The 14 Hottest Breakfast and Brunch Places in Vienna

By Tas TobiasLast updated: Jan. 10, 2023

There's nothing extraordinary about Vienna's top breakfast restaurants, but they deliver what we're after with such establishments: a well-made omelet, a tasty shakshuka, an Instagram-friendly avocado toast. Most of these places serve breakfast food until well into the afternoon and alcohol, too, in case you were wondering.

#1 Propeller

One of the most popular breakfast restaurants of Vienna is located along the lively Margaretenstraße in District 5, away from the city center. Propeller delivers a predictable but flawless experience: courteous waiters, on-trend breakfast dishes, inviting interior. Locals and tourists both come here, most of them stylish female Millennials. Be sure to book ahead, and try asking for a table by the oversized windows. Breakfast is available until 3 p.m.

#2 Hildebrandt Cafe

Trendy Millennial residents from Vienna’s elegant District 8 (Josefstadt) sit around the small tables of Hildebrandt, a popular breakfast restaurant in this sleepy but prosperous part of town. The location is the run-down Palace Schönborn, designed by 18th-century starchitect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, hence the moniker (the restaurant shares the ground floor with the quirky Austrian Folk Museum). The food is tasty and amid Vienna's Middle Eastern and avocado-dominated breakfast landscape, here you can also enjoy a simple and satisfying plate of ham and eggs, too. Being a bit away from downtown means the patrons comprise locals and expats. Breakfast served until 3 p.m.

#3 Figar

A buzzing breakfast and brunch restaurant in Vienna, Figar draws a female-heavy Millennial crowd with internationally inspired and tasty breakfast hits: eggs Benedict on a bed of sourdough; avocado toast; English breakfast, granola bowls. In the afternoons, after 3 p.m., updated burgers and salads take over the slim menu. The location is the fashionable District 7, the inside an industrial-chic room with a full-service bar. Advance booking is recommended.

#4 Drechsler

Chic locals and tourists fill the small marble-topped tables under the barrel vaulted ceiling of Drechsler, one of Vienna’s hottest breakfast restaurants. The dishes, which are available all day, are nearly limitless and not of the Austrian kind: pancake, French toast, granola, omelet, avocado toast are all served, as are fruit juices, beers, sparkling wines, and cocktails. The food is a bit inconsistent, but the vibes reliably cool. Advance booking is highly recommended. Also note that Vienna's popular produce market, Naschmarkt, is right across the street.

#5 Cafe in der Burggasse 24

Coolness is the main appeal of Café in der Burggasse 24, a sizable breakfast restaurant hiding in Vienna's bougie District 7. The predictable breakfast dishes are solid, the coffee just average, but there’s a bit of a scene here, especially in the eclectically furnished back room filled by local twentysomethings typing away on their MacBooks. The firelogs turn out to be more than decorative: one of the hipster servers will occasionally throw a couple of pieces into the corner fireplace that provides warmth and charm in the winter months. (The main space, anchored by a giant sofa, connects to the designer clothing store next door.)

#6 Wirr

Wirr is a breakfast-all-day restaurant lining Burggasse, the beating heart of Vienna’s bougie District 7. Lots of expats and local hipsters flock here, for good reason, since the vibes are unquestionably cool: chipped walls, eclectic furnishings, oversized windows facing the street, and a stylish and kind staff. The highlight is the “Naher Osten” breakfast dish, consisting of thick labneh and two bulbs of poached eggs sitting in a honey and almond-slicked sauce. Don’t miss it.

#7 Café Schopenhauer

If a classic Viennese coffeehouse and a contemporary cafe had an offspring, it would look like Café Schopenhauer. High ceilings, oversized windows, marble-topped tables, creaking floors, yes, but also a sleek concrete counter, casually dressed waiters, a menu of updated classics, and tables laid out with trending books for sale. A fashionable crowd, mainly Millennials, flocks here from the neighborhood, which is near Währing in the well-heeled District 18. Why Schopenhauer? The reason is disappointingly prosaic: the cafe is located right by Schopenhauerstraße.

#8 Ramasuri

Ramasuri’s location is unbeatable: the restaurant anchors an adorable square in the easily accessible part of Leopoldstadt (District 2), the new-cool part of Vienna just across the Danube canal. The breakfast dishes, served until 3 p.m. on weekends, are extensive, perfectly passable, and a bit pricey. Advance booking is a good idea, especially for the outdoor tables in the warm season. Two comparably popular restaurants – Ansari and Mochi – are located just across the street.

#9 Espresso Burggasse

Part cafe, part breakfast restaurant, part bar, Espresso is an effortlessly cool establishment in Vienna's fashionable Neubau neighborhood (District 7). Opened in 2004, Espresso will take you back in time to the 1960s: neon sign, red leather banquettes, small plastic-topped tables, mid-century chairs (the ceiling shows leftover frescoes from the bakery once here). The coffee is distinctly old school, but the breakfast dishes are excellent. Evenings are most lively, when locals with a bohemian flair – most of them in their 30s, others well past that – consume beers and natural wines in generous quantities. Note that Espresso is closed on the weekends.

To remain unbiased, I visit all places incognito and pay for my own meals and drinks. I never accept money in exchange for coverage. But this means I must rely on readers to support my work. If you're enjoying this article, please consider making a one-time payment (PayPal, Venmo) or becoming an Offbeat Patron.

#10 Neni (Naschmarkt)

Vienna’s historic Naschmarkt today is an enormous Turkish and Middle-Eastern produce market, popular among both tourists and locals. Over time, some of the vendor stands have transformed into chic restaurants, such as Neni, one of the institutions here (they’ve since expanded to places like Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam). Opened in 2009 and owned by an Israeli-Austrian family, the tasty breakfast dishes are inspired by the Middle East – shakshuka, “Israeli breakfast,” but there’s of course avocado toast, too, with smoked salmon. Dishes range in price from €10 to €15. Try to book ahead, else you might be exiled to the cramped upstairs tables with no views.

#11 Cafe Ando

Yppenplatz is best known for the long row of Turkish and Middle Eastern produce vendors lining Brunnengasse, but this is also a gentrifying neighborhood with many artistically minded young alternative people and places catering to them. Cafe Ando, right on Yppenplatz, is one of those, serving a wide range of uncomplicated breakfast foods, many of them vegetarian, well into the afternoon. Ando doesn't try to be the hottest ticket in town, but it's a laid-back, welcoming place with a big terrace, which is perfect for lingering and taking in the scenery.

#12 OBEN

In 2003, Vienna’s central library moved to the Gürtel, into a striking building lifted high above the busy street level. On the top floor of this enormous modern structure perches Oben, a restaurant shaped in a semicircle so that most tables provide a view. The breakfast dishes show various gastronomic inspirations, a good choice is the Plant Power, featuring sides of kimchi, fermented carrots, samosa, chickpeas, a granola bowl, and seasonal fruits and vegetables. The crowd is local, prices a bit higher given the panoramic location.

#13 Zimmerservice

Zimmerservice is an inviting, family-run breakfast-all-day restaurant in Vienna’s charming although not particularly eventful District 8. Roman and Edske, the husband and wife duo, freshly prepare the dishes each day based on available produce. Smoothies, egg-based dishes, flaky breakfast pastries, sandwiches, cakes, and local wines are all served. As is coffee-to-go, if you just want to drop in.

#14 Florentin Neubau

Florentin is a chic breakfast restaurant in Neubau, Vienna’s bougie District 7. Accordingly, the small space serves on-trend international morning dishes with lots of Middle Eastern, Turkish, and avocado-based inspirations. And there’s of course the namesake Eggs Florentin. Tourists and female-heavy local Millennials make up most customers. Prices are above average, as is the coffee, which is sourced from the venerable Alt Wien Kaffee roastery.

Rankings are based on a combination of food/drink, atmosphere, service, and price. To remain unbiased, I visit all places incognito and pay for my own meals and drinks. I also never accept money in exchange for coverage. But this means I must rely on readers to support my work. If you've enjoyed this article, please consider making a one-time payment (PayPal) or becoming an Offbeat Patron.