Vienna, Austria

Vienna is a charming little place that has been rated the most livable city in the world a few times. It’s got fantastic public transportation. You can get a WienMobil transit pass (from subway station or on-the-tram/bus kiosks) and hop on or off without needing to swipe anything. It’s got the grandiose Austrian architecture and gardens (my favorite is the Volksgarten with roses in May). It’s got endless sausage stands that operate at odd hours for that post-drinking Käsekrainer (essentially bratwurst with melty cheese) and Bosna (a dressed dog with onion, mustard, and curry powdwer). It’s also got world-class classical music and opera with cheap standing-room tickets for those on a student budget. Besides the touristy things, here is a list of places I like to frequent while I lived there around 2023-2024. Lots of places in Vienna are still cash-only so be prepared. Fair warning that most of these places would be considered “bobo”.

Index
★ = Solid choice.
★★ = A nice treat.
★★★ = Must visit!

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Coffee

☕ No Panic Coffee (★★★)
Paniglgasse 18, 1040 Wien, Austria
My favorite coffee shop in all of Vienna. Great drinks and great beans. They have a decent natural wine selection as well. It’s got a big table for work but it does get busy with the uni students nearby. Also fantastic art and design.

☕ Café Comet (★★)
Kirchengasse 44, 1070 Wien, Austria
Decent little shop with nice espresso drinks and beans. They don’t allow laptops on the big table during the weekend which is a bummer.

☕ Jonas Reindl Coffee Roasters (★★)
Westbahnstraße 13, 1070 Wien, Austria
This is a nice chain of third wave coffee + beans. There are two other locations that are great as well. There are usually lots of space for working.

Bakery, sweets, brunch

🥐 L’Amour du Pain (★★★)
Otto-Bauer-Gasse 21, 1060 Wien, Austria
Best croissants and Viennoiserie in Vienna. The cakes and mousses are also so fantastic and sophisticated. I like the pain de mie for fancy toasts and the baguettes are great too. Not a lot of seating.

🥐 PARÉMI Boulangerie – Pâtisserie (★★)
Bäckerstraße 10, 1010 Wien, Austria
Very good French croissants, pastries, breads. The accompanying gelato shop is quaint too. Quite a big shop with garden seating as well.

🍰 Demel (★)
Kohlmarkt 14, 1010 Wien, Austria
The birthplace of the famous Sachertorte (chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam). There is always a huge queue to go inside (which is also quite chaotic) to sit but the takeaway line is usually quick. Pretty neat takeaway Kaiserschmarrn (fluffy shredded pancake) in a cone.

🍰Café Imperial Wien (★★)
Kärntner Ring 16, 1010 Wien, Austria
I like going here for a huge Kaiserschmarrn (fluffy shredded pancake) to share with 3 other people.

🥖 Öfferl (★)
Mariahilfer Str. 9, 1060 Wien, Austria
I like their sourdough bread. The pastries are mid since they are more bready than flaky.

🍦Gelateria La Romana (★★)
Stiftgasse 15-17, 1070 Wien, Austria
Classic but elevated flavors (like Sachertorte). The Italians approve. Open basically year-round.

🍦 Schelato (★★★)
1080, Lerchenfelder Str. 34, 1080 Wien, Austria
My favorite ice cream spot in the city. They’ve got elevated traditional flavours and extremely funky ones (like strawberry and Spargel - in the late spring Spargelzeit when everybody in the city is eating asparagus all day everyday). They close shop during the colder months.

🥞 Drechsler Wienzeile (★★)
Linke Wienzeile 22, 1060 Wien, Austria
A decent brunch spot. My favorite is the Ramasuri Sandwich - the Kürbiskernöl-Mayo is a fantastic representation of the Austrian pride of the pumpkin seed oil. Coffee is mid.

Lunch or dinner

🥘 Taberna de la Mancha (★)
Lerchenfelder Str. 60, 1080 Wien, Austria
Tapas. The marinaded artichoke was my favorite.

🍲 Chilipepper Hotpot 醉川老火锅 (★★)
Burggasse 123, 1070 Wien, Austria
Very good Sichuan hot pot with a wide selection of ingredients. Great for larger groups.

🍲 K(I)NG TAO Traditionell Sichuan Restaurant (★)
Schottenfeldgasse 2-4, 1070 Wien, Austria
A very decent Chinese restaurant with a huge menu. Everything tastes great and it’s got lots of space for large groups. If you know the owner lady well, they also have a karaoke room downstairs.

🍲 Mamamon Thai Eatery (★★)
Albertgasse 15, 1080 Wien, Austria
Very nice little Thai restaurant for the necessary cravings. The lemongrass chicken wings are well-marinaded and the pad thai is very respectable (my standard is the absent of the slimy orange-y sauce).

🍜 Viet Thao Restaurant (★★)
Friedrichstraße 2, 1010 Wien, Austria
Very friendly environment and possibly the best bowl of pho in Vienna. It gets busy so will need reservations.

🍜 Chen’s (★)
Krugerstraße 7, 1010 Wien, Austria
Chinese noodle restaurant. Also great for saliva chicken and cucumber salad.

🍣 Tsutenkaku Sushi-Haus (★★)
Kollergerngasse 4, 1060 Wien, Austria
What a silly thought for the sushi restaurant to be right next to the aquarium. Rather large fish selection for the location. The hours may not be as consistent.

🍣 Kojiro Sushi (★)
Rechte Wienzeile 9, 1040 Wien, Austria
Teeny tiny sushi shop (probably 4 seats) with a small but mighty selection of fish. Note that they close at 6:15pm during weekdays so this is probably more of a lunch spot.

Drinks

🍸 Bruder - Küche & Bar (★★★)
Windmühlgasse 20, 1060 Wien, Austria
One of my favorite bars in the world! They make their own fermentations, vermouths, and other funky little jars of things. The wait staff is possibly the nicest in Vienna (not known for hospitality) and can explain the drinks very well. It can get quite busy so reservation needed. Some cocktails come with little dessert snacks made with the same flavour profile. Some highballs are filled with a bush of herbs - smells so good! Tasting menu was good but not quite enough food, but the drink pairing has got such a nice variety of everything!

🍸 Sipsong Bar (★★)
Florianigasse 15, 1080 Wien, Austria
Nice little Thai inspired cocktail bar from the same owners of Mamamon. They’ve got some snacking options like nuts, grilled pork belly, or papaya salad.

🍷 Vinifero Weinbar (★)
Karmeliterpl. 2, 1020 Wien, Austria
A cute little natural wine bar in the second district. Reservation was 25 EUR per person to be used in store. Lots of options and the staff are very nice if you happen to stay past closing time.

🍷 Die Rundbar (★★)
Lindengasse 1, 1070 Wien, Austria
Cute little natural wine bar with al-fresco dining options. Wine flights are great for trying a few new drinks they bring out based on your preferences. They sometimes host industry days where local winemakers set up tables showcasing their products - only 10 EUR for a bracelet.

🍷 Mayer am Nussberg (★★★)
Kahlenberger Str. 213, 1190 Wien, Austria
I love having access to the beautiful Kahlenberg vineyards so closeby. It’s a cute hike via the Stadtwanderweg 1 or a bus ride up from the Heiligenstadt subway station. Mayer am Nussberg is a relatively big Heuriger (wine tavern) with many food options, but the others are nice as well. The Grammelschmalz (pork lard spread) is surprisingly morish on bread. If you are lucky to be there around August-November, you have to try a glass of Sturm which is a low-alcohol grapejuice that is just barely fermented.

Random

🧺 Billa Corso (★)
Herrnhuterhaus, Neuer Markt 17, 1010 Wien, Austria
This is possibly the only grocery store (besides the one in Hauptbahnhof) that will be open on Sundays and it has a fairly good selection of things.

🧺 OTOTO Store & Coffee (★★)
Corner with Westbahn Strasse, Zieglergasse 38, 1070 Wien, Austria
Cute little shops with lots of health foods and Asian crafty nick-nacks.