Viennese Cafes
Planning a trip to Vienna? Vienna has some of the best cafés in the world, with their good coffee, delicious pastries and beautiful interior. Cafés is an important part of Vienna's history and lifestyle. You can read below about the history of coffee and cafés in Vienna. There is also an overview of the best cafés to visit. When in Vienna, try a coffee and a pastry at one of these cafés to enjoy the truly Viennese café style.
Vienna is a majestic old city from another era, faded, perhaps, like some of its buildings, but reinventing and revitalizing itself. It is a city of grand museums and palaces, of stately opera houses and theaters. But it is through its coffee house culture that Vienna's rebirth and vitality can best be seen -- and tasted.
Vienna has long been known as a city of fabulous coffee and desserts, so much so that a good dark coffee bean is known as a "Vienna" roast.
The present importance of the cafe in daily Viennese life cannot be overstated and comes, no doubt, from the city's long love affair with the bean. Coffee in Vienna dates back to an invasion by the Turks in the late 17th century. When the Turks were routed, they left behind their coffee and coffee makers. A spy for the imperial court was rewarded with these spoils of war, and coffee was soon introduced to Viennese.
Three centuries later, 1,717 coffee houses (by the most recent count) operate in Vienna, clearly a city of people who like to sit and talk, pause to read the papers, or simply enjoy a pastry and a good cup of coffee.
Espresso is only one of many forms in which the Viennese drink their daily fix -- one can also choose a Melange (a latte-like blend of espresso and steamed milk), a portion (separate pitchers of hot milk and strong coffee), and so on, though the typical American pale brown brew is nowhere to be seen -- or tasted. Vienna's exceptionally good coffee has been attributed to the local preference for dark-roasted beans and the fresh mountain water from Rax and Schneeberg ("snow mountain") about 45 miles south of the city. Decaf is frowned upon in this caffeine capital, but can be found under the brand name Hag.
Authentic coffee houses here all have a few things in common: they have several -- if not dozens, or even hundreds -- of newspapers, several types of coffee drinks, a small selection of pastries, and they almost always serve a glass of water with coffee. But don't anticipate quick service or a check immediately on request - that's not the Viennese way.
Vienna was a meeting place for artists and intellectuals from other cities in the last century, and Trotsky and Lenin were among those who gathered at the coffee houses to talk. The old cafes always had pens, paper, and writing supplies; they were so amenable that many writers all but lived in them, holding meetings and receiving mail there.
But in the post-World War II climate, the cafes fell out of favor. Some had been destroyed, and others shut down.
Vienna's cafe renaissance began in 1983, the 300th anniversary of the defeat of the Turks, when the city provided money for renovations to restore its beloved coffee houses.
Locals know, and visitors soon discover, that Viennese coffee houses come in two varieties: the famous, grand old coffee palaces and the more contemporary, less opulent cafes.
Cafe Central (Herrengasse 14) was one of those faded coffee palaces, having gone out of fashion after World War I, the building had been converted to a bank by the onset of World War II.
Central reopened in the mid 1980s and today serves nearly 1000 cups of coffee a day in its elegant, cathedral-like setting. Under the high ceiling and hanging art nouveau frosted glass fixtures, an elderly pianist provides popular and classical music. The dessert cart brims with baked treats, more than usual for a Viennese cafe, including carrot cake. But the treasure here is an excellent warm Apfelstrudel, the best in town, thick with sliced apples and cinammon, the top pastry still crisp and flakey. Cen tral also attracts people for its special coffees with liquor. In its original heyday, Central used to have about 250 different newspapers daily, now just a handful.
Cafe Landtmann (Dr. Karl Lueger Ring 4), where Freud took his morning coffee, is another archetypal Viennese cafe. Landtman bustles with activity day and night with an energy that belies its age and status as a grand old cafe. Tourists and locals, young and old, fill the booths and tables. Landtman has a full menu, but most people seem to come for just a coffee and a pastry. Landtman serves its own fine, not-too-sweet Apfelstrudel with strong cinammon flavor, perhaps a little too mushy.
Like many of the older generation of Vienna's cafes, Landtman has elegant decor -- red leather booths, burgundy velvet upholstery, and crystal light fixtures. Plush fabric drapes high-curved windows along one wall, mirrors mixed with inlaid wood decorate the other. A rack holds international newspapers, though many papers inevitably gather on the table in front of one ambitious -- or greedy -- reader.
Cafe Diglas (Wollzeile 10) sits near St. Stephan's Church and Stephansplatz, the busiest square in Vienna. In one corner of Diglas is a Bavarian woman with a feathered hat that matches the cafe's upholstery. Old Austrian ladies play cards at a few tables and booths, while tourists crowd the others. This attractive cafe has delicious apple-mango tea, served in attractive large blue and white floral pattern Twinings china. The loose tea comes inside two strainer spoons, one for each of the fruits. Giant slices of cake are served here with a small mountain of whipped cream. For a good, light snack, there's Kaesebrot, a piece of hearty bread slathered with sweet butter, topped with cheese and slices of tomato.
But today's Vienna has more to offer than just the old generation of ornate, formal coffee houses.
A modern generation of cafes exists that dispenses with the traditional style of the older establishments and caters primarily to a younger crowd. The newer generation of cafes has several distinguishing characteristics. The decor is not the burgundy velvet upholstery of the older style, but mostly a bare and minimal look, from Bauhaus to high-tech. Jazz and rock music play in most, sometimes very loud. And you're more likely to see multiple earrings, tattoos, and post-modern hair cuts than Bavarian hats in these places.
Cafe Hawelka (Dorotheergasse 6) straddles the line between old and new cafes: old in the sense that it has been around since the '30s and its proprietors, Karl and Josepha Hawelka, are in their 80s; new in that it has been and continues to be among the most Bohemian of Vienna's cafes. The cafe's walls overflow with paintings and posters, and the dark wood floor has been worn smooth by several generations of feet. The Hawelkas gave credit to artists, or took paintings in exchange for food and coffee, and now own a collection of paintings by well known artists, including Ernest Fuchs, Wolfgang Hutter, and Canetti. Despite his age, Karl has a glint in his eyes and could talk forever, even to a stranger -- but only in German. Karl recently wanted to " restore" the cafe, but customers won't let him change a thing.
Museum Cafe (Friedrichstrasse 6) was designed by Adolph Loos and reflects his anti-ornamentation aesthetic. An eclectic crowd fills this minimally decorated room: an elegant woman in fur, groups of students, and a handful of serious writer and artist types. The back room has a few small tables for card games, all filled, and two billiard tables that go empty during the day.
Cafe Stein (Wahringerstrasse 8) draws a young crowd with its Bauhaus cafeteria aesthetic and loud rock and roll. This two level, smokey cafe serves delicious food and soul-warming hot spiced wine for cold Vienna nights.
A couple of doors down, Glaser Cafe and Bar (Wahringerstrasse 2-4) plays an odd mix of jazz and American rock, including Supertramp's "Crime of the Century." There's a small upstairs section with halogen bulbs encased in frosted glass atop the clear glass railing; downstairs, people sit at the bar or the handful or small tables adjacent to the windows. The bartender here suggests a glass of Brandwein, the local version of cognac, with a late night coffee.
Hundertwasser Cafe, part of a museum and gift shop designed by Hundertwasser to house his works, is a must-see. It's like a child's rendering of a fairy tale castle, equal parts Disney, Gaudi, and "Dr. Caligari," two steps removed from reality. There are no straight lines here, from uneven floors to crooked windows. This spot is popular with tourists and the young crowd for its design and good, inexpensive food. The apfelstrudel here is made with grated apple and strong spices.
One place where the coffee is definitely secondary to the location is the Do & Co Cafe in Haas Haus, a post-modern glass tower, with what looks like a diving board on top, across from St. Stephan's church. The restaurant is roped off to keep sightseers out, but even the cafe has a spectacular view of the historic church through floor to ceiling windows.
When it comes to coffee and pastry, it's hard to go wrong in Vienna. Just don't limit yourself to one cafe when there are so many fine choices.
Source: Vienna's Cafés by Chris Rubin, Austran National Tourist Office.