Take your pick

Schnitzel, not Schnitzler

Whichever way you look at it, no other piece of Viennese literature makes for such enjoyable reading as our menu. What’s more, local specialities such as a classic schnitzel, hearty goulash soup or feather-light Kaiserschmarrn take this sense of enjoyment to the next level.

Functions in the Arkadenhof

Large-scale events with a Mediterranean touch

Café Central’s beautiful Arkadenhof is perfect for laid-back events and gatherings for groups between 20 – 80 people. The Arkadenhof has a Mediterranean charm all of its own, with its magnificent marble staircase and amazing glass ceiling reminiscent of Trecento-era Venice.

Your guests can reach the Arkadenhof through a separate entrance on Herrengasse.

Coffee culture

Can you speak the language of coffee?

Any Viennese coffeehouse worth its salt, won’t serve you a pot of coffee and there certainly won’t be a frappuccino in sight. The Austrian capital has a coffee culture all of its own, with a few rather unusual creations. First things first: When a native of the city talks about “Obers” they mean cream. “Schlagobers” is fluffy whipped cream. It is served in a dollop known locally as a “Gupf”. “Schlag”, which also means a punch, is the Viennese word for whipped cream, so if the waiter asks if you want “Kaffee mit Schlag”, you don’t need to worry about getting a black eye. A “Grosser Mokka” (large mocha) is topped with a proper “Gupf” of whipped cream.

Vienna’s culture of enjoyment at its finest

Architecture

Palais Ferstel – or what comes of a trip to Italy.

A slice of Italy in the heart of Vienna?! This was the brainchild of Heinrich von Ferstel, who returned from a journey to Italy brimming with inspiration, and between 1856 and 1860 built what is the most magnificent example of a Gründerzeit mansion house. Incorporating whichever aspects appealed to him, von Ferstel’s elegant design combined elements of Venetian and Florentine architecture and art from the Trecento period. The building was never actually intended as a city palace in the traditional sense, but as the home of the central bank and stock exchange. It was only given the name Palais Ferstel in 1982.

Today visitors can stroll through the Ferstelpassage – a wonderful setting for parties and functions, with the gentle murmur of Anton von Fernkorn’s Danube Mermaid Fountain in the background – before stopping off at Café Central around the corner.

Ferstel championed the use of natural materials, and only the finest stone was good enough.

The sturdy wrought-iron gates were the work of a silversmith, and the facade is adorned with sculptures from Hanns Gasser. The interior features stucco lustro, ornate paintwork, leather wall coverings and fine wood panelling.

The entire construction including the interior cost the princely sum of 1,897,600 guilders (today approx. 25 million Euro). This is even more astonishing in view of the words of the central bank governor of the time, Franz von Pipitz, who demanded that “the construction should be strictly economical and eschew worthless luxury”.

Heinrich von Ferstel died at the age of 51, but the spellbinding beauty of his designs for Vienna’s Votivkirche church, Museum of Applied Arts and University of Applied Arts, as well as the Palazzo del Lloyd Austriaco in Trieste live on.

Legendary ‘Centralists’

„Central is not a coffeehouse like any other – it’s a philosophy.“

(Alfred Polgar)

In his Theorie des Café Central (Theory of Café Central), Viennese dramatist and essayist Alfred Polgar (1873-1955) gives a detailed insight into the nature and essence of ‘Centralists’, as Café Central’s regulars were known. A number of famous personalities regarded this place of tranquillity, upheaval, cigars, coffee, chess and billiards as their home.

They held court at hotly contested regulars’ tables, notable names including Polgar, Loos, Werfel, Hofmannsthal, Alternberg, Musil, Kraus, Kuh, Schnitzler, Zweig, and a few revolutionaries to boot – Trotsky, Lenin and Stalin.

As Alfred Polgar put it so fittingly: “A proper Centralist, locked in his coffeehouse, has the feeling of being cast out into the harsh world, exposed to strange coincidences, anomalies and the cruelties of the unknown.” “Café Central is located below Vienna’s line of latitude, on the meridian of loneliness. Its inhabitants are mainly people whose misanthropy is as strong as the craving for people who want to be alone, but also want company as they do so.”

Naturally, this aura of intellectual exhilaration had a magical effect on the ladies, so every now and again a heart was destined to be broken. One such belonged to Peter Altenberg, who had idolised the wife of Adolf Loos, Lina.

In the lulls between heated debates, out came the chess boards. The play was of the highest quality: Alfred Polgar was a dreaded opponent and defeating Leon Trotsky (alias Herr Bronstein) was a rare and scarcely believable honour.

Peter Altenberg can still be found in Café Central to this day – although only as a papier mâché figure. He sits next to the entrance, casting a rather grim, yet curious eye over guests as they arrive.

Herr Jean (Johann Czerny), a waiter at the Central, was just as famous as his former regulars. He knew everything there was to know about everything, but was rather tight-lipped. He even helped out the odd Centralist who was strapped for cash – but only if they were “someone”.  After all, he himself was “someone”.

There are so many stories to tell, but let’s finish off with the words of Alfred Polgar: “It’s a coffeehouse, take everything on balance. You’ll never come across another place like it.”