Cafe Imperial Wien

After having tried the Original Sacher Torte the night before at the Sacher Café, it
was only right that we would try the original Imperial Torte. So after the Belvedere
on our walk to the Albertina, we decided to stop into the Imperial Café at the historic Imperial Hotel. After looking at the menu, we realized our appetite called for more than just dessert and coffee so we elected to turn our quick coffee and snack break into a sit down lunch. To start, we both had a glass of the house Cuvee sparkling wine. It was fantastic. Light and bubbly with touches of apricot, so good there would be a few more to follow. We should also add it was a very reasonably priced 8 euro. We also had a traditional Austrian dish consisting of stewed veal with brussel sprouts and potatoes. The sauce was very rich and given how cold it was outside provided a much need warmth. I went with the consommé with a traditional semonlina dumpling. There is something about a consommé that speaks of warmth on a cold
day. The semolina dumpling added body to the consommé and I appreciated that it
stayed intact, absorbing enough of the broth to give it flavor but not so much that it
would dissolve and turn my consommé into porridge. Now for the main event, we decided to go with the original Imperial Torte. The other two options they have are orange or pistachios. The exact recipe for the Imperial Torte is a secret and it is said that it was created in honor of Emperor Franz Joseph the 1^st dating to 1870s. It consists of a light cacao cream layered between thin delicate wafers of almond pastry, mold with a layer of marzipan and then chocolate. I love the sweet and nutty flavor of marzipan as well as the texture it provides desserts. I only wish we used it more in American as they do in Europe. In some European countries, marzipan is transformed into Christmas figures and fruit designs and eaten by alone. Given how fantastic the sparkling wine was we ordered two more glasses. While taking a picture of the display case we noticed a chestnut cake decorated as a pink Christmas tree ball. Given how beautiful it was, how cold it was outside and how warm our tummies were feeling after lunch and two glasses of champagne, we decided why not try it with two more glasses of champagne. The chestnut mouse was light and fluffy with a center of jelly. The cake was a typical yellow cake that we found to be slightly dry. The decorations were fondant. In all honesty, we should have stuck with a second piece of Imperial Torte or tried the new renditions. Overall, Imperial Café is conveniently located near the Hapsburg palace and museums, making it a convenient stop for a snack. In the future, given the price, I would skip lunch here and instead stop by for the historical Imperial Torte and fantastic sparkling wine.

I love going to cafes when I’m on trips. They offer a different experience no matter where you go in the world. I had high expectations going into this luxurious café, but I ended up being beyond disappointed.
Staff: For a higher end café I expected to be waited on more than usual. However, what I experienced were wait staff too busy to acknowledge us most of the time there. I will say that they were extremely friendly and helpful when we did manage to flag down someone.
Ambience: It was a very clean and pretty setting. It looked high end, but there wasn’t any uniqueness. Just generic white table cloths, flowers in vases, clean design.
Food: I had ordered a Chocolate «Mozart» Torte and a Strawberry Milkshake. The torte was basically hard marzipan. I finished thinking I’ll never eat torte again (luckily I tried it somewhere else later on my trip and it had restored my faith). I don’t get how their dessert went so wrong. I was actively trying to pass it off to my friends. It was a square shaped chocolate lump. My strawberry milkshake was alright, but definitely heavier on the ice.
Definitely not my cup of tea (pun intended).

One of my secret gems in Vienna, bring your out of town guests here vs Café Central or Sacher Torter Same beauty, better service, never super crowded.
Located within the hotel, the lobby and the café are extremely beautiful. You can go in for just a coffee (will cost you at least 5 Euros though), or you can have cakes for around 4 Euros (very fair in Vienna). Their Imperial Torte is to die for if you love marzipan, and puts Sacher Torter to shame. I would advise you sit in the front room by the windows if possible, with their beautiful velvet seats, or outside of the café, in the room after the reception, which looks like an amazing imperial library, some old school millionaire would have a cigar and coffee in (of course no smoking now and its super clean and well kept).
Now, the bathrooms. Its within the hotel so you have to walk a minute to the bathroom from the café, passing past beautiful interior ceilings. Always clean, full marble feel, lots of mirrors, always lots of liquid soup and soft, not overly smelling hand cream for after. Just a spectacular bathroom…
So why not the 5 stars? Only because of the minimum 5.50 Euros for a small coffee… but the rest… forget anywhere else and head here.

We only ate breakfast here, but three days in a row. Absolutely loved the old-​time formality of the place. Waiters in formal dress on a weekday morning! The food we sampled was all very good, from breakfast pastries to egg dishes. The coffee drinks were excellent, as was the service. The location is impeccable, and if you sit outside, the view is of the Albertina Museum, a lovely restored building. Great location!

Erstklassig und nichts anderes. Man hat sich ja nicht jeden Tag ins Café Imperial zu hocken und dabei so zu tun als wärs ganz normal für einen, hie und da um etwas zu heben, seisTassenweiser Kaffee oder eine Kante von der Torte oder die eigene Laune, wenns für Rilke gut genug war, wirds für mich allemal reichen.
In den kleinen Logen am Fenster lässt sichs besonders fein hocken, das weiche Ei zum Frühstück klopft sich auf solch historischem (welcher ists denn nicht?) Boden besonders poetisch auf und wenn man möchte, hier steht wahrscheinlich sogar irgendwo ein Eiöffner parat um bei Bedarf oder Verlangen einzugreifen, Luxus, purer Luxus, sehr fein.

Im Imperial waren sie alle. Rilke, Franz Werfel, Karl Kraus und Arthur Schnitzler, um nur einige berühmte Namen zu zitieren. Man rauchte hier, man schwadronierte über Kunst, Gedichte wurden geschrieben und Skizzen für Häuser entworfen. Heute drücke ich mir meine Nase an der Scheibe des Café Imperial platt. Ob irgendwo was hängen geblieben ist, von all den Worten die hier gesprochen, von den Ideen und überhaupt. Jetzt sieht das Café so festlich aus, dass ich mich nicht recht hinein wagen möchte. Mir sind die dunklen Löcher doch lieber, als die fein geschmückten. «Komm» sagt plötzlich ein Mann hinter mir, ich drehe mich um. Er steht da in altmodischer Kleidung. Er wirkt müde aber es ist ein Funkeln in seinen Augen. Er streckt mir seinen Arm entgegen, indem er ein gelbes Blatt Papier hält. «Lies» sagt er. Aber ich kann nichts lesen, weil die Schrift undeutlich und verschwommen ist. Sein Kopf, der plötzlich auf meiner Schulter liegt, wird ganz schwer und drückt mich in den Boden. «Was sind wir mehr als ein dunkler schwerer Traum», flüstert er in mein Ohr. Dann verschwindet er. «Warte doch Rainer», rufe ich ihm hinterher. Aber es ist nur noch mein eigens Spiegelbild in der Glasscheibe, das mir von der anderen Seite entgegen grinst.