Whiling away vast amounts of time in a caffeine temple is a must for anyone who visits Vienna, especially during the depths of winter. Some of the cafés date back over a century, so you can feel quite confident sending your co-travellers off to the museum as you enjoy your own slice of history (a.k.a. wedge of cake).
However, I realize that the elegant coffee houses frequented by the artists and dandies of yore may not be to everyone’s taste. Therefore, I present a trio of contrasting café experiences in Vienna.
THE CLASSIC
(Photo: Reb Stevenson)
Opened in 1876, regal Café Central became the meeting place of choice for Viennese intellectuals and artists.
(Photo: Reb Stevenson)
Amongst the folks who sipped Verlängerters and Kleinerbrauners (I won’t even get into it; there are about 20 different ways to order coffee in Vienna. Basically you have to be a leading intellectual to grasp it), were Arthur Schnitzler, Sigmund Freud, Peter Altenberg and Leon Trotzky. Apparently an excessive amount of chess was played there as well.
(Photo: Reb Stevenson)
Despite all of this learnedness, I still managed to find myself something juvenile-looking to eat: a potted Christmas tree made with pistachio cream, chestnut ganache and cherries.
THE KITSCHY
(Photo: Reb Stevenson)
Waitresses in pink retro dresses and matching ankle socks probably isn’t what springs to mind when you think of the Vienna café scene, but Aida, which features exactly that, is a local staple.
(Photo: Reb Stevenson)
The first Aida was opened in 1925, and the business had grown to 10 locations by 1940. Unfortunately, all of them were destroyed during WW2. The postwar rebuilding explains the 1950s diner look that now defines Aida.
(Photo: Reb Stevenson)
The menu contains no fewer than 65 desserts, including these “krapfen,” (a.k.a. doughnuts) which come in intriguing flavours like “champagne,” “punsch” and “fitness.” Fitness? Um, yeah. Maybe that’s the German word for lard?
THE HIP
(Photo: ©WienTourismus / Christian Stemper)
Straddling the emerging area around the Danube Canal, Motto Am Fluss is a light-soaked restaurant/café in a ferry terminal.
(Photo: Reb Stevenson)
With an organic menu, the option of soy milk in your Verlängerters and bald/tattooed waitresses (mine was, anyway), this is definitely not old school Vienna.
(Photo: Reb Stevenson)
The downstairs restaurant is quite the happening scene at night (I may have noted a few über-handsome Austrian men hanging out in their slim fitting Euro-pants) but the more laid back upstairs café is a magnet for locals going a-brunching. If you’re doing it Austrian style, then naturally your day will begin with a hearty dose of flesh. But Motto Am Fluss also offers vegetarian options.
This is part of a series on winter travel in Vienna and Berlin. Don’t miss my other posts:
A Viennese Christmas Market (brought to life with a dream-like video!)
