The Vienna Coffeehouse Scene

Vienna has some beautiful coffee houses. Some of the most magnificent I have ever seen. Many go back to the 1800's.

One fine example of these is Cafe Hawelka. We first heard of this cafe on a travel show. It has been run by the Hawelkas for many, many years. Mrs. Hawelka passed away a few years back, but Mr. Hawelka, who just turned 101, is still around. I can only imagine the changes that Mr. Hawelka has seen in Vienna over that time.




We went to Hawelka Cafe in search of a classic Austrian pastry called Buchteln. It is a classic yeasted roll filled with jam. They only serve it in the evenings after around 8pm. We managed to have them straight from the oven and piping hot. Absolutely delicious and worth the effort to have them.




We also tried a couple other Coffee Houses. We liked Central Coffee, which is in an amazingly beautiful building.




The pastry bar is stunning. We tried pastries a several of the different coffeehouses, and I can't imagine any of them serving something less that wonderful.



I tried a Cherry and Pistachio Tart that was incredible. Tony and I learned to order a Cafe Melange, which is similar to a cappuccino, but uses Whipped Cream instead of the frothed milk.





Viennese Coffee Houses introduced the world to the laid back coffee culture. This is in sharp contrast to the grab and go Italian Coffee Bar. Instead, a coffee in Vienna allows the customer access to lounge as long as they would like.