Coffee in Central Vienna, Austria
Kaffee und Sachertorte in Hotel Sacher Wien, Café Central, and Demel
Strong, fresh coffee in Vienna with Sachertorte in tradition-rich cafés such as Hotel Sacher Wien, Café Central, and Demel is a top attraction of the Austrian capital.
Coffee in Vienna in elegant and smoke-stained cafés is a time-honored tradition. Some cafés such as Café Sacher, Demel, and Café Central have become tourist destinations in their own right. All three are in central Vienna close to the main sights and despite high prices worth visiting for excellent coffee and cakes.
- No Viennese cake is more famous than Sachertorte – a rich chocolate cake with a divine chocolate coating and a thin apricot jelly strip.
Sachertorte was first baked in 1832 by Hotel Sacher as special dessert for the Imperial family. A family feud allowed the recipe to fall in the hands of competitor Demel. A long court case was settled in Hotel Sacher’s favor allowing only Sacher to add “Das Original” (The Original) to each Sachertorte served. However, unlike Hotel Sacher, Demel correctly keeps the apricot strip at its original position below the chocolate cover and not in the middle of the cake, as is more common nowadays. Furthermore, the ingredients listed on the ready to ship cakes reveal that Demel uses more eggs than does Sacher.
Coffee in the Hotel Sacher Wien
Not necessarily the best but arguably the best-known hotel in Vienna is Hotel Sacher Wien. The Hotel Sacher in Vienna has a long and illustrious history but most visitors come to sample the coffee and cake – more often than not Sachertorte mit Schlagobers (chocolate cake with whipped cream). Coffee and cake, as well as full meals, can be enjoyed in the sumptuous Café Sacher with terrace or in the more formal restaurant Anna Sacher.
Café Sacher Eck, on the corner of Kärtner and Philharmoniker Straße across from the famed Staatsoper, is less formal. Sacher Eck is ideal for a quick stop before rushing off for more sightseeing. Sachertorte of various sizes can be bought next door at Hotel Sacher’s Confiserie and shipped worldwide on request.
Coffee in K.u.K Hofzuckerbäcker Ch. Demel’s Söhne
Café Demel is spread over several rooms and levels in a building just meters from the Hofburg along Kohlmarkt in Central Vienna. The outdoor seating is very popular too. Hotel Sacher and Demel’s court battle over the rights to the name Sachertorte is famous in Vienna and beyond. Although the Sachertorte here is worth sampling, Demel was originally foremost a confectionary and has excellent other cakes too.
Kaiserschmarrn was originally invented by Demel as the dessert for the wedding of Emperor Franz Joseph and Elizabeth (Sisi), duchess in Bavaria. It is commonly served to children in the German-speaking world but note that Demel in Vienna sticks to the original alcohol-soaked raisons in its recipe.
Coffee in Café Central
Café Central in Palais Festel near the Hofburg is a Viennese institution. It has traditionally been popular with the intelligentsia and writers – Leo Trotsky, who started Pravda in Vienna, was a regular.
Café Central’s neo-Gothic interior was recently restored and although some bemoaned that too much patina was scrubbed off, it is as pleasant a locale as it has ever been. A huge range of local and international newspapers is available to peruse at leisure. Life piano music is played from 4 to 7 pm and more lively music enlivens this coffee house from 7:30 pm onwards.
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