Kleines Café occupies a Hermann Czech 1970 interior on the Franziskanerplatz behind Stephansdom, with leather banquettes, marble partitions and a Schanigarten that holds a regular post-midnight crowd of locals and night owls.
Tip: Hot snacks after midnight; the back room is quieter. The terrace on Franziskanerplatz is the best summer seat in the inner city.
Address: Franziskanerplatz 3, 1010 Wien, Vienna
Café Hawelka opened in 1939 on Dorotheergasse and stayed in the family through three generations, with smoke-stained walls, ageing leather banquettes and a near-midnight closing time that still pulls writers, students and night-shift staff.
Tip: Order a Buchteln after 16:00 when the yeast buns come out of the oven; they sell out fast on weekends.
Flex moved into a disused U-Bahn tunnel by the Donaukanal under the Augartenbrücke in 1995, and it still books the harder techno, drum and bass and alternative concerts on a sound system regularly named among Europe's best.
Tip: Two rooms: Flex Club proper for the techno and drum and bass nights, the Cafe upstairs for earlier alternative gigs and a slower start.
Strandbar Herrmann runs since 2005 on the Donaukanal next to the Urania, with 500 deck chairs, an actual sand floor, hammocks and a long bar that pours through the warm months until 02:00 most nights.
Tip: Opens April through September only; arrive by sunset on a hot evening or all the deck chairs are taken. Card and cash on the bar.
rhiz has run for over twenty years inside two Otto Wagner Stadtbahn arches on the Gürtel, programming a steady weekly run of advanced electronic, experimental rock and DJ sets in a smoke-stained bar room.
Tip: The outdoor seating opens in summer and works as a Gürtel pit stop. Cash; the U6 trains overhead change the room every two minutes.
Espresso has run on Burggasse in Neubau since 2004 in a 1960s shopfront with red leather banquettes, a neon sign and small plastic-topped tables, opening as a breakfast cafe and turning into a natural-wine bar after sundown.
Tip: Strong coffee daytime, natural wine and Italian bottles by night. Closed Sundays; the room is tight, so the bar is the seat.
Café Hawelka opened in 1939 on Dorotheergasse and stayed in the family through three generations, with smoke-stained walls, ageing leather banquettes and a near-midnight closing time that still pulls writers, students and night-shift staff.
Tip: Order a Buchteln after 16:00 when the yeast buns come out of the oven; they sell out fast on weekends.
Grelle Forelle opened in December 2011 on the Donaukanal under the Spittelauer Lände stairs, with two floors, a custom Funktion-One rig and a Neon Golden light concept that anchor the harder end of Vienna techno.
Tip: 21+ on the door, phones not allowed on the floors. Arrive after 01:00 for the proper room; the upper floor opens for breaks.
Flex moved into a disused U-Bahn tunnel by the Donaukanal under the Augartenbrücke in 1995, and it still books the harder techno, drum and bass and alternative concerts on a sound system regularly named among Europe's best.
Tip: Two rooms: Flex Club proper for the techno and drum and bass nights, the Cafe upstairs for earlier alternative gigs and a slower start.