VIENNESE CAFÉS
The first coffee house in Europe opened in Venice, but it is Vienna that cemented itself as a mecca for coffee houses, known for their small marble-topped tables, Thonet chairs, quiet corners, international newspaper offerings, and gorgeous interiors. These cafés are so entrenched within Viennese society, that since October 2011, the “Viennese Coffee House Culture” is listed as “Intangible Cultural Heritage” by UNESCO. Their website includes a wonderful quote: “The coffeehouse is a place in which time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is listed on the bill.”
Now this article by no means includes an exhaustive list of all the amazing cafés in Vienna. In fact, writing about three cafés probably can’t even be considered a list, but! This article is meant to call out the lovely culture surrounding Viennese cafés, and furthermore if you do find yourself in Vienna, I must impress upon you that you must go to a café! The three below are the ones we went to when we were in Vienna.
Café Central
Established in 1876, this café welcomed icons like Trotsky, Polgar, Zweig, Altenberg, and Freud (though it is said that Freud’s favorite café was actually Café Landtmann). All these years later, Café Central is still extremely popular, with a huge line that spilled into the street when we arrived on a weekday at lunch. Luckily, we had a reservation, and I would encourage you to make one as well! The menu has a plethora of options, ranging from classic Viennese dishes to traditional coffee specialties and sweet treats.
Café Demel
This café veers off a little from the traditional Viennese coffee house path, as it leans more into chocolate. In fact, Demel was locked in a nine-year legal battle with Hotel Sacher regarding their chocolate cakes, the sachertorte. The legal ordeal focused on which institution had the right to call its sachertorte the “original” one. If you like chocolate cake (it was a bit dry for our taste), try both and see if you can spot any differences! Chocolate cake drama aside, we love Demel’s langues de chat, which are thin pieces of chocolate in the shape of cat tongues, inspired by French ladyfingers. Whether you come here for a leisurely cup of coffee, some chocolates, or the infamous sachertorte, you will not be disappointed!
Café Schwarzenberg
Another oldie but a goodie, Café Schwarzenberg has been around since 1861. While it never drew in famous people like Café Central, it is still a gorgeous coffee house with a lot of history. Over the years, it has been called a number of things from Café Hochleitner to Café Sperrer to Café Deutschland, furniture was destroyed during war, and it was almost even turned into a car dealership, but Café Schwarzenberg endured. We ate here for breakfast and loved the slow start as people poured over their newspapers. During the summer months, you are invited to sit outside if you would like, which is a nice feature!
You really can’t go wrong by choosing one café over another one here in Vienna, so compare menus and atmospheres and see which one you like the most!
