The Grand Coffeehouses of Vienna: Where to Sit and What to Order

The Viennese coffeehouse is not a place to grab a coffee. It is, in the old phrase, a public living room: you order one Melange, you are brought a glass of water with it, and the marble table is yours for the afternoon. Newspapers hang on wooden racks, waiters in black tie move at their own dignified pace, and nobody — ever — hurries you. Viennese coffeehouse culture was added to Austria's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage, kept under the UNESCO convention, in 2011, and a morning in one explains why.

• The ritual: every coffee arrives on a silver tray with a glass of tap water; lingering is expected
• Core orders: Melange (espresso with steamed milk and foam), Einspaenner (black coffee under whipped cream, served in glass), kleiner Brauner (small espresso with a jug of cream)
• What it costs: a Melange typically runs around the price of a mid-range city coffee elsewhere — you are renting the table, not buying the drink
• Hours: most open from breakfast until late evening; check individual sites for current hours

Cafe Central — the showpiece

Under the vaulted ceiling of the Palais Ferstel on Herrengasse, Cafe Central was the haunt of Freud, Trotsky and half of fin-de-siecle intellectual Vienna. It is the most touristed of the great houses, and the queue at midday proves it — go at opening or mid-afternoon. Order the Apfelstrudel with a Melange, and give the pianist time to win you over.

Cafe Sacher — for the torte

Inside the Hotel Sacher behind the State Opera, red velvet and chandeliers set the stage for the Original Sacher-Torte — the dense chocolate cake with apricot jam invented for Prince Metternich's court in 1832, served properly with a cloud of unsweetened whipped cream. Order it with an Einspaenner. Yes, it is the most famous cake in Austria; yes, it is worth doing once.

Demel — the imperial confectioner

On Kohlmarkt, a short walk from the Hofburg, Demel was purveyor to the imperial court and still makes its cakes in an open kitchen you can watch. This is the place for the Kaiserschmarrn — shredded caramelised pancake with plum compote — or Demel's own rival version of the Sachertorte, subject of a famous decades-long legal battle with the hotel.

Cafe Hawelka — the bohemian one

Just off the Graben on Dorotheergasse, Hawelka is small, dim, smoke-stained and gloriously unrestored — the postwar artists' cafe par excellence. Come in the evening for Buchteln, sweet yeast buns traditionally served warm from the oven late at night, with a kleiner Brauner.

Cafe Sperl — the local's grand cafe

On Gumpendorfer Strasse near the Naschmarkt, Sperl has kept its 1880 interior — billiard tables included — and a neighbourhood clientele. It feels lived-in rather than performed. Order whatever cake is in the vitrine that morning and a Melange, and take the window seat.

Cafe Landtmann — politicians and cake trolleys

On the Ringstrasse beside the Burgtheater, Landtmann has served ministers, actors and Freud (again) since 1873. It is the most polished operator of the group, with a serious breakfast. The Topfenstrudel — curd cheese strudel — is the connoisseur's alternative to apple.

Cafe Pruckel — mid-century time capsule

Across from the MAK museum on Stubenring, Pruckel swaps marble grandeur for 1950s pastel interiors. Regulars come for card games and the house strudel; you should come for the Einspaenner and the calm.

Tip: Order like a local — never ask for just a coffee. Name the preparation (a Melange, a kleiner Brauner, an Einspaenner), accept the glass of water without comment, and when you want the bill, catch the waiter's eye and ask to pay — it will not be brought until you do.