or alternatively with other people, I would go around the corner to the Backerstrasse location to try the Veal version (more expensive at €19.50 and more authentic, but reputedly less flavoursome as pork which is why Viennese apparently prefer pork nowadays.)