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.
Why locals love it: Award-winning specialty coffee bar on the 2nd district's main artery that the Innere Stadt crowd has not yet discovered for proper espresso.
Tip: The cortado is the room's signature pour; the kitchen does a serious avocado toast for breakfast.
Address: Praterstrasse 38, 1020 Wien, Vienna
Why locals love it: Austrian-grower wine import operation with a tasting bar at the back, the 2nd district room has no street-front signage at all.
Tip: The back garden is the warm-weather seat; ring the doorbell if the street door appears closed.
Why locals love it: Hannes Salzgeber's small-batch roastery on Burggasse is the under-the-radar specialty coffee bar of Vienna's 7th district, no signage from outside.
Tip: The pour-over carte is the room's most-ordered; bring a notebook and stay through the morning.
Why locals love it: Austrian-grower wine import operation with a tasting bar at the back, the 2nd district room has no street-front signage at all.
Tip: The back garden is the warm-weather seat; ring the doorbell if the street door appears closed.
Why locals love it: Tucked on a Wieden side street with no signage from the main artery, locals book and tourists rarely find this serious-offal Beisl in 1040.
Tip: Dinner only, Monday to Friday from 18:00; the Beuschel and offal carte is the regulars' default order.
Why locals love it: Wolfgang Zankl-Sertl's 24-cover Michelin-star dining room sits in a corner cafe space, unknown to most Innere Stadt visitors who never cross into the 9th.
Tip: Open Wednesday to Saturday evenings only; weeknights are easier to book than Saturdays.
Why locals love it: The Croatian-Viennese Beisl in the 4th-district Freihausviertel turns out one of the city's most-defended Goulash plates with zero tourist traffic.
Tip: The Goulash with bread dumpling is the kitchen's signature; the Schanigarten opens from April.
Why locals love it: Wooden Beisl on a sleepy Innere Stadt side street five minutes from Stephansdom, the regulars book by phone and the foot traffic outside stays at zero.
Tip: The Tafelspitz runs daily; book the back room for the calmest dinner.
