Image by Diana Pereira

Kandisky is an unusual kind of place suitable for bohemians, romantic and mystic people. It’s a small cozy artistic coffee place located in one of the very beautiful passages in the heart of the 8th district not far from the Museums Quartier. The waiter is a special character that will be happy to have a chat with you and tell you stories about Vienna or have a discussion about your home country. Don’t be in a hurry, because the service can be a little slow.

This place is connected with the art gallery besides it. You can expect a very relaxed and quiet atmosphere, nice homemade cakes, a large selection of good teas served with honey in colorful mugs and homemade soups and toasts. As well as an amazing choice of jams that you get in proper large jam jars. Breakfast is served all day long!

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Café Kandinsky | Art & culture, Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks
Lerchenfelderstrasse 13 | Inner districts | +4319694001
Tue – Fri 09:00 – 19:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 16:00

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Image by Diana Pereira

Located in the inner districts, it can be a good choice if you don’t want to meet (other) tourists on the neighbor table. Wratschko is a local old style pub/restaurant where you can have a plate of good tasty food.

It is quite traditional and probably not appealing if you look for something hip or trendy! The inside is rather simple but very nice and cozy. The worn wooden tables, the low ceilings, the lamps, the white translucent glass panels and the simple decoration makes you believe that you are in the countryside in the 50′s! Menus are written by hand which I think is also pretty charming and fits the picture of being a traditional and a unique place.

The dishes are of course also traditional. They are cooked with local and fresh bio products. It can take a little longer to be served but you can be sure it is all carefully prepared. The Wratschko is a proper Wiener pub, the way you can imagine it!

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Clemens Wratschko | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Austrian)
Neustiftgasse 51 | Inner districts | +4315237161
Mon – Fri 17:00 – 01:00

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Image by WUK Vienna (by: Diana Pereira)

The WUK is an alternative space for culture and workshops, one of the biggest in Europe in the leftish/arty style. There you’ll find a cafe, restaurant, art rooms, concerts, workshops, even bike repairs, and more than anything a meeting point for everyone!

This space is in a former locomotive factory from the 19th century. It has a strong character and it is quite a unique place. Depending on the activities and on the weather, these can be organized in or outdoors, giving use to the wonderful courtyard. The outdoor space is fantastic. In the summer you can drink your coffee outside on the terrace or even have a full meal. Moreover there is wireless internet in the courtyard. The artistic atmosphere is very present with graffiti and paintings on some walls.

The list of events and activities organized there is quite extensive so the best way to be up to date is to check their website!

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WUK | Art & culture, Bars, Music
Währinger Straße 59 | Inner districts
08:00 – 02:00 daily

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Vienna

Image by Diana Pereira

The name says it all, experience a bit of the French flair in Vienna. In fact the concept and inspiration were based on a small cafe from Toulouse. After years of living in France the owner returned to Austria and took his favorite place with him to Vienna!

The main dish in Cafe der Provinz is undoubtedly crepes. Unlike the traditional French recipe, in this cafe the crepes are made of a mixture of 2 different flours (Spelt and Buckwheat) which makes a darker and healthier version as it contains higher protein and nutrition substances. The same dough is used for the sweet and the savory crepes! So it is the filling what gives the sweet or savory “character” to them!

Saturdays and Sundays there is a brunch where you can eat as much as you want while you watch your crepes being prepared. The down side of it is that the place gets crowded quickly. I advise you to reserve a table as the place is quite small. Otherwise you might be waiting a long time!

Most of the time, outside of the weekends busy brunch hours, you can sit there enjoying a book. In the summer they also have outside seats which are very nice as it is a quiet area. In the back of the store books, teas and other small products can be found for sale.

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Cafe der Provinz | Bars, Coffee & tea, Restaurants (French) | Brunch € 11.50
Maria-Treu-Gasse 3 | Inner districts | +4319442272
08:00 – 23:00 daily

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Image by Voodoo Vienna (by: Diana Pereira)

From the outside it feels like a very mysterious place as you cannot see anything what is going on in there. All you can see from the street is a decorated window made by an unusual collection of African masks and sculptures with grandmother style drapes behind, very appropriate to call this place Voodoo! You cannot really guess what kind of place it is, but give it a try and you will love it or not!

Inside of the small bar in the Siebensterngasse the time seems to be stopped in the 70′s where the Rock and Roll still rules! The waiter/owner/DJ, who is quite a character at his own rights, will play mainly classic rock music from Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Doors or Rolling Stones. The posters on the walls are as well a reminiscence on the golden time of rock music.

It is a bar where you can spend hours, great to talk in a relaxed atmosphere though it tends to get quite smoky when the night moves on! Beer is good and cheaper than other bars around! Customers are a mix of different generations. In this place you can expect to find a simple local atmosphere. It opens at 07:00pm and is an excellent place to start (or end) the night!

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Cafe Voodoo | Bars
Siebensterngasse 35 | Inner districts
Tue – Sat 19:00 – 02:00

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Image by Diana Pereira

Take the tram number 38 to the end station and experience the countryside within the city. Grinzing it is called. Just the area itself deserves a visit.

This neighbourhood is famous for its “Heuriger”. The word itself means “this year”. Heuriger are the typical Austrian wine taverns, where the winemakers serve their own productions from the most recent year.

The wine served is of course local and they must have a special license to sell it. Originally most of the foods offered in these places are cold dishes as they are not really restaurants. Nevertheless delicious homemade meat and bread spreads that go wonderfully with your glass of wine! Nowadays they offer also sometimes warm homemade dishes. Usually you can listen traditional life music.

Heuriger Zum Berger is a good choice! It has a very comfortable and familiar atmosphere. The courtyard is quite nice. If the weather allows you to sit in the courtyard you will enjoy it even more. You can combine your visit to a Heuriger with a walk through the vineyards, or a day trip to Kahlenberg, here are some suggested hiking paths.

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Zum Berger | Bars, Snacks, Restaurants (Trad.)
Himmelstraße 19 | Outer districts | +4313205893
Wed – Sat from 15:00, Sun from 11:00

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Image by Sabrina Grohsebner

As the title implicates you’ll find several places within this spot, true to the maxim “Why be satisfied with just running a pub when you can have some many things at one time?”.

Pickwick’s is, above all, a real nice and relaxed Irish pub providing its guests with all kinds of beverages, snacks and music. What I personally love about the spot is that it really gives you a little bit of the feeling of being at home. Creating a great atmosphere, the place is furnished with some cosy armchairs, old fashioned sofas and big shelves filled with loads of books inviting you to stay a little bit longer and delve into English literature masterpieces.

And here’s the kicker: if you feel like exploring the place a little bit further, you should go and see the basement. Down there you’ll be amazed to see that Pickwick’s also houses Vienna’s biggest English video and DVD store, open way longer than all the other stores in town.

And just to make completely sure that guests are kept entertained, there are also weekly happenings such as Quiz Nights, Karaoke and similar..what more could you possibly wish for?

Pickwick’s offers you so many great and interesting things to spend your evenings with, and what’s best about it: every single one of them is worth a visit.

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Pickwick’s | Bars, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks | Beer € 3.00
Marc Aurel Straße 16 | Danube Canal Area | +4315330182
Mon – Thu 11:00 – 00:00, Fri – Sat 11:00 – 02:00, Sun 12:00 – 00:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Vienna

Image by Nora Droege

Nomen est Omen. So, as the name (Donau = Danube) suggests, be prepared to have the feeling of diving into a world of lights, music and sombre colors when entering the place.

This is a great place to start your evening at. Maybe you’re just done enjoying contemporary art in Museumsquartier (check Museumsquartier article) or need a chill out after an exciting shopping expedition on Mariahilferstraße, so much the better coming here as it’s right next to a couple of urban hot spots!

Donau shows itself as a wicked combination of a place where you can have a beer or two, get to know the newest tunes and still are able to have a conversation, as the music’s volume is not beyond the convenient. There’s also quite stylish snack bar and some really comfortable original cinema armchairs giving the place a certain old school Viennese character.

And – I love this interior’s element – don’t miss catching a glimpse of the ceiling and the remarkable art installation giving you the feeling of actually floating lazily along the blue river…

Plus; if you already feel like gaining an impression of what your evening might be like or if you just want to see whether you like the music or not, there is also an online radio station you should check out!

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Das Donau | Bars, Music, Snacks | Beer € 3.00
Karl Schweighofer Gasse 10 | Inner districts | +4315238105
Open from 18:00 daily

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Image by Julia Heiligenbrunner

The Loft is a fairly new spot that opened about two years ago. This bar/cinema/pavilion/… attracted me in the first place because of its attitude. The owners regard themselves as ‘easy & casual’ which also is the kind of customer they want to allure. Given that the musical concept is not put into frame but flexible to differing parties, you get Electro, Hip Hop, Rock and Funk as well as unclassified genres.

Tuesdays are reserved for the movie night called filmloft where one can enjoy great shows for free! The topic of the movies changes every other month, original soundtrack with (English) subtitles assured. On Wednesday evenings singer/songwriters get the opportunity to perform – again entry is free of charge. Fridays and Saturdays are open to varied parties, dancing strictly recommended!

Their guiding slogan: “Working hard for better parties in Vienna!” tells you what to expect.

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The Loft | Bars, Cinemas, Festivals & events | Pint € 3.60
Lerchenfeldergürtel 37 | Outer districts
Tue – Thu 19:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 20:00 – 04:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Vienna

Image by Linda Nepicks

Want to leave the hustle and the bustle of the city? Then why not go to heaven?! Just a short car or underground/bus ride from downtown will take you to forests, vinyards and green meadows on the slopes of the hills, the city lying below your feet.

If you come by public transport, after switching from underground station Heiligenstadt to the bus, you should stop at the impressive Karl Marx Hof, which was built in the 20′s. The longest connected building of the world is a “Gemeindebau”, some kind of government housing – a very typical and special thing in Vienna.

Once you have arrived at the top of the hill, you will notice the octagon-shaped building. That’s the cafe “Am Himmel”. Either you take a rest and a hot or cold drink before a walk – or you reward yourself with a piece of cake after some exercise.

The cafe itself is a very nice place with its huge windows from top to bottom and they do good cakes and warm dishes. In winter its great to warm yourself up in the cafe, as it can be icy and windy up there.

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Am Himmel | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing, Restaurants (intern.) | Melange € 2.80
Höhenstrasse/Himmelstrasse, 1190 | Outer districts | +4314065938
Thu – Fri 12:00 – 22:00, Sat – Sun 11:00 – 22:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Vienna