Vienna isn’t just Austria’s capital. It’s the world capital of coffee culture, officially recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011.
Here, Viennese coffeehouse culture isn’t merely about caffeine. It’s where time and space are consumed alongside your Wiener Melange or Kleiner Brauner.
Picture marble-topped tables, elegant Thonet chairs, and the gentle rustle of newspapers as social life happens at the café.
From chandelier-draped imperial establishments near the Burgtheater to intimate modern specialty coffee spots, Vienna’s unrenovated charm blends seamlessly with contemporary coffee-lover’s paradise destinations.
Whether you’re savoring Sachertorte slices in historic cafés with uniformed waiters or sipping sustainably sourced beans topped with artisanal patterns, this Danube metropolis delivers an experience where every foamy top tells a story.
Ready to explore Vienna’s best traditional coffee houses and modern cafés?
Short Answer
The best cafes in Vienna are Café Central, Café Sacher, Café Landtmann, Café Sperl, and Palmenhaus. Most are located in Vienna’s 1st District, along the Ringstrasse, and near Stephansplatz.
12 Best Cafes In Vienna
Café Central
Where: Herrengasse 14, Vienna 1010 Austria
Housed in magnificent Palais Ferstel at Herrengasse 14, 1st District, Café Central opened in 1876 and carries 140 years history as Vienna’s intellectuals hangout.
Sigmund Freud, Stefan Zweig, and writer Peter Altenberg were regulars, while Leon Trotsky and Alfred Polgar played impassioned chess here. Legend says Count Berchtold dismissed Victor Adler’s Russian revolution warnings, asking who’d lead it: “Mr. Trotsky sitting at Café Central?”
This grand café, originally built as the Austrian National Bank building in 1860, dazzles with:
- Chandelier illumination
- White-cloth tables and mirrored booths
- Round marble tables
Uniformed waiters serve beneath vaulted ceilings, occasionally accompanied by live music at no extra charge.
The stepping back in time feeling remains authentic, with locals reading newspapers and books creating that timeless atmosphere.
Order a Wiener Melange with classic refreshments. Reservation recommended in advance given its popularity.
Café Landtmann
Where: Universitätsring 4, Vienna 1010 Austria
Since its 1873 opening on Universitätsring, Café Landtmann has been Vienna’s elegant café, positioned perfectly beside Burgtheater and within Town Hall proximity on the Ringstrasse.
Spectacular linked rooms create bustling cosmopolitan atmosphere where politicians, playwrights, and journalists mingle with both Viennese and tourists.
Sigmund Freud wrote here, joined by Arthur Schnitzler in this sophisticated ambience defined by bow-tied service and trays stacked with coffee and cakes.
Opening 7:30 AM till 11 PM daily (earlier than most Ringstrasse cafés), it’s ideal for breakfast before exploring city centre attractions, parliament building, or taking a Volksgarten stroll.
The impressive selection includes:
- Landtmann chocolate-almond torte
- Warm Apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce or whipped cream alternative
Flag waiters with gentle Entschuldigung and round up with 5-10% tip. Service maintains old-school unhurried tradition, making this a meeting place where Kaffeehauskultur thrives.
Café Hawelka
Where: Dorotheergasse 6, Vienna 1010 Austria
Just few steps from Stephansplatz at Dorotheergasse 6, Café Hawelka has been Vienna’s artists’ haunt since its 1930s foundation by legendary couple Josefine and Leopold Hawelka.
This bohemian retreat, now third generation family-run, became the creative hub where actor Oskar Werner, writer Heimito von Doderer, and painter Ernst Fuchs gathered.
The unrenovated since 1980s appearance adds authentic charm to this unique city-centre gem.
Famous for buchteln sweet yeast buns fresh from oven (prepared weekend-only, served evenings), the aroma fills this café serving coffee from its own roastery. Some of Vienna’s finest.
Beyond pastries, enjoy proper Viennese meals with schnitzel or goulash.
Fun fact: Austrian singer-songwriter Georg Danzer’s “Jö Schau” song references a streaker incident here.
Open Monday-Thursday 9 AM-midnight, Friday-Saturday till 1 AM, Sunday 10 AM-9 PM.
Café Sacher
At Philharmoniker Strasse 4, Café Sacher serves the Original Sachertorte. That sweet slice of history created in 1832 when baker apprentice Franz Sacher fulfilled a Prince Metternich commission.
This rich chocolate cake with apricot jam layer beneath dark chocolate glaze, served with whipped cream, has become what Süddeutsche Zeitung called “a widely accepted currency in relationships worldwide.” Valuable currency indeed!
The secret recipe remains tightly guarded. Asking waiters proves unsuccessful.
This Viennese institution near Philharmonic proximity and Opera house makes an essential tourist destination, operating 7 AM-11 PM daily.
The cake vitrine display and counter presentation showcase Vienna staples alongside traditional apple strudel.
Located convenient to St. Stephen’s Cathedral and perfect for pairing with Schönbrunn Palace visits, Sacher represents where coffee culture meets confectionery legend in Austria’s capital.
Café Sperl
Since 1880, Café Sperl at Gumpendorfer Strasse 11, 6th District, has been Vienna’s classic beauty. An atmospheric spot featured in Before Sunrise with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.
In 1988, British critic Roy Ackerman named it Café of the Year from 200 European establishments, cementing its status.
Early regulars Franz Lehár and actor Alexander Girardi appreciated what remains today:
- Spacious traditional atmosphere
- Faded plush seats and high ceilings
- Timeless air in that perfect 19th-century way
Uniformed efficient waiters serve the homemade Café Sperl cake (a milk chocolate blend with vanilla, cinnamon, and almond paste) plus exceptional pancakes.
This 100% Viennese designation creates a brilliant space where you’re never rushed.
Open Monday-Saturday 7 AM-10 PM, Sunday 10 AM-8 PM (closed Sundays July-August).
Controversial among visitors, but for those seeking authentic tradition, it’s unmissable.
Café Schwarzenberg
Among the oldest Vienna cafés, Café Schwarzenberg opened in 1903 at Kärntner Ring 17, ranking among the grandest establishments.
Its late 1970s restoration achieved one of the most pleasing interiors in historic Viennese cafés. A sensitive restoration process.
Service follows stately Ringstrasse tradition where customers are expected to know their place and waiters of immense experience manage busy periods efficiently. During rushes, both thirsty clientele and uncleared tables must wait.
The mostly international clientele contrasts with elderly Viennese regulars who receive joshing with waiters treatment that reveals the café’s warm heart beneath formal façade.
My Kleine Schwarzer arrived delicious and hot, accompanied by sugar dispensers instead of sachets. A thoughtful touch.
The distinctive location on prominent Ringstrasse positioning creates grand café atmosphere with preserved period details maintaining its listed café status.
Here, efficient yet dignified service achieves that tourist-local balance, embodying true café culture.
Café Prückel
Opening in 1903 as Café Lurion (named for founder and European cycling champion Maxime Lurion), this Stubenring 24 gem gained its enduring name after Wenzel Prückel’s takeover.
Famous for 1950s design by Viennese architect Oswald Haerdtl, the listed interior creates nostalgic delight with sensitive design preservation maintaining mid-century aesthetic and retro charm.
The original sun blind from early days still decorates the façade. A detail signaling architectural significance and historic designation protection.
Don’t miss the back room: following 1980s restoration, it showcases original Art Nouveau style, making this a design lover destination balancing modernist heritage with functional beauty.
Order the house specialty Prückel Creme. A small mokka topped with whipped cream that’s become the café’s signature.
Open daily 8:30 AM-10 PM, Prückel proves Vienna’s architectural timeline extends beyond 19th-century opulence into mid-century brilliance.
Café Jelinek
After shopping sprees on Mariahilfer Strasse, take a short detour to Otto-Bauer-Gasse 5 for Café Jelinek’s distinctive alternative character in the 6th District.
You won’t find Ringstrasse opulence or imperial grandeur here. Instead, discover plenty of authenticity with a hint of eccentricity and real cosiness.
The warm setting features:
- Yellowed walls
- Old iron stove
- Slightly time-worn charm
Homemade gugelhupf (bundt cake) tastes divine in this delightfully alternative space.
Perfect for night owls: breakfast serves until closing at 10 PM!
Try the Vital Breakfast. Tea, coffee or hot chocolate, croissant, four wholemeal bread slices with cheese, chives and tomatoes, plus yoghurt with fruit and honey.
Open daily 9 AM-10 PM, it’s a 15-minute stroll from ibis Wien Mariahilf hotel, maintaining relaxed vibes far from tourist crowds.
Café Dommayer
Near Schönbrunn Palace at Dommayergasse 1, 13th District Hietzing, Café Dommayer is the palace’s elegant neighbour. A Biedermeier jewel perfectly capturing Austrian writer Alfred Polgar’s observation: “You go to a Viennese coffee house when you want to be alone but need company.”
Here you’ll experience wonderful alone in company moments among students, artists, and court councillors.
The comfortable spacious interior maintains unrenovated traditional look attracting locals mostly, while the charming Schönbrunn dialect you’ll hear echoes those 1950s Sissi films. Net woahr?
Indulge in exquisite Esterhazy cake alongside fine cuisine offerings, then spend your day exploring gilded halls and taking Schönbrunn gardens strolls through landscaped gardens.
The sunny terrace provides palace district location advantages for cultural immersion.
Open daily 7:30 AM-8:30 PM with multi-generational appeal and dialect authenticity that transports you to imperial Vienna.
Best Modern Cafes in Vienna
Palmenhaus
Inside Burggarten at address 1, Emperor Franz Joseph’s 1901 glass-and-steel greenhouse became a 1998 café opening, creating an airy greenhouse with soaring palms, mosaic-tiled floors, and sunlight creating spotlight moments. A tropical time capsule.
Breakfast runs 10 AM weekdays (9 AM weekends) until noon:
- Palmenhaus Frühstück with smoked salmon, soft-boiled egg, and Viennese pastries
- Fluffy Kaiserschmarrn you can split in two
After midday, menu pivots to brasserie classics. Schnitzel, seasonal salads, Aperol Spritz or champagne glass options.
Terrace tables overlook rose beds but can’t be reserved before 6 PM. Join the informal queue or request coffee slots.
The greenhouse gets balmy, so dress in layers and grab seats near side doors for cross-breeze.
Walk the gardens afterward for Mozart-statue sunsets and photos of Palmenhaus glowing within.
Vollpension
Step into “Grandma’s public living room” at Schleifmühlgasse 16, 4th District Wieden, where this social-enterprise café employs Omas and Opas in retro aprons, helping retirees earn pension by baking childhood dreams.
The open kitchen visibility lets you watch apple strudel scent waft from ovens while floral sofas, 1950s radios, and eclectic picture walls create the cozier original location (a larger salon operates at Johannesgasse 4 downtown).
Dogs welcome at Schleifmühlgasse but not downtown.
Order the Erbschleicher Frühstück mountain:
- Brioche and butter
- Homemade jams and soft-boiled egg
- Warm chocolate Gugelhupf cake slices
Hours run 8 AM-7 PM Sunday-Wednesday, extending 8 AM-11 PM Thursday-Saturday.
Weekend brunch requires reservation days ahead. Tables vanish fast.
Bring cash for the tip jar and embrace the granny love concept on plush brown sofas.
Drechsler Cafe
Since 1919 on Linke Wienzeile, 5th District Mariahilfer, Café Drechsler received a 2007 designer Sir Terence Conran reboot mixing classic marble-topped tables with sleek cup-and-saucer fixtures.
This stylish pit-stop sits across from Naschmarkt, serving all-day breakfast officially until 3 PM with strong Hauskaffee.
Opening 8 AM weekdays (9 AM weekends) and closing 4 PM makes it perfect for pre-market breakfast or post-market cappuccinos.
Order the Hangover Frühstück stacked with:
- Speck and scrambled eggs
- Miniature goulash
Or try their paprika-rich beef goulash that’s achieved local legend status.
Weekend brunch rush hits after Naschmarkt opens. Arrive before 9 AM for curved banquette seating with vintage views and people-watching.
My scrambled eggs platter and yogurt bowl featured crushed fruit with dense rye bread.
Collaged feature walls and green booths complete the modern-meets-tradition aesthetic.
