A trip into Café Sacher is a bit like entering one of those town palaces built by the likes of Prince Eugene. But with more coffee and cake (and no ceiling paintings of your enemies crouched in chains).
- Extremely refined interior with palais-like decor
- Hard not to try the original Sachertorte cake there (of course)
- Can get very busy, so reserve a table where possible
- See also:
Yep, Sachertorte
(An illustrious setting)
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. This part of Vienna is home to the original Sachertorte, with the shop just around the corner (excellent for gift-wrapped cakes to take home). Hotel Sacher also surrounds you.
So it’s almost an obligation to have a slice of chocolate joy resting on a white plate ringed in burgundy, with the little Sacher medallion perched on top.
We had Sachertorte for breakfast. And before you laugh, cake at breakfast is not unusual in Vienna. (At least not in my family.)
But Café Sacher is more than just a cake.
The immediate impression can be summed up in one word: elegant.
But imagine someone decided the word “elegant” wasn’t quite classy enough, so dressed it in evening wear, gave it a fresh flower for the buttonhole, then sent it back in a horse-drawn carriage while a string quartet played Haydn in the distance.
The view helps, of course: Café Sacher’s windows look across to the State Opera House.
(The location of today’s café in a photo taken by an anonymous photographer and printed in 1884 in an insert within the newspaper Wiener Bauindustrie-Zeitung; Wien Museum Inv.-Nr. 9174; excerpt reproduced with permission under the terms of the CC0 licence)
I asked my son what words came to mind inside and he said, “calm, relaxing, respectful, and delightful.” And he’s a teenager.
Where we sat, the walls featured the kind of “damask” coverings with white and gold reliefs that echo similar decor from the Albertina palais and other noble historical residences in Vienna.
Red carpets and upholstery, dark wooden chairs and white marble tabletops pay due respect to the grand Viennese coffee house tradition. And the Sacher mark was ubiquitous, whether embroidered subtly in the tablecloths or adorning the coffee cup.
This is precisely the kind of atmosphere where you might expect to find haughty staff, but we experienced quite the contrary: friendly and obliging waitresses with a ready smile. Just like in the Sachertorte romcom, where the café plays an important role.
Along with the cake, I had a small breakfast of coffee, an egg, and a selection of breads, jams and honey. All excellent quality, with the butter scoring a high 9/10 on the CSI (critical spreadability index).
And then there were the little extras: a wider choice of rolls in my bread basket than normal (including a mini-croissant), the pillow on the chair, three small jars of honey and jam to pick from (rather than the usual single elsewhere).
(The colours and emblem are everywhere)
This elegance, quality, and the “Sachertorte experience” all comes at a price, of course.
You would not describe the menu (which includes restaurant meals and not just cake and beverages) as inexpensive. Last time I checked, a cappuccino and Sachertorte cost over €15 and the various breakfast menus started at €16.
The attached Sacher Hotel is a five-star location, so they know about service here.
For example, a human being answered my email inquiry just 6 (six) minutes after I sent the request to make a change to my reservation.
Talking reservations, I strongly suggest you make one for your visit.
They do keep plenty of tables open for casual visitors. Unfortunately, given the famous location, a very large number of such casual visitors all want to get in.
Much like with Café Central, I cannot remember passing Café Sacher without seeing a queue outside.
Out of season, or at the start of the day, you may be lucky with waiting times: we saw plenty of free seating on our visit, for example, but we went very early on a cold mid-January morning.
If you’re facing a long wait, Vienna has alternatives: find Café Mozart just around the corner, for example. Or wander up toward the centre to find Café Frauenhuber, Sluka and Oberlaa.
How to find Café Sacher Wien
This one is not hard to locate on your travels.
The coffee house sits opposite the rear of the State Opera House at one end of the pedestrianised part of Kärntner Straße (the road that leads to central Stephansplatz square and the cathedral).
If you’re on public transport, Café Sacher is just a short walk from the Karlsplatz/Ring tram stop (served, for example, by the 1, 2, 71, and D lines) and the “Oper” exit of Karlsplatz subway station (on the U1, U2 and U4 lines).
You’ll find Café Sacher elsewhere in Austria, with locations in the cities of Graz and Salzburg, for example. And even in Italy: Caffè Sacher opened in Triest in 2023.
Address: Philharmoniker Str. 4, 1010 Vienna | Website