5 best cafes in Vienna (and Viennese coffee guide)

You cannot visit Vienna and not spend time sampling the price of the best cafes in Vienna. Viennese coffee is so central to Viennese culture that it is protected by UNESCO. During our week in Vienna, we had the priority to taste coffee and cake through the city to assemble our guide to the best Vienna cafes.

Before leaving, there are a few things you need to know. First of all, few cafes accept reservations to avoid a line, plan to arrive before noon. Then, many (like Cafe Diglas) are only in cash – so prepare with the Euro. In many cafes, when you want to order a pastry shop, you go to the pastry counter and make your selection. They will provide a small shift with a number you leave on the table for your server, which will then bring you your selection. Also expect each coffee to be served with a small glass of water.

If you are looking for more than cakes in a Viennese coffee house, some of the typical dishes you will meet include various breakfast options, soup, goulash, wiener schnitzel, sausages, dumplings and Tafelspitz (boiled beef).

Introduction to the cultivation of Viennese coffee

Vienna was not the first European city to have a coffee, but it has certainly become a way of life since the opening of the first coffee in 1683. It is said that the citizen Viennais Georg Franz Kolschitzky was the first to have a license to serve coffee and he used grains left by the Turks after the Vienna seat. A statue was even erected and a street named in its honor in the 4th district of Vienna.

However, strangely, the first coffee in Vienna was opened by an Armenian named Diodato. Since then, Viennese cafes have evolved to be places for residents and tourists to relax, read the newspaper, meet friends or watch. Today, modern cafes also serve cakes, pastries, alcohol and full meals.

There are many different coffee styles (Kaffee in German) that you will meet in Vienna, so be ready to try them all and choose a favorite.

Classic Viennese coffee is a blendwhich is an espresso with steamed milk and garnished with milk foam. A mixture with whipped cream on top is known as a Franziskaner.

A Kleiner Schwarzer is only one espresso and a Großer Schwarzer is a double espresso. A kleiner or Coarse is also a simple or double espresso, but served with milk or cream on the side. Verlängerter (which means extended) is an espresso with water added to dilute it.

My husband’s favorite is the Einspännerwhich is an espresso with whipped cream (Schlag) on the top and served in a glass cup.

A Kapuziner is like an Einspänner but it is a double espresso with an additional whipped cream served in a cup.

You can also get a cappuccino in Vienna, but it will have less milk than you are used to the United States.

There are also specialized drinks such as the Maria Teresia (Named after the 18th century Empress), which is generally a simple or double espresso with whipped cream and orange liqueur.

Best cafes in Vienna

These are our favorite cafes that we visited in Vienna.

SPERL coffee

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We discovered Cafe Sperl at the start of our gastronomic tour of Vienna and we were so happy that we did it! It is one of the only cafes in Vienna that always makes their own cakes and pastries. We found their sperl cake, which uses chocolate and almond flour (although it does not taste almonds), the best cake in Vienna. Their apple structure was also quite good.

Open for the first time in the 1880s, Cafe Sperl was a favorite among composers, singers, writers and artists. Today, it maintains an authentic and historical atmosphere, up to the walls stained with smoke and dark wooden woodwork. If you are looking for a historic and authentic Viennese coffee, Cafe Sperl is your place.

Sperl coffee is located in GUMPENDORFER STR. 11, 1060 Wien, Austria

Central coffee

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My favorite Viennese coffee is central coffee. It is large and elegant, with high ceilings and spacious benches. The central coffee center is the vast cake and the pastry dough. They may not have an internal pastries, but they are still delicious. It also offers a full menu with a very tasty schnitzel.

Glenn found that the Einspänner living room was the best coffee in Vienna. It is a great espresso served Schlag (with whipped cream.) The thing to know about Café Central is that it is one of the most popular coffees of Vienna and if you will not succeed before noon, you will be standing in a long queue.

Central coffee is located in Herrengasse 14, 1010 Wien, Austria

Mozart coffee

Located near the Opera and Albertina, the Mozart café has remained popular with musicians, locals and tourists. Although too expensive and lacking in sperl or central charm, the food is quite delicious, making it one of the best cafes in Vienna.

Kaiserschmarrn of Cafe Mozart, a torn pancake with cooked plums, is delicious. We first tried this treat at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware from all places and it was so fun to try it in Austria where it was invented. I also loved their dish with roasted bread dumplings and eggs and a green salad.

Mozart coffee is located in Albertinaplatz 2, 1010 Wien, Austria

Burn

Divided into various salons on several floors, Demel embodies classic coffee and is still listed among the best cafes in Vienna. It is more elegant than Café Sperl, a more authentic feeling than Central Cafe, and somehow less touristy than Cafe Mozart once seated – despite the long queues, the staircases of customers awaited tables.

Even if you don’t eat it, you should stop in their shop on the first floor to see the beautiful chocolates and pastries. It is an ideal place to warm up with a cup of soup or coffee and update with light bites or a cake during shopping, after a performance at the Spanish school, or before visiting the Albertina museum.

Burn is located in Kohlmarkt 14, 1010 Wien, Austria

Café Landtmann

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Another of the best Vienna cafes is classic Landtmann coffee. Located along the ringstrasse and far from the busiest areas, this coffee is less touristy than some of the others and you will feel comfortable relaxing with a newspaper and a coffee for a while.

The big Viennese and brioche breakfasts will fill you for a while and give you a lot to savor when you sip your coffee.

Café Landtmann is located in Universitätsring 4, 1010 Wien, Austria

Of all the famous Viennese coffees, the only one we really don’t like was Diglas coffee. It is so pretty outside and has a cute and eclectic setting, so I really expected more. But the service was beyond the Austrian curtain and went directly to Rude, which gives it a feeling of dinner. I could ignore this for a very good piece of cake, but the Strudel for which they are so famous were also very disappointing. My recommendation would be to leave it on your list.

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