Paper-thin strudel pastry stretched until you can read newsprint through it, wrapped around grated apples, raisins, cinnamon, sugar, and toasted breadcrumbs. Baked golden and served warm with vanilla sauce or whipped cream.
Strudel pastry travelled across the Habsburg empire from the Ottoman baklava tradition, taking hold in Vienna and Budapest in the 17th and 18th centuries. The paper-thin dough is the test of every Konditorei. Vollpension on Schleifmuehlgasse bakes by grandmothers from a recipe family tradition; Demel and Cafe Landtmann both serve the classical version on a silver tray.
5 editor picks for Apfelstrudel in Vienna, ranked by editorial score. All Vienna signature dishes · Apfelstrudel across every city.
Demel ★ 4.5
innere-stadt · Kohlmarkt 14, 1010 Wien
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.
Cafe Sperl ★ 4.5
mariahilf · Gumpendorfer Strasse 11, 1060 Wien
Cafe Sperl on Gumpendorfer Strasse in Vienna's Mariahilf has poured since 1880, the bentwood Thonet chairs, parquet, and carambole billiards tables the canonical 6th-district Kaffeehaus.
Cafe Landtmann ★ 4.4
innere-stadt · Universitaetsring 4, 1010 Wien
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.
Vollpension ★ 4.4
wieden · Schleifmuehlgasse 16, 1040 Wien
Vollpension on Schleifmuehlgasse in Vienna's Wieden hires Viennese grandmothers and grandfathers to bake the menu of Strudel, Torten and Mehlspeise, a social-enterprise cafe that runs a Naschmarkt branch too.
Cafe Korb ★ 4.1
innere-stadt · Brandstaette 9, 1010 Wien
Cafe Korb on Brandstaette in Vienna's first district was the 1960s underground-artist hangout, the cluttered Strudel-on-a-counter room now better-known for its weekend brunch and bowling alley.