Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Vienna for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Vienna for grown-ups.
Loos American Bar on Kaerntner Durchgang in Vienna is Adolf Loos's 1908 modernist masterpiece, the 27-square-metre marble-and-mahogany room one of the city's most-photographed bar interiors.
Signature drink: De Rigueur
Food: No food
Tip: 27 square metres of marble and brass; the bar fills by 22:00 most nights. The De Rigueur is the regulars' order.
Kruger's American Bar on Krugerstrasse in Vienna has poured since the 1920s, the original 1920s and 1930s leather furniture from Paris the canonical old-Vienna bar room.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Open until 04:00 Thursday to Saturday; the upstairs bar takes the late-night cigar crowd.
Tuer 7 on Buchfeldgasse in Vienna's Josefstadt is the city's best-kept speakeasy, marked only by a brass '7' on the door, the bar team building cocktails to your taste with no menu.
Signature drink: Bespoke cocktail
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Ring the bell at door number 7; the bar opens Monday to Friday evenings and turns away walk-ins past midnight.
Botanical Garden on Kolingasse in Vienna's Alsergrund is a basement speakeasy under Cafe Stein, the dark nautical room entered through a black door inside the cafe upstairs.
Signature drink: Botanical Garden
Food: No food
Tip: Cash only; ring the doorbell on the side or enter through Cafe Stein's black door.
If Dogs Run Free on Gutenberggasse in Vienna's Spittelberg is a 40-seat cocktail bar with a Bob Dylan-naming spirit, the carte built on classics with a strong amari and bitters depth.
Signature drink: Negroni variation
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Open daily from 18:00; the bar seats are first-come, the booths take a reservation.
Barfly's Club inside Hotel Fuerst Metternich on Esterhazygasse in Vienna's Mariahilf is the city's longest-running classics-cocktail bar, the menu running 350+ named drinks across decades of bar history.
Signature drink: Classic Manhattan
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Open Tue-Sat from 19:00; the regulars order from the original 1990s carte, not the seasonal supplement.
Balthasar Kaffee Bar on Praterstrasse in Vienna's Leopoldstadt switches from third-wave coffee in the day to a tight cocktail carte after 18:00, the same marble counter open until midnight.
Signature drink: Espresso martini
Food: Snacks and toasts
Tip: The espresso martini is the bar's signature; aperitivo hour from 17:00 brings the post-work crowd.
Le Troquet on Sankt-Ulrichs-Platz in Vienna's Neubau is a small French-leaning wine-and-cocktail bar in the Spittelberg quarter, the terrace under the church tower the warm-weather seat.
Signature drink: French 75
Food: Snacks and charcuterie
Tip: Open Tue-Sat from 17:00; the terrace seats fill first on summer evenings.
Roberto American Bar on Bauernmarkt in Vienna's first district is the city's neon-pink-lit shrine to classics-with-a-tweak, the small mahogany room a five-minute walk from Stephansdom.
Signature drink: Negroni
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Cash and card; the Negroni list runs seven variations from house to mezcal.
Dachboden on top of 25hours Hotel on Lerchenfelder Strasse in Vienna's Neubau is the city's most-photographed rooftop bar, the terrace looking over to the MuseumsQuartier and the city skyline.
Signature drink: House gin and tonic
Food: Snacks and pizza
Tip: Sundowner-to-night crowd from 18:00; the terrace fills first on warm-weather Fridays and Saturdays.
The Sign Lounge on Liechtensteinstrasse in Vienna's Alsergrund is the Kan Zuo team's neon-and-velvet flagship, ranked in Asia's bar lists and a top-10 fixture of Vienna cocktail rankings.
Signature drink: Vienna Old Fashioned
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Booking essential at weekends; the upstairs Living Room runs a tighter, calmer carte than the main bar.
Peak food season in Vienna is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. Vienna rewards trust.