The Viennese Coffeehouse Culture

The Viennese coffeehouse has been a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2011 — and rightly so. It is not just a café — it is a way of life: a place where you sit for hours, read newspapers, write, discuss, dawdle, and watch life go by. The Herr Ober (never "waiter"!) brings the coffee on a silver tray with a glass of water — and no one urges you to leave or order more. "The Viennese don't go to the coffeehouse to drink coffee — they go to be in the coffeehouse."

The Most Important Coffee Varieties

• Melange: Vienna's standard coffee — espresso with frothed milk. Similar to cappuccino, but more Viennese.
• Kleiner/Großer Brauner: Espresso (small) or extended espresso (large) with a dash of milk.
• Kleiner/Großer Schwarzer: Espresso without milk — pure and strong.
• Einspänner: Double mocha in a glass, topped with a dollop of whipped cream. The name comes from the one-horse carriage drivers who could drink the coffee with one hand.
• Fiaker: Black coffee with rum or cherry brandy and whipped cream. Named after the Fiaker carriage drivers.
• Kapuziner: Black coffee with a hint of whipped cream — the color of a Capuchin robe.

The Legendary Coffeehouses

• Café Central (Herrengasse 14): Freud, Trotsky, Peter Altenberg, and Karl Kraus sat here. Vaulted ceilings, marble columns, and a figure of Peter Altenberg at the entrance. Touristy, but irresistible. Melange: approx. €6.
• Café Sperl (Gumpendorfer Straße 11): The favorite café of Viennese intellectuals — more authentic than the Central, fewer tourists, patinated velvet benches, and the best atmosphere in the city. Sundays: Live piano music.
• Café Hawelka (Dorotheergasse 6): The legendary bohemian pub — narrow, smoky (formerly), crammed with art and history. Famous for the Buchteln (filled yeast cakes) served in the evening from 10 p.m.
• Demel (Kohlmarkt 14): The k.u.k. court confectionery — no Melange, but cake: Sachertorte (the other one!), Dobos cake, punch cake. The display case is a temptation in chocolate and sugar.