Hawelka, Vienna

This is the famous Vienna coffeehouse. It is located in the 1.District and is today as it was when opened in 1936. This is one of the only (if not the only) coffeehouses in Vienna that still represents the tradition of the classic artists' coffeehouse which mainly existed until the beginning of the 2. world war. Leopold Hawelka still sits in the entrance and will find you a table, even though he is 94 years old. If you look close, you can see him in the back, left of the photo.

I was dying to go to Cafe Hawelka. When I thought of Vienna I thought if this place before having been here. Believe me I am still in a state of shock that we visited Vienna while Cafe Hawelka was closed - a week of summer holidays. Everytime we passed by I had a look through the closed windows craving for the famous "Buchteln" and the smoky atmosphere. I guess this is only one of the reasons why I should return to Vienna some day....

Favorite Dish: Anything. As long as it's open :(

I had read about Cafe Hawelka in many guide books, so I wanted to go and see the place myself. I guess my expectations were a bit too high, because I was a little disappointed with it. The surroundings weren't so attractive and it looked very modest overall.

Favorite Dish: I only had a cup of cappuccino, which was quite too strong for my taste (I usually prefer tea), so not really a favorite...

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One of Vienna's most famous, olde worlde feel coffee shops, which are becoming increasingly hard to find, is Café Hawelka. Tucked off in the Dorotheagasse, next to the Casanova Revue Bar, Hawelka is a legend in the Vienna coffeehouse scene. Leopold Hawelka has run the coffee house for over half a century - he ran it with his late wife, Josephine, up until her death in March 2005. He still makes all the cakes himself and under his late wife's front-of-house she would try and match up a single male customer with a single female customer. The coffee is reasonably priced, the ambience and décor having the decidedly lived-in well loved and well-used feel and it is not as pretentious as any of the other 1st district coffee houses.

Favorite Dish: An cup of Viennese coffee washed down with one of their cakes hits the spot quite nicely.

I don`t advice anyone to ask ,simply, a cup of coffee. Vienna has many different ways of serving coffee : Kleiner or Grosse Brauner,a Melange, an Einspänner, a Fiakre…
In the Bohemian atmosphere of coffee-house Hawelka , the tiny silhouette of Leopold Hawelka is very familiar. Ninety-four years old, the owner still do the honors of the house: receive clients and guide them and when they go he is always there for shaking hands. In his corner, a paper in his hands he is now the main attraction, ready for a picture with importunate tourists .

Favorite Dish: Try Melange-coffee, invented by Leopold.
Sorry ´ missed the hot “Buchteln” served after 10 p.m.

Coffee is important part of my joy in Vienna and as I was wondering around the city on a nice spring day looking for a place to relax with a cup of coffee I didn’t really fancy the crowded coffee places in the main street, luckily I went to a small ally and found this one just by coincidence, very soon I figured out that this is an old classic coffee house in Vienna.

The is an excellent place for coffee or tea, especially later in the evening, as most of the coffeehouses in Vienna close by 20:00. The atmosphere is wonderful, but be prepared to be sat at a table with other people if it is very busy, as it usually is in the evenings. The place can get very smoky, but that is the case for almost every restaurant, coffeehouse in Vienna.

Favorite Dish: The coffee is excellent and served in the Viennese tradition, with sugarcubes and a glass of water.

These two long standing Vienna establishments are without a doubt amoungst the great coffee houses of Europe. The Cafe Sperl has been going for about 100 years now, while Cafe Hawelka is behind by only a couple of decades. Many famous and influential people during the course of the 20th century frequented them both.

During the days I had in Vienna, on both shortish visits, I made either of these two vibrant coffee houses a place to visit each morning before starting the day. Mr Hawelka was a delightful person to meet and in my little known German we exchanged an affinity together concerning the world of coffee culture. The atmosphere at Hawelka hints back to those heady days when the coffee houses of Europe were the key focal point in arts, culture and politics.

The staff at the Cafe Sperl were also most friendly and I felt as though the cafe had been for some time my local. Along with many other coffee houses in Vienna I was surprised that dogs were most welcome here, if accompanied by their owner of course! This fact indeed added character to the place.

Favorite Dish: Much of the cake selection is very good at the Cafe Sperl.