West of the Ring along Mariahilfer Strasse: the Naschmarkt food market, Café Sperl since 1880, Aend's Michelin star on Mollardgasse, and a long run of cocktail bars.
Aend on Mollardgasse in Vienna's Mariahilf holds a Michelin star for chef Fabian Guenzel's contemporary Austrian tasting, served in a small, low-key 6th-district dining room.
Order: The full chef tasting; a la carte is not offered.
Tip: Open Monday evening then lunch and dinner Tuesday to Friday; the kitchen closes Saturday and Sunday and takes a long August break.
Neni am Naschmarkt at Stand 510 on Vienna's Naschmarkt has been Haya Molcho's flagship since 2009, cooking Israeli and Levantine plates upstairs while the bar-cafe below opens onto the market.
Signature: Shakshuka, Sabich, Hummus
Order: Sabich, fried aubergine with egg and hummus; weekend brunch leans on shakshuka.
Tip: Open Monday to Saturday from breakfast; Sundays the Naschmarkt stalls close but the cafe stays open until 21:00.
Tewa at Stand 672 on Vienna's Naschmarkt cooks organic vegetarian plates with a Levantine accent, named for the Hebrew word for nature, open since 2007 under Eli Kaikov.
Signature: Hummus plate, Shakshuka, Falafel
Order: The hummus plate with warm pita; vegan options run the length of the carte.
Tip: The market stand opens earlier than the inside cafe; eat shakshuka outside on weekend mornings.
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.
Signature drink: Melange
Tip: The carambole tables at the back are still in play; ask the kitchen for a Sperl Torte with your Melange.
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.
Signature drink: Cortado
Tip: The books and records on the shelves are for sale; pay at the front counter when you settle the tab.
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.
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.
Umarfisch at the Naschmarkt in Vienna's Mariahilf is the market's go-to fish counter and small kitchen, the grilled sardines and oyster bar a stallside lunch through to evening service.
Try: Grilled sardines
Tip: The fish-shop counter (Stand 38 to 39) runs separate retail hours; sit-down service runs Mon to Sat from 11:00 in the restaurant at Stand 76 to 79.
Naschmarkt Deli at the centre of Vienna's Naschmarkt is the all-day breakfast and Levantine counter, the shakshuka and sabich the brunch crowd's most-photographed plate.
Try: Sabich and shakshuka
Tip: Open every day; the breakfast carte runs all day, useful for jet-lag arrivals from outside the EU.
The Naschmarkt on Wienzeile in Vienna's 6th district is the city's largest food market, around 120 stalls and small kitchens running six days a week the canonical Vienna market visit.
Tip: The Saturday Flohmarkt at the south end runs 06:30 to 14:00; Sunday everything except the restaurant terraces is shut.
Naschmarkt Deli in Vienna runs an all-day breakfast carte for under EUR 13, the shakshuka and sabich the Levantine-leaning brunch the cheap-eats option on the Naschmarkt.
Try: Shakshuka with pita
Tip: Open daily; the breakfast carte runs all day, useful for jet-lag arrivals from outside the EU.
Neni am Naschmarkt at Stand 510 in Vienna runs a Saturday-Sunday Israeli-Levantine brunch from Haya Molcho's kitchen, the upstairs dining room and downstairs bar both filling by 10:00.
Order: Sabich with fried aubergine, egg and hummus; weekend brunch adds shakshuka.
Tip: Sundays the Naschmarkt stalls close but Neni stays open; the cafe is the only Naschmarkt option that day.
Tewa at Stand 672 on Vienna's Naschmarkt runs an organic vegetarian brunch from 09:00, the Levantine-leaning carte and the market-side terrace one of the city's calmest weekend brunch spots.
Order: Shakshuka with feta and warm pita; the falafel plate is the lunch alternative.
Tip: The market stand opens earlier than the inside cafe; eat shakshuka outside on weekend mornings.
Phil on Gumpendorfer Strasse in Vienna runs an all-day cafe-bookshop brunch carte, the secondhand sofas and shelves of books for sale a calm 6th-district weekend morning option.
Order: Sourdough toast with house spread and a cortado, with a book from the shelf alongside.
Tip: The books and records on the shelves are for sale; pay at the front counter when you settle the tab.