What to Eat in Vienna: Schnitzel, Coffeehouses, Cake

If you only have a few meals in Vienna, spend them on a breaded veal cutlet, a slow afternoon in a coffeehouse, a slice of something rich and a night in a wine tavern. Viennese cooking grew up in an imperial capital that pulled in cooks and recipes from Bohemia, Hungary and the Balkans, and the result is a cuisine that is hearty, unhurried and surprisingly easy to eat well in without a big budget.

The dishes worth planning a day around

Wiener Schnitzel is the headline act: a thin cutlet of veal, breaded and fried until the crust puffs away from the meat, served with a lemon wedge and usually a potato salad or parsley potatoes. A classic restaurant such as Figlmüller Wollzeile, a short walk from the cathedral, is known for a cutlet that spills over the edge of the plate. Tables there fill up, so reserve ahead rather than hoping for a seat at peak hours.

The other dish to know is Tafelspitz, boiled beef served in its broth with apple-horseradish sauce and chive sauce. It was long associated with the imperial table, and the specialist restaurant Plachutta Wollzeile builds its whole menu around it. Do not skip the apple-horseradish sauce on the side; it is the point of the dish, and it is the sort of detail locals will happily lecture you about.

Beyond those two, look for goulash, a legacy of Hungarian influence, and dumplings in all forms, including sweet ones filled with apricots when the season is right. Menus often mark seasonal specials, so ask what is on rather than defaulting to the same schnitzel every night.

Coffeehouse culture is a meal in itself

A Viennese coffeehouse is not a place to grab a drink and leave. You order one coffee, the waiter brings a glass of water, and nobody expects you to vacate the table for hours. Newspapers on wooden holders, marble tabletops and chandeliers are part of the furniture, and the tradition is strong enough that it is widely treated as part of the city's cultural identity.

Café Central is the grand example: a coffeehouse from 1876 in a vaulted hall, once frequented by Freud and Trotsky. It draws a queue, so go early in the morning or in the middle of the afternoon. Order a Melange, which is roughly a Viennese take on a milky coffee, or an Einspänner, black coffee under a cap of whipped cream, and add a pastry.

Different cafés have different characters. Some are grand, some shabby-comfortable, some lean toward breakfast and some toward cake. If the weather is wet, a coffeehouse is the best possible shelter, and if you plan your sightseeing around the great museums, as in our guide to Berlin's museums, a long coffee stop between two visits is the Viennese way to recover.

Cake: Sachertorte, Demel and the pastry trail

Chocolate lovers will want the Sachertorte, a dense chocolate cake with apricot jam under the glaze, associated with the hotel where it originated. Café Sacher serves it in the hotel's own café, and visiting on a weekday afternoon usually means fewer crowds. Take it with a spoonful of unsweetened whipped cream, which is how it is traditionally served.

The rival address is Demel, the former imperial court confectioner, whose windows are as theatrical as anything in the opera house nearby. Try the Annatorte with a hot chocolate. Taking a slice at each place and arguing about which you prefer is a perfectly respectable afternoon.

Apple strudel and Kaiserschmarrn, a shredded sweet pancake dusted with sugar and served with fruit compote, are the other two desserts to look for. Both are generous, so share if you plan to have a proper dinner afterwards.

Markets: Naschmarkt and Brunnenmarkt

The Naschmarkt is Vienna's best-known market, a long strip of stalls with spices, olives, cheeses and small eateries. It is a good place for a casual lunch where each person can order something different. Go in the morning for the best choice, and on Saturday mornings a flea market joins in nearby, which makes the area livelier.

For something less polished, visit the Brunnenmarkt, Vienna's longest street market. Turkish and Balkan stalls sell fresh produce, bread and snacks at local prices, and the atmosphere is much more neighbourhood than tourist. Go in the morning, and remember that it is closed on Sundays, so it is not a plan for that day.

Markets are also the best place for vegetarians and anyone who wants a break from meat-heavy menus, since you can assemble a lunch from dips, vegetables, bread and cheese.

Street food: the Würstelstand

Late-night hunger in Vienna is answered by the sausage stand. Bitzinger Würstelstand, beside the Albertina, is a classic: order a Käsekrainer, a sausage with melted cheese inside, with a beer, and eat standing at the counter with opera-goers and taxi drivers. It is quick, cheap by the standards of the surrounding district and as Viennese as the coffeehouse.

The ordering ritual involves choosing your sausage, the bread and the mustard, which may be sweet or hot. If you are unsure, ask for what the person ahead of you ordered, and nobody will mind.

An evening in a Heuriger

A Heuriger is a wine tavern run by a winemaker, serving the current year's wine along with food from a buffet. Vienna is unusual for being a capital with its own vineyards, and the taverns on the edge of the city are the place to taste them. Mayer am Pfarrplatz in Heiligenstadt sits in a house where Beethoven once lived, and the usual approach is to pick from the buffet and sit in the garden.

Local wines are often served by the quarter litre. A traditional field blend, known as Gemischter Satz, is the Viennese signature style. In autumn you may also see Sturm, a young, still-fermenting wine; it is cloudy, sweet and deceptively strong, so pace yourself.

Getting there is part of the pleasure, since the taverns are a short ride out from the centre by public transport. Hours and seasonal opening vary from tavern to tavern, so check before you set out, especially in winter.

A two-day eating plan

• Day one morning: coffee and a pastry at Café Central, then a walk along the Ring.
• Day one evening: Tafelspitz at Plachutta Wollzeile, or schnitzel at Figlmüller if you booked.
• Day two morning: Naschmarkt for lunch, then Demel or Café Sacher for cake.
• Day two night: a sausage at Bitzinger Würstelstand, or an evening at Mayer am Pfarrplatz.

Between meals, a walk is the best digestive. If you are building a longer stay, our two-day Prague plan is a good model for how to combine eating with a compact historic centre, and you can also build your own route in the Vienna planner.

Practical tips

• Reserve for the famous restaurants, especially for dinner.
• In a coffeehouse you pay at the end; call the waiter rather than waiting at the counter.
• Tipping is customary, usually by rounding up when you pay.
• Check opening days: some places close one day a week, and many markets close on Sunday.

Prices and hours change, so always confirm on each venue's official page. See the full Vienna food page for every address on this list on the map.