One of the reason that motivates the trip to Vienna, Austria is due to the great cafe culture here. It says that coffee house culture is an integral role into Viennese's life. In fact, Vienna's coffee house were listed as an intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2011, and a lengthy list appeared when we googled coffee house to try in Vienna. Again, finance and time are 2 most important factors deterring us from visiting more coffee house here, but we were glad we tried at least 3 of them and check out some other eateries worth mentioning also.
1. Cafe Landtmann
One of the traditional Vienna cafe house is Cafe Landtmann, which is located at Ringstraße and near to Vienna University. Founded by Franz Landtmann in 1873, the coffee house is more than just serving good coffee. The cozy atmosphere made us feel like lingering longer here, and the entire cafe is donned with unique design that has historical inlay work on the walls and the mirrors from the Golden 1920s. It is like a museum cum cafe to us.
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| Kaiserschmarrn (€9.50) |
The name and description of Kaiserschmarrn caught us. Apparently, it is an imperial Vienna delicacy that derives its name from the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I, who was fond of fluffy shredded pancakes.
Unlike conventional pancakes served on plate, Kaiserschmarrn is served in a pan with stewed plums and apple puree. Both the sauces were fresh and we can really tell by tasting it. The usage of plum which is more on an acidic side is a smart move by balancing it with the sweetness derived from the apple. Feel free to dice some icing sugar on top of the pancakes for a more rounded taste.
We are not a fan of thick pancakes but this is really an exceptional case. Yes, it was thick but it was great in taste. They deliberately cut it into small pieces for a better taste.
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| Mozart Torte (€5.50) with Ottakringer Helles Wien 0.3l (€4.20) |
After more than enough Mozart food in Salzburg which was not appetizing, we tried to give a shot on Mozart Torte in Cafe Landtmann, hoping the cakes here counter the unpleasant experiences we had with Mozart food earlier.
Indeed, the Mozart Torte is delicious. It has a creamy filling, then topped with chocolate sponge cakes and a slight pistachio cream we supposed. The overall texture is very soft and indeed live up its expectations!
Cafe Landtmann
+43 1 24100120
Operation hours: 7.30am - 12am Daily
2. Gelateria Castelletto
Gelateria Castelletto is our casual encounter when we were scouting for restaurant around Stephansplatz and Schewedenplatz area to cater for our extreme hunger. However, it turned out to be a nice place for lunch or dinner, and apparently many came here for their ice cream!
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| Topfenstrudel with vanilla cream (€5.20) |
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| Pilzisotto Mit Rucda Und (€10.40) |
The pleasant experience from having strudel in Budapest made us to have a special affection toward this dessert. At Gelateria Castelletto, the Topfenstrudel is actually Austrian cream cheese strudel, which we opted to top up additional vanilla cream for €1. The desert is fluffy, and tasted light initially. However after a few bites, we can feel somehow the vanilla cream and strudel have contradicting taste and it appeared that none of these 2 ingredients manage to overpower each other, creating a state of confusion. Perhaps it would be better if we did not add the vanilla cream.
Another food we had was Mushroom Risotto with Arugula and Grana Cheese Flakes. Almost every elements are done nicely in this risotto plate, from the texture, cheesy cream sauce and the mushroom aroma. After all, Gelateria Castelletto is an Italian restaurant and they could not go wrong with Italian cuisine right?
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| Mokka Becher (€6.40) |
At the same time, we also manage to try Einspanner, the classic Viennese coffee that combines espresso and some whipped cream on top of it.
Gelateria Castelletto
Rotenturmstraße 24, 1010 Wien, Austria
Rotenturmstraße 24, 1010 Wien, Austria
+43 1 5354483
Operation hours: 7.00am - 12.00am (opens on 8am on Sunday)
3. Demel
Demel is a big name amongst Austrian pastry shop. It was established in 1786 and bears the title of a Purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court. Not hard to locate it as the shop is located strategically near to The Hosburg. However, be prepared to get an available as pastry shop with such big name surely attract a lot of admirers. Furthermore, Demel was the Empress Sisi's favourite shop that even enhanced its name.
We were fortunate to get an outdoor table during our visit after about 10 minute waiting time. To order the cakes and pastries, you have to go inside the restaurant and have a look at the shelf then make your order there. After that, pass the ticket to the restaurant crew in charge and she will serve you afterward. Drinks can be ordered directly with the crew.
Got to know that Malakofftorte (€5.5), a layer cake made with sponge fingers laced with rum and creme is a classic Viennese cake so we gave it a try. The overall taste is nutty and aroma with spongy texture, which is light and appetizing.
On the contrary, another cake we had - Truffel Torte (€5.5) is richer in taste with a strong chocolate scent.
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| Demels heibe Schokolade (€6.59) - Hot Chocolate |
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| Ottakringer 0.3l (€5) |
The entire pastry shop is heavily decorated and feel like a palace somehow. If you want to know about the history of Demel, you can check the vaults featuring artworks and historic objects originating from the beginning of Demel, which opens every Friday from 10am to 12pm. There will be guide, and subjected to entrance fees as well.
Just a precautions note if you are seated outdoor or hanging around Hasburg area. During our time seated at outdoor compound of Demel, suddenly two ladies came and handed us a rose which we rejected. Then, one of the lady said thank you cynically, then try to use the rose to hit my head. After that, a lady behind attempted to throw prawn's shell into our cup of drink which we managed to respond promptly and covered it. It appeared that they were targeting Asians as we bump into another similar group offering roses. Just be careful when you are around here.
+43 1 5351717
Operation hours: 8am - 7pm Daily
4. Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker
Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker is another elegantly decorated pastry shop located next to Vienna state opera. It was not a planned dining here as we simply wish for something sweet after visiting state opera. Upon stepping into the shop, we were left in awe with an open mouth!
Ground floor has an ice cream stall and corner that sell cakes and pastries, and the real deal is on the second floor which has the high-end restaurant. Nevertheless, we just had a cone of Raspberry ice cream (€1.7) which is one of the best we ever had in Europe! It was refreshing and fresh to the extent we can test the flesh of the berries!
+43 1 5261361
Operation hours: 10am - 11pm (till 5pm on Wedensday)
5. Hawker food near Schwedenplatz
There are plenty of these type of hawker food around Vienna, selling hotdog, Chinese food, Japanese food and etc. Moreover, it is much affordable than restaurant settings thus fits well to our travel plan.
We had some snacks at the hawker stalls near Schwedenplatz metro exit for 2 consecutive nights after visiting different spots in Vienna. Even though it was late at 11pm, these stalls still full of people!
Currywurst got to be our favourite sausages here! The German origin pork sausages are cut to bite-sized then seasoned with curry ketchup and curry powder, making it super addictive at night!
Then we spotted this Happy Noodle stall which always has a large number of crowd. We were thinking is Chinese food really that popular here?
We tried to have a peek at the stall. Apparently, the chef was using a flat frying pan to cook the noodles along with other ingredients such as vegetables and bean sprouts , then chop it into small pieces which did not appease to our tastebud. Nevertheless, we ordered a fried noodle with fried chicken (€5.4) for the sake of trying. Other options such as duck, shrimp or sausages are available.
Well, the resulting dish turned out to be quite surprise. Probably not the best noodle we had but it was our first Chinese meal after 2.5 weeks of Western food in Central Europe. We had to add on a lot of soy sauce and chili sauce to give the noodles a more dimension of flavour though. The fried chickens was good and crispy.
It was quite fulfilling in the end. The only thing we did not enjoy was the difficulty in using chopstick as the noodles have been chopped to really small pieces.
And we were lucky to get the Captain American version of Cokes here, best accompanied with some snacks as well.
This sums up what we had in Vienna but of course, there are more dozens more of amazing coffee house and restaurants here. Coming back in future is a yes for us!
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Check out Shirleen & Ee Pin's Instagram for more beautiful photos we have taken.
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