The 17 Hottest Breakfast and Brunch Places in Vienna

By Tas TobiasLast updated: Apr. 14, 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-salmon bowl. Most of these places serve breakfast food until well into the afternoon and alcohol, too, in case you were wondering.

#1 Sneak In

Sneak in is a popular breakfast restaurant in the heart of Vienna’s fashionable District 7. There's nothing typically Viennese about this sleek space complete with modern furnishings, stylish servers, and dishes like vegan scrambled “eggs”, avocado-salmon bowl, shakshuka, and huevos rancheros, but who said your Vienna trip must be limited to old-school coffeehouses manned by grumpy waiters wearing tuxedos?

#2 Hildebrandt Cafe

Trendy Millennial residents from Vienna’s elegant District 8 (Josefstadt) fill the small tables of Hildebrandt, a popular breakfast restaurant in this sleepy but prosperous part of town. The location is the run-down and charming 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).

#3 Propeller

One of the most popular breakfast restaurants of Vienna is located along the lively and hip Margaretenstraße in District 5, a bit 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.

#4 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 you're really here for the scene – the city's hip twentysomethings camp out with their MacBooks in the eclectically furnished hall in the back. There, the firelogs turn out to be more than decorative: a 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 a designer clothing store next door.)

#5 Café Schopenhauer

If an old-school and a modern Viennese coffeehouse 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, open kitchen, and fashionably dressed servers. The menu, too, reflects this fusion of old and new: avocado toast and soy milk matcha appear next to such Viennese classics as eggs in glass, frankfurters, and buttered kaiser roll.

#6 Meinklang Hofladen

Meinklang is best known as a pioneer of natural wines, but the Burgenland-based family winery is more like an integrated agricultural farm: they raise cattle (Angus), pigs (Mangalica), chicken, and grow their own crops on hundreds of hectares of land near the Austria-Hungary border. To bring their bounty of nature closer to well-off, urban consumers, in 2022 the Michlits family opened a positively polished restaurant on Vienna's charming and fashionable Margaretenstraße in District 5.

#7 Café Prückel

Even in a city known for its spacious cafés, Prückel wins the number one prize. Fitted with floor-to-ceiling windows and giant mirror panels, this enormous venue along the Ringstrasse owes its inviting midcentury interior to a 1955 refurbishment by architect Oswald Haerdtl. The back section has regained its original Art Nouveau details, but the front is where the action is.

#8 Espresso Burggasse

Part cafe, part breakfast restaurant, part bar, Espresso is an effortlessly cool establishment in Vienna's fashionable District 7 (Neubau). Although it opened in 2004, Espresso will take you back in time to the 1960s: neon sign, red leather banquettes, small plastic-topped tables, midcentury chairs (the ceiling shows leftover frescoes from the bakery once here).

#9 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 street-facing windows, 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.

#10 Cafe Korb

Korb is a lively cafe in Vienna's city center best known as the hub of underground Viennese artists in the 1960-70s. A midcentury remodeling left its mark on the interior complete with linoleum floors and plastic-topped tables (the futuristic but impractical bathroom merits a visit to the below-ground level).

#11 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.

#12 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, 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. Vienna's popular produce market, Naschmarkt, is right across the street (and the legendary gay bar, Cafe Savoy, also just steps away).

#13 Café Frida

Yppenplatz is a gentrifying neighborhood a bit outside Vienna's city center in District 16 where a Turkish community lives together with a growing number of young alternatives. Frida is a buzzing breakfast restaurant catering to this latter demographic. The dishes lean Mexican, with lots of egg-based breakfast foods and burritos, as well as vegan and vegetarian options. Mains are €10-15. Also: plenty of wines and craft beers to elevate the mood. Frida is most enjoyable in the warmer months, when sitting at the outdoor tables overlooking the square. Once here, you can't and shouldn't miss the lively Brunnenmarkt, a long row of Turkish and Middle Eastern vendors.

#14 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.

#15 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 high given the panoramic location.

#16 Ramasuri

Ramasuri’s location is unbeatable: the restaurant anchors an adorable square in the easily accessible part of Leopoldstadt (District 2), a chic 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.

#17 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 vendor stands have transformed into chic restaurants, such as Neni, one of the institutions here (the Neni brand has since expanded to places like Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam).

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.