Over a century ago, the Austro-Hungarian empire was a multinational state under the rule of the Habsburg monarchy.
Today, one aspect in which we still see a huge similarity between these two countries is the cafe culture.
Not your average Instagrammer’s cafes popping up across town pandering to short-lived fads but establishments built on years of culinary history and refinement, which is reflected in the food as well as in the ambience.
Here are five of our personal favourites:
Centrál Café & Restaurant 1887 – Budapest, Hungary
Understated luxury.
We were here in December and the Christmas trees were embellished modestly and in good taste, which complemented the overall decor of the cafe.
The cafe was well lit with natural lighting due to the huge windows and high ceilings; and layout in such a way that nearly everyone gets a view out the windows.
Our reservation was before 2pm on a Saturday and we could still order from the brunch menu.
One walk around the Budapest Central Market Hall, the largest and oldest indoor market of Budapest, will immediately reveal the Hungarian people’s love of a particular spice – Paprika.
So obviously when we saw the Catfish Paprikash (aka Harcsapaprikás in Hungarian) we had to order it.
To our delight, the pasta-like dish was one of the best dishes we had on our entire trip. The red paprika sauce was very fragrant and well-balanced.
Another noteworthy item was the beef goulash – a thick flavourful stew with tender chunks of beef.
Café Central – Vienna, Austria
We went there in the late afternoon and joined a small and orderly queue – thanks to the two ‘guards’ standing at each side of the main entrance overlooking the patrons in the queue.
They had a no-nonsense demeanour but were actually very patient even when we stopped awhile to get a few photos before entering.
The interior of this cafe has a very refreshing finish compared to the others on this list – with light marble columns and flooring instead of dark wood.
Ceilings are decorated with ornate arches and hanging lights.
The cake counter forms an island in the centre of the large room and the different cakes are beautifully displayed in glass shelves and labelled with numbers.
You memorise the numbers of the cakes you fancy and head back to your table where the servers will take your order.
Other than cakes, there are also other dessert items available on the menu.
Do yourself a favour and opt for the warm apfelstrudel (apple strudel) from the menu instead of the cold version from the cake counter.
Both the cheese curd and the apfelstrudel are must tries.
The former is smooth, rich, velvety and melt in your mouth while the latter is fruity, flaky and spiced to perfection – our favourite desserts in Vienna.
Café Landtmann – Vienna, Austria
Moving back to savoury cafe foods.
Cafe Landtmann serves a good Viennese fried chicken, which is a nicely dressed whole fried chicken.
We didn’t order the schnitzels and immediately proceeded to regret it because it seemed to be a favourite at this cafe. A local couple sat down at a table near to us and immediately ordered two schnitzels without even looking at the menu.
Note to self: next time we try the schnitzel.
The litmus test for a respectable cafe in Vienna is of course whether they have a good apfelstrudel. The strudel here is one of the best. It is served warm and doused with a fragrant and pure vanilla sauce that doesn’t leave an unpleasant aftertaste like artificial vanilla would.
Guests have to wait to be seated but the restaurant has thoughtfully moved the queue inside so that their customers do not have to stand in the cold.
This was a nice touch compared to other places like Cafe Sacher (the one not for hotel guests) where you have to brave the cold winter and then be greeted with wannabe decor and mediocre dessert; which makes one wonder how they became so famous.
Cafe Landtmann has a no-coat-on-chair rule that they enforce strictly on every customer; they were very polite and nearly apologetic about taking my coat seeing that I was reluctant.
But that really heightens the overall experience because you get to take in the beauty of the plush furnishings without heaps of outerwear strewn or hung about.
Café Tomaselli – Salzburg, Austria
This cafe has been around since 1703 and it is said that Mozart used to be a patron.
The cafe has a very laid back yet charming vibe. Once inside, you immediately forget the hustle and bustle of the nearby Christmas markets.
We strolled in and selected our own table next to a window for better photos – we were feeling a little sheepish because the two of us were hogging a table for four.
However the waitstaff was very pleasant and didn’t seem to judge us for our choice of seat or the time we took to decide what we wanted.
We ordered coffees and a couple of breakfast items from the menu, and also selected a pastry from the ‘designated pastry lady’. She walks around with a box full of delicious looking pastries and you have to pay her separately for the pastries – very odd but interesting.
We generally prefer warm apfelstrudels but still ordered the cold strudel because it was highly recommended. It really didn’t look fantastic but tasted amazing, which goes to show that you should never judge a book by its cover.
Café Gerbeaud – Budapest, Hungary
Finally, Café Gerbeaud – a long-established and elegant coffee house, nestled in the heart of the photogenic Budapest.
We walked from the Keleti railway station and were surprised by the serene and queue-less scene at the entrance, unlike at the other famous cafes.
But once inside, we were greeted by a bustling weekend crowd and the inviting aroma of coffee.
We requested for the Hungarian classics on a plate – Gerbeaud slice (chocolate covered shortcrust pastry with a hint of tartness from the apricot jam), Esterházy cake (walnut cake with vanilla cream and a touch of brandy) and Dobos cake (cream sponge cake with a hard caramel top), accompanied by vanilla ice cream and apricot sauce.
And we weren’t wrong, we were rewarded with a mixture and burst of flavours from the various local desserts and left the cafe craving to explore what other culinary delights the city had to offer.
Voyage Grande 