Phil on Gumpendorfer Strasse in Vienna's Mariahilf is a cafe-cum-bookshop-cum-record store, the secondhand sofas and shelves of books for sale a counterpoint to the bentwood Kaffeehaeuser across town.
Tip: The books and records on the shelves are for sale; pay at the front counter when you settle the tab.
Address: Gumpendorfer Strasse 10-12, 1060 Wien, Vienna
Cafe Jelinek on Otto-Bauer-Gasse in Vienna's Mariahilf is the under-the-radar Beisl-coffeehouse with a tiled stove in the middle of the room, the local-only counterweight to nearby Sperl.
Signature drink: Melange
Tip: Cash only; the stove in the middle of the room is lit from October through April.
Cafe Jelinek on Otto-Bauer-Gasse in Vienna's Mariahilf is the under-the-radar Beisl-coffeehouse with a tiled stove in the middle of the room, the local-only counterweight to nearby Sperl.
Signature drink: Melange
Tip: Cash only; the stove in the middle of the room is lit from October through April.
Cafe Museum on Operngasse in Vienna was Adolf Loos's nicotine-stained 1899 design, restored under the Querfeld family and now a serious meal-and-coffee room near the Secession.
Signature drink: Einspaenner
Tip: Walking distance to the Secession and the Naschmarkt; this is the lunch-and-coffee stop between the two.
Cafe Central on Herrengasse in Vienna has poured Melange in Palais Ferstel's vaulted hall since 1876, the Trotsky-Freud-Altenberg coffee house with a small pianist programme each afternoon.
Signature drink: Melange
Tip: Queue forms outside from 09:00; book a table online to skip the wait.
Demel on Kohlmarkt in Vienna has been a court confectioner since 1786, the Eduard-Sacher-Torte and Anna-Torte from the K. und K. Hofzuckerbaecker now served behind a working pastry kitchen window.
Signature drink: Hot chocolate
Tip: The first-floor dining room takes the queue; the ground-floor takeaway moves faster for a Sachertorte to-go.
Cafe Sacher inside Hotel Sacher on Philharmoniker Strasse in Vienna serves the Original Sachertorte under chandeliers across from the State Opera, the dispute with Demel settled by the 1963 court ruling.
Signature drink: Sacher coffee
Tip: The slice with whipped cream sells out by 17:00 on busy days; arrive before the matinee crowd.
Cafe Landtmann on Universitaetsring in Vienna has poured at the Burgtheater corner since 1873, Sigmund Freud's preferred coffeehouse with a long carte of cakes and a serious lunchtime kitchen.
Signature drink: Grosser Brauner
Tip: Open daily 07:30 to midnight; the front-room bench seats face the Burgtheater across the Ring.
