Café Central

8 Viennese Coffeehouses for Any Trip to Austria

"Yes, it’s touristy and you’re likely to find long lines out the door. But enter this historic emporium dating to 1876 and you’ll quickly see why. Stare slack-jawed at the cavernous room with soaring vaulted ceilings, ornate marble columns, and massive draped windows housed in the Palais Ferstel, a palatial Venetian-style mansion. Then tuck yourself into a cozy red velvet upholstered nook and imbibe the throwback vibe. You can even nurse your cup of Joe beneath the watchful eyes of Hapsburg Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth, whose oversized portraits adorn a rear wall. No wonder Freud and Trotsky (and likely even Lenin and Stalin) once sipped their brews at Café Central . Black vested, tie-wearing waiters discretely roam the gleaming parquet floors, serving from the extensive breakfast-to-dinner menu. It includes all the Viennese greatest hits: Apfelstrudel, Sachertorte (rich chocolate cake with apricot jam and chocolate icing), Kaiserschmarrn (fluffy sugared pancake strips), and Wiener Schnitzel. Two house specialties stand out among the 20 eye-popping works of art in the large vitrine: Café Central Schnitt, puff pastry with vanilla cream, and Café Central Torte, chocolate-orange layer cake with marzipan, Grand Marnier, and chocolate ganache. Order a cappuccino-like Weiner Melange to accompany your dreamy slice of cake." - Veronica Stoddart

"Maybe the most stunning of the many palatial mid-19th-century commercial edifices around the Freyung section of Vienna’s Inner City, the Italianate Palais Ferstel hosts the ground-floor Café Central and its tiny outdoor terrace. Fittingly, as it is perhaps the landmark among Vienna’s old-world coffeehouses, Central is, well, central: It boasts a prime location by the Hofburg Palace, meaning it's touristy for sure. But one look at the forest of Gothic Revival columns and vaulted ceilings in the cathedral-like interior of this former bank building, and you won’t mind if you have to wait a few minutes to be seated. Central has an extensive menu and a huge periodical collection to peruse before you head back out to tour the Inner City’s treasures."