Viennese Cafes Experiences

Café Central
Address: Herrengasse 14, 1010 Wien, Austria
Phone: +43 1 5333763

Café Central was on my list of top spots I needed to visit in Vienna.  I happened to arrive into Vienna on a national holiday, which made me nervous that many places would be closed.  Fortunately, it seems like even Austrian businesses have conformed to being open on holidays, as the whole Stephansdom area was filled with people.

I made my way towards Café Central and thankfully it was open as well, and after a short wait, I was seated for my first true Vienna Coffee House experience.

Once I sat down, I was flipping through the menu when a nice American family next to me told me that I need to go back up to the front counter to pick my dessert before sitting down.  All the desserts are numbered and I had to memorize the number of the one I wanted and relay that to my waiter. 

After sitting back down, the waiter actually took a very long time before making his way over to take my order.  However, once my order was placed, my kaffee mit schlagobers (coffee with whipped cream) and apfelstrudel (apple strudel) arrived very quickly.

I’m not sure that I actually loved the coffee or the pastry, but I definitely loved the atmosphere of Café Central.  I felt like I had stepped back in time or that I was on a movie set.  The café was gigantic so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it is quite loud.  If you’re looking for a quiet place to enjoy an afternoon, this may not be for you.

 

Café Sperl
Address: Gumpendorfer Str. 11, 1060 Wien, Austria
Phone:+43 1 5864158

I made my way to Café Sperl for breakfast on my second day in Vienna.  This café is not located within the inner Central Vienna ring, but just outside near Naschmarkt Market.

I ordered a cheese strudel, scrambled eggs and an einspänner, a Viennese specialty of strong black coffee topped with whipped cream.  When the cheese strudel arrived, I wasn’t too impressed with its appearance and after trying it, I can say that it isn’t my favourite pastry. 

Café Sperl has three pool tables, but on one of them lay a whole bunch of newspapers in many different languages.  It was really nice to be able to sit down and browse some international newspapers that I wasn’t normally used to reading.

 

Café Aida
Singerstr. 1 | Moskva, Vienna 1010, Austria

Café Aida is a big Viennese chain of pastry shops and coffee houses.  I had initially wanted to try Café Diglas but due to their limited dessert menu, I opted for Café Aida instead.

I ordered a Sacher Torte to try, as well as a decaf Melange (an espresso with steamed milk).  I quite liked the Sacher Torte, even though I didn’t notice the apricot jam at all.  The Melange wasn’t for me though. 

Unfortunately, I had a bit of an issue with the service at this location as I ordered both the cake and the coffee at the counter and the lady put the cake on a serving plate right away and the waiter was to serve the cake when the coffee was ready.  However, after about 15 minutes, I still hadn’t received either.  They got it fixed for me right away, so in the end, it wasn’t too big of a deal.

Café Landtmann
Address: Universitätsring 4, 1010 Wien, Austria
Phone:+43 1 24100100

There was one last coffee shop I wanted to visit before I left Vienna.  Just like Café Central, Café Landtmann has a rich history in Vienna’s coffee house culture.  As expected on a nice day, the entire outside area of the café was full, but the inside was pretty empty.

The waiter recommended the strawberry pistachio cake and I paired it with an iced chocolate.   Both were delicious and it ended up being a great last Viennese Coffee House experience.