With items like Wiener schnitzel, sacher torte and – controversially – croissants hailing from Austria, you’d expect great things from its capital, Vienna. Here are 10 places to eat and drink in Vienna’s Old Town.
We love exploring new cities, and although Christina and I have passed through Vienna many times, we never had time to leave the airport and see it.
But on our train journey across Europe, we were able to stop in this fascinating city, a focal point of so much history and culture.
Click here for our complete guide to Vienna.
And as we discovered while we were there, Vienna also has a great variety of things to eat.
Here are ten places to eat and drink in Vienna’s Old Town west of the Danube.
Coffee and breakfast in Vienna
If you’re not staying at a hotel that includes breakfast in Vienna, you might be in trouble. Things don’t seem to open very early here, so it might be better to go to the supermarket and have something ready for the morning.
That said, there are coffee options.
Caffe Delia’s – 8 Tuchlauben, Vienna
This cute cafe with outdoor seating makes great coffee by day and is the perfect place for a cheeky glass of wine in the evening.
We took advantage of both deals as well as excellent people watching thanks to the cafe’s corner location.
Surrounded by historic architecture and housed in a beautiful baroque building, Caffe Delia’s is an easy must.
Fenster Cafe – Griechengasse 10, Vienna
Translating as ‘cafe with a window’, this tiny space is little more than a hole in the wall. Fenster Cafe turns out to be probably the best coffee we had in Vienna, and it’s also open before 10am, which makes it doubly important.
Be prepared to pay a premium though (two small white coffees for AU$15 in 2022). This is partly because it is in the Old Town and because of its opening hours.
More specifically, Fenster caught the attention of Instagram when it started offering coffee served in an ice cream cone. I have no idea how much that would be. We just went for cups.
Lunch and day drink in Vienna
Billa Corso Neuer Markt – Herrnhuterhaus, Neuer Markt 17, Vienna
Just a few blocks back from Stephansplatz in Neuer Markt is a Billa Corso. This is a ubiquitous supermarket chain throughout Austria, but a bit like Eataly’s supermarket cafes, you can buy your lunch and eat it here too.
It also has outdoor seating, but best of all it’s open on Sundays (a miracle in Vienna’s Old Town) and it’s also open before 10am!
Buffet Trzesniewski Dorotheergasse – Dorotheergasse 1, Vienna
Trzesniewski has to be one of the most unique lunch options in Vienna. This is a buffet shop that offers open deli style sandwiches. Narrow slices of bread with toppings all chopped into a paste, the logic being that they are easy to eat.
Almost in the shadow of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, (although there are other branches in the city) this sandwich shop offers 25 varieties of sandwiches.
It’s a concept that started in 1902 when Polish expatriate Franciszek Trzesniewski opened his first shop and is still extremely popular today. All toppings are made fresh on the day.
Choose from things like apple and beetroot and Swedish herring with cucumber and egg or more traditional toppings like cucumber, egg and salami or the favorite bacon and egg.
Roches – Landstraßer Hauptstraße 55/57, Vienna
Although this is outside the Old Town walls, this lively local bar and restaurant is a cracker and a perfect lunch spot for us.
With good beer, even better atmosphere and real Austrian comfort food on offer, this is a perfect choice for lunch. My wienerschnitzel was tasty and filling, and Christina’s kalbsbutterschnitzel (a veal schnitzel burger) was tasty, if a bit odd.
Evening and dinner options
L’Osteria Wien Bräunerstraße – Bräunerstraße 11, Vienna
Within the grand baroque walls of the Palais Pallavicini, this bustling Italian-style restaurant is very popular with locals, so book a table.
We didn’t, but managed to squeeze into the bar for a cheeky mezzo litro carafe of Moltepulciano.
Amazing to the world and perfect if you’re in the mood for some awesome Napolitano-style pizza, be sure to add L’Osteria Wien Bräunersraße to your list.
Reinthaler’s Beisl – Dorotheergasse 2-4, Vienna
I only include this as seemingly necessary as a tourist in Vienna and as a cautionary tale.
Traditionally, the beisl is a kind of down-to-earth pub that serves home-cooked food at reasonable prices.
Reinthaler’s Beisl just off Stephansplatz is ostensibly that, with all the trappings of a Viennese beer. But once you find your way to the end of the permanent queue, you are fed in what I called “Vienna’s top sausage factory”.
Staff spill through the covers, cramming you into a communal table, forcing you to order as soon as you’re seated, then rolling the food in front of you as it comes out at soup speed.
The wait staff then stand over you with the eftpos machine, literally asking you how much you’re going to pay on top of the amazingly unreasonable bill.
The food isn’t bad, but it’s more about the experience I guess.
Bar
1010 Bar Cafe – Plankengasse 2, Vienna
This atmospheric little dimly lit bar makes great cocktails and has a great local vibe with a real mix of patrons.
Just off the Neuer Markt and next to the interesting Donnerbrunnen fountain, this hidden bohemian speakeasy is worth seeking out if you’re in the mood for an excellent martini or negroni.
Billa Corso Hoher Markt Rooftop Wine Bar – Hoher Markt 12, Vienna
About halfway between the canal and St. Stephen’s Cathedral is another Billa Corso (I told you it was everywhere) right across from Hotel Topazz Lamee.
Although this store does the same things that the other Billas do, this one also has a wine bar upstairs.
Here, you can choose from the wine list or, amazingly, you can buy the bottle you want in the shop downstairs and have it served to you at the bar!
Le Cru—Comptoir de Champagne – Peterspl. 8, Vienna
Just a block behind the bustling Stephansplatz and in the shadow of the beautiful vaulted ceiling of St. Peter’s Church, Le Cru has a surprisingly local, low-key vibe.
Specializing in small producers of French Champagne, this small bar offers tasting experiences and takeaways, but also has a weekly menu by the glass that’s delightfully affordable.
Bonus: Late night snacks and drinks
Zum Goldenen Wurstel – Spiegelgasse 1, Vienna
As you’d expect, sausage trucks are everywhere in Vienna, but Zum Goldenen Wurstel, near St. Stephen’s Cathedral, has to be the most popular.
Open late, it’s just the ticket when you’ve had a few beers and wander back to your hotel, but feel like a snack. You can even have a beer here.
The only downside is the incredible range of options that you simply don’t get with a sausage or regular hot dog van: with bread, without bread, which sausage (there are at least 16), do you want it grilled or boiled, with onions, chips on the side, with gravy , which sauce… is quite overwhelming.
But it’s worth it!
Are the croissants French or Austrian?
To clarify the claim we made earlier, yes, it seems that the famous croissant, a symbol of French cuisine, has its roots in Austria.
As far back as the 13th century, Austrian bakers have been making kipfel or kipfli, the ancestor of the famous buttery puff pastry crescent.
Settling in Paris in 1839, an Austrian soldier named August Zang opened a Viennese bakery and made his brioche-based kipfel for the French, who took it up with great enthusiasm.
But it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the croissant recipe changed from brioche to the butter-laminated pastry dough that bakers use today.
