Cafe Central

We choose Leon Trotsky's old hangout Cafe Central for our first Vienna coffeehouse visit. We assume that through its association with Leon Trotsky and resulting coverage in all Vienna travel guides, it must be a touristy place where we can make all the mistakes and not embarass ourselves before venturing into the more authentic Viennese coffeehouses.

We arrive early to the almost empty coffeehouse and are welcomed by a neatly dressed waiter. For a start, I order a "Viennese Melange" and quickly realise what a faux pas this as as the waiter raises his eyebrows and paraphrases "so you want a melange". When he asks us if we want anything else apart from the "Viennese breakfast" (coffee, orange juice, bread with marmelade and a boiled egg) , my Russian friend (who learnt his German in Norther Germany) answers "nee" and "noe" before finally getting to the proper Viennese answer "nah!!". We are so bad at pretending to be Viennese!


Breakfast is delicious, the coffee is good, the waiters are professional and we can relax and read the newspaers. Even the price is very affordable. We came here expecting a touristy cafe, which it is to some extent because of the people who come here (including us), but we do feel comfortable and well served and are positively surprised by Cafe Central.