![]() I particularly like the fact that many of them (not all, sadly) use old-fashioned Viennese coffee-types such as kleine Schwarzer, kleine Brauner, Verlängerter or Franziskaner, instead of, or sometimes in addition to, the world-conquering Italian descriptors (Cappuccino, Macchiato & Co). How should you do Vienna cafe reviews? Is it even fair for me to assess them, as a foreigner who has lived only six years in the city, all but the last year back in the 1980s? Vienna coffee types The entrance to the Cafe Hawelka – photo Leigh Turner Can you guess in which of the cafes reviewed below the scene occurred? Clue: it was not the Hawelka. If my host that day (then working in the Town Hall with Mayor Zilk) is reading this, do get in touch. This is a true story from Vienna, 1986 – I was there. Head Waiter (chatting to other waiters on the other side of the room) ‘If you’re in such a hurry, you should have stayed at home.’ Vienna cafe reviews – a story from 1986 Viennese customer (standing up, exasperated, after 20 minutes of trying to get the bill, in German) ‘Excuse me, Mr Waiter I’d like to pay, please.’ Vienna Cafe Reviews – a personal collection of my favourite Viennese cafes from the Hawelka to the Korb via the Sperl and the Eiles. ![]() I’ll send you a free “Hotel Story” to say thanks! Or I would be delighted if you would like to follow me on Facebook. If you enjoy fresh, original writing, please subscribe to my weekly newsletter (you can unsubscribe anytime you wish). I also liked the way that, because it is tucked a short walk outside the Ring (the Ringstrasse, which surrounds the city), it is not overrun with tourists – a bit like the Cafe Sperl (again, see my reviews). This struck me as very much in the great tradition of Vienna coffee houses. While we were sitting there a woman came in, got out a book and proceeded to read for around an hour. When I visited Cafe Eiles with my friend recently for breakfast I was, for all these reasons, impressed. Read it again, starting with “All the other coffee places”. (ii) they leave you alone, this is priceless: my friend’s comment above is itself priceless. What could be better? Who needs a club, if you have a cafe? Viennese wax lyrical – rightly – about how poor students sharing a single room with their families used to take their work to a cafe and sit there all day in the warmth, without coming under pressure. ![]() (iv) all the necessary papers: the idea that you can go into a cafe and spend an hour there over a single cup of coffee, and read as many newspapers as you like, is profound. Is it really too much to ask for a kleine Schwarze or espresso to be hot, and strong? Those that do serve fine coffee include the Cafe Schwarzenberg (see my review under Great Vienna cafes). (iii) good coffee: weirdly, not all Vienna cafes serve good coffee. As someone said to me the other day, “you don’t go to the classic cafes for good coffee or good service – you go for the entire cafe experience”. (i) friendly staff: I have often written about the grumpiness and mixed quality of waiters in Vienna and in Germany. The Eiles is spacious, in the tradition of the grand old Viennese cafes My view All the other coffee places I visit several times a month waiters become friendly and ask you things or even worse they involve you into their own problems, just because I am very friendly and leave good tips… And they do leave you alone, this is priceless. ![]() It is the Café EILES… Friendly staff, great environment, good coffee. My friend commented: But my favorite coffee house you did not even name. A beautiful place for breakfast.Īn Austrian friend of mine was reading my Great Vienna cafe reviews recently (links in bold italics are to other posts on this site). Cafe Eiles: one of the great Vienna cafes – but also a Viennese cafe off the beaten track.
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