Coffee at Café Landtmann in Vienna

If it’s morning anywhere, I’m usually on the prowl for coffee. On this day it wouldn’t be any different. When we departed our Viking River Cruises longship, the Viking Atla, Karla and I immediately went off in search of coffee at Café Landtmann in Vienna, Austria. Café Landtmann is a traditional Viennese café located on the Ringstraße at the corner of Lowelstraße 22 in the Innere Stadt (Old Town) first district in Vienna. But with a multitude of cafés located throughout Vienna, why is this one special?

Through the years they’ve worked hard to keep Café Landtmann the same as when Franz Landtmann first opened his traditional Wiener Kaffeehaus in 1873. Not only was the Burgtheater not yet built, but at that time there weren’t any cars, radio, or telephones available. The Café was considered Vienna’s most elegant café and it still is today. Today the Café is open 365 days a year from 7:30 am until midnight. Guests can either choose to dine inside in one of the many rooms, the glass covered atrium, or out on the terrace like we did.

Famous regulars to Café Landtmann include actors, politicians, officials, and others including Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Marlene Dietrich, Burt Lancaster, the Dutch Queen Juliane, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Sir Paul McCartney.Click To Tweet

TSG Tip: Did you know that Café Landtmann has attracted celebrities of all kinds in the past as well as the present? Famous regulars to the Café include actors, politicians, officials, and others including Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Marlene Dietrich, Burt Lancaster, the Dutch Queen Juliane, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Sir Paul Mc Cartney.

Café Landtmann‘s menu is incredibly detailed and in both German and English, which was both helpful and necessary since I’m not a Germanophone. I couldn’t believe the sheer number of coffee beverages available, which were far more than I’ve ever seen on any other coffee menu pretty much anywhere else. Naturally, they have lattes and cappuccinos, but they also have Turkischer Coffee, The Landtmann, Flaker, and Maria Theresia among others, and some, like the last three mentioned, also have alcohol in them. In addition to coffee, Café Landtmann also serve breakfast and meals throughout the day and their menu changes seasonally.

Now it’s coffee time! I had a Häferlkaffee Nach Tante Anni, a classic coffee made with lots of foamed milk. Why this particular coffee? I felt somewhat obligated to order it in honor of my own aunt, Tante Anni, my father’s sister. Karla ordered the delicious looking and tasting Schokoccino (dark chocolate and cappuccino with caramel topping and cream). I can confidently say that Viennese coffee is rich and full bodied and absolutely delicious.

Lest I forget, the one other item on the table was the Apfelstrudel. I’m definitely a sucker for advertising and I succumbed to the invitation to order from the table top flyer. Regardless of their methods, it was the best decision ever I made by ordering a slice for us to share.

From the Café Landtmann website:

Apple Strudel is as Viennese as the coffee mixture known as a Melange, as a Wiener Schnitzel, or as the Schönbrunn Palace.

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It is in fact here, at the Schönbrunn Palace, where the Imperial bakery is located that – according to reliable sources – is where the center of the Apple Strudel universe is located.

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The best Apple Strudel in the world is prepared beneath these arched walls where royal meals once were prepared for the Emperor.

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Legend has it that the Apple Strudel was the favorite dessert of Empress Sisi and Crown Prince Rudolf.

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Even the Emperor, whose fondness for sugared pancakes with raisins and baked apples (known to Austrians as “Kaiserschmarrn”) is well-documented, was said to be avid fan of the Apple Strudel.

Those layers of flaky pastry and cinnamon apples made for a delicious apple strudel. Yum! I may not be an Empress, but I’m definitely a fan of the Viennese apple strudel.

On this hot day in Vienna, although we were drinking hot coffee and sweating bullets, we were enjoying the moment and the view from our seats opposite the Burgtheater on the terrace at Café Landtmann. Alongside me was a railing where the café placed flower boxes, which prompted me to take a few closeups of the tiny, delicate flowers. When I looked up, I couldn’t help but admire the awning above me with the Cafe’s logo. The font itself even seems from another time and the colors made me feel like I had stepped back into a black and white movie.

If you’re a fan of the traditional or with a history in general or if you’re simply a coffee connoisseur, then you must visit Café Landtmann on your next trip to Vienna. You can’t afford to miss this nearly 150-year-old classic Viennese café chock full of history, incredibly coffee, and apple strudel fit for an emperor (or empress). It’s definitely worth a visit!

Café Landtmann
Universitätsring 4
A-1010 Vienna
Tel. +43 1 24 100-100
Fax +43 1 24 100-119
Email: cafe@landtmann.at
Website: www.landtmann.at
Hours: open daily from 7.30 am to 24.00