Inner districts – Local tips (music venues)

Have you ever dreamt of a place where you get a delicious breakfast for only 3 euros (coffee not included, but for half the price)? Yes? Then you should definitely head to this place!

The Tunnel is located in the 8th district, in a nice and quiet street. During the nice season there are even some places to sit outside on the sidewalk. Interiors are in dark wood, with some nice big sofas and all in all it is very cosy.

There are some very big tables, where you have to share the place with other people, and as well some smaller ones if you have to discuss something serious with your breakfast partner!

There is a difficult choice among 8 international yummy breakfast dishes:
*Muesli with yogurt and fruits 
*Spanish omelet
*Greek omelet 
*Ham omelet
*Continental
*Continental vegetarian
*Arabian breakfast (my favourite: with homos, eggplant salad, stuffed vine  leaves, feta cheese, olives and Syrian Bread)
*Italian breakfast

Breakfast from 09:00 to 11:00 (self-service!)

Lunch from 11:30 to 14:30

The lunch menu is 5 euros and there is always a meat and a vegetarian dish, or you can choose from “a la carte” menu which includes vegan and vegetarian dishes aswell!

At 21:00 the party starts with concerts, student gatherings, cheap beer and good atmosphere. Food is served until 01:00 am, and Pizza even until 01:30!

Oh and they also exhibit each month works of different artists!

PS: If you prefer to be served at your table for breakfast, the little brother Cafe Merkur (check the Café Merkur article) is offering the same breakfast from 10:00 to 12:00 with service for €3,50. It’s just around the corner!

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“Der Tunnel” | Art & culture, Bars, Music, Restaurants (Intern.) | Breakfast € 3.00
Florianigasse 39 | Inner districts | +4319475720
365 days from 09:00 to open end!

This cultural center, bar and restaurant is a hidden spot in the popular 7th district. Especially their green hidden inner court yard, which can be used all year long, is a rare place to find in the middle of the center. They serve from breakfast to dinner and cocktails, basically everything. Their Lunch menus are very popular as well. In busy lunch hours and evenings the service can be a bit slow, but is always very friendly!

The warm ambient inside and the cosy yard give space to colorful crowds from young to old, cultural interested people, intellectuals, students, activists and many more. The upper floor of the building is used for workshops (feminist, anti-racist), exhibitions and other events.

A yearly highlight for us: The Roma festival in September, with Roma music and exhibitions! Great atmosphere is guaranteed!

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Amerlingbeisl | Art & culture, Bars, Music, Restaurants (Austrian) | main € 7.00
Stiftgasse 8 | Inner districts | +4315261660
09:00 – 02:00 daily

Chelsea is THE place to go if you need Indie and Alternative music to keep your vitals stable. Although it may happen to you that you walk in on some electronic or metal music (if you don’t check the program first), it concentrates mainly on rock and its musical siblings.

Don’t be put off by the dirty looking exterior, inside it is a little bit better. But who wants to experience dirty Rock’n'Roll in a sterile environment anyway.

I am usually one of the first to take the dance floor there because, especially on the weekends, it gets really, really crowded. So after powering myself out, I usually go outside to catch my breath and enjoy my beer, because when it’s not too cold there are chairs and tables outside.

I like this place so much because the music is really good and danceable and it is one of the few places where you can get pear cider (which I love, by the way).

Besides whoever is in charge of the music selection there, shows real talent in picking live bands to play at the Chelsea. Those are mainly little known but from all around the world.

Therefore, if you need your weekly (or daily) dose of freaking-out-to-alternative-rock just try out the Chelsea.

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Chelsea | Bars, Music | Wieselburger beer € 3.50
Lerchenfeldergürtel 31 | Inner districts | +4314079309
Mon – Sat 18:00 – 04:00, Sun 16:00 – 03:00

“This is the most urbane and sophisticated cocktail bar in town, frequented by journalists, actors, and politicians”, says not the owner but a review of the New York Times describing Club Barfly´s. And I fully agree.

It is the only cocktail bar I frequently visit, because of the great ambience and the amazing menu. With about 400 cocktails, 400 kind of rum and 1000 of whiskeys listed on the menu there is at least one to discover every single day of the year.

Leather chairs to sink in, cozy darkness, jazz or swing piano music in the background, Latin-American live performances from time to time, strong men behind the bar – and great mixed cocktails of course make Club Barfly´s into a place where time stands still.

So, stop and relax, take it easy and enjoy the silence as long as you want to.

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Club Barfly´s | Bars, Music | Cocktails from € 9.00
Esterhazygasse 33 | Inner districts | +4315860825
18:00 – 04:00 daily

Very well hidden in a backyard of busy Mariahilfer Straße, you can find not only one of the most stylish spots here in Vienna, but also one of the most creative Sushi and Asian restaurants in town.

Maki filled with chocolate, peanuts, curry-chicken, cream cheese – doesn´t sound like traditional Japanese dishes, right? Well, you can get those in Dots Experimental Sushi too. But as the name implies, the restaurant is mostly known for the very weird recipes and they are really worth a try.

A straight tip for Asian food lovers, Dots also provides great atmosphere for a night out: A huge cocktail-bar with all sorts of wine and drinks, DJ music (House, lounge, … – check out the monthly schedule on the website), so everything to enjoy your evening. And design fetishists are going to be fascinated by the modern, stylish interior full of glass, white furniture – and a lot of “dots” of course.

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Dots Experimental Sushi | Bars, Music, Restaurants (Asian) | Cocktails € 7.00
Mariahilfer Straße 103/G7 | Inner districts | +4319209980
18:00 – 02:00 daily

Starting 1996 with the no.1 Austrian Barkeeper school, the American Cocktail Bar machBar (now Eberts Cocktail Bar) was founded by Christian Ebert 10 years later. Situated on the ground floor of the school, the connection between those two places may not be visible – but tangible it is.

The bar in dark wood, the big couches, the beautiful lights, everything in red and beige colours, do not really give the impression of a classroom though. It is too warm, too cosy, too comfortable, too inviting for it. But take a look at the bar itself, at the menu offering more than 250 different cocktails and drinks or just ask the barkeeper to mix something for you – and you will know immediately: Here are professionals and connoisseurs doing their job!

And you are right: Every barman working in Eberts Cocktail Bar also has his daily job – which is teaching others how to become a barkeeper in school. Cocktail experts are fascinated by the detailed and professional explanations, others just love the delicious taste of the drinks.

You can also rent it for private parties (up to 100 people), I can only tell you from my experience: It is going to be a night you will always remember!

Just go there and enjoy your cocktail, especially during Happy Hour which is Monday till Thursday from 18:00 to 21:00, Friday and Saturday from 19:00 to 21:00 and around midnight.

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Eberts Cocktail Bar | Bars, Music | Cocktails from € 5.50
Gumpendorfer Straße 51 | Inner districts | +4315865465
Sun – Thu 18:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 19:00 – 04:00

Built in 1921 by the famous Austrian philosopher (and architect, gardener, primary school teacher!) Ludwig Wittgenstein for his sister in cooperation with the architect Paul Engelmann, this rational Bauhaus style white house was bought in 1977 by the Bulgarian government and today is home of their cultural institute.

For those interested in Eastern culture and architecture, go here! It’s quite hidden among other buildings in the 3rd district. Check their website for the monthly program full of events, such as movies, concerts and expositions.

The building itself can be visited for free from Monday to Thursday, or arrange an appointment  by phone for an individual tour.

Check their event program for the Jazzclub Wittgenstein which usually has free entrance!

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Haus Wittgenstein | Art & culture, Music | Free
Parkgasse 18 | Inner districts | +4317133164
Mon – Thu 10:00 – 12:00 & 15:00 – 16:30

As soon as the first sun rays come out, there is one spot where people already sit in the sun, enjoying their café latte or their Aperol spritz – and this is Kunsthallencafé located on Karlsplatz.

It immediately gives you a holiday feeling when sitting either on the big terrace of the restaurant overlooking the Naschmarkt (see the Naschmarkt article) on one side or the Karlschurch at the other side. And when summertime is really here, there is also the chance – if you are fast – to grab one of the chairs in the grass and get the impression of chilling out on the beach.

Kunsthallencafé is the little sister of “Motto” (check the Motto article), it is the summer location of Bernd Schlacher, who is the owner of not only Motto and Kunsthallencafé but of another spot, “Halle” in Museumsquartier as well.

The system is basically the same in all three of them: Providing good atmosphere with chill out (and sometimes live) music, Asian-Austrian-Mediterranean kitchen for prices which are affordable but not too favorable, tempting the young, urban, stylish people to go there and have a good time. Well, and this is what you can expect from Kunsthallencafé for sure!

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Kunsthallencafé | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Relaxing, Snacks, Restaurants (International)
Treitlstraße 2 (Karlsplatz) | Inner districts | +4315870073
10:00 – 02:00 daily | DJ-Line Summer Wed – Sun, Winter Sat – Sun from 14:00

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Thousands of cars pass by every day on the “Gürtel”; the red-light-district is only minutes away; the nearby shopping street is attracting crowds to spend money for little and big things. And in between all these noises, rackets and hectic atmosphere, you can take a deep breath and take a break at the city’s main library at Urban Loritz Square. Even the building, connected to the underground station, just stands out and promises something different.

The promise is kept: In the modern library not only book lovers and newspaper addicts find an impressive number of 288.000 books, but also 57.300 AV Media (DVDs, CDs, computer games,…), 130 PCs and 40 audio- and video-stations. The prices are also very modest: There is a yearly ticket for 18 Euros, but you can also get a daily pass for borrowing objects for the next 4 weeks.

Of course there is also a special children section in the library, a planet for kids named “Kirango”. which can be found online as well.

There are always lots of events taking place at Urban Loritz Square such as exhibitions, flea markets and – of course – readings; almost all of them for free! And if you are exhausted from browsing through all this or if you want to read immediately, take some more steps up to the Café restaurant Canetti, where there is a good view from the terrace and quite delicious food. Your journey to another world can start…

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Library at Urban Loritz Square | Art & culture, Cinemas, Music, Shopping, Festivals & events, Restaurants (Intern.)
Urban-Loritz-Platz 2a | Inner districts | +431400084500
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 19:00, Sat 11:00 – 17:00

Despite the sign “Hunde- und Katzenpflege” outside – which literally means “dog and cats care”, Mon Ami is a spot where humans are taken care of. Inside, the location is quite simple, rather plain: An ideal bar for private birthday parties and pre-drinking gatherings.

Soup and Snacks are served daily (€ 3,50 bis € 6,80),you can get a nice cocktails from €6,80 on and the home made sandwiches on Wednesdays are quite filling. There are DJ-Lines and Live music occasionally and you can access WLAN for free. Nothing spectacular, right?

Well, you definitely have to take a closer look: Mon Ami is not only a bar, but a fashion store. Inside the restaurant area hides a fashion shop – or rather a fashion studio of young Austrian designers. During the opening hours of the bar, you can take your drink and browse through the creative clothes, coloursful hats, knitted scarves and many, many other things. Or you can watch a designer creating and sewing a dress which can be found on the coat hooks the next day.

It does not surprise that from time to time, fashion design shows are taking place in Mon Ami too. Coffeeshop, bar, restaurant AND fashion – well, what more can you ask from your friend, mon ami?

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Mon Ami | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Shopping, Snacks
Theobaldgasse 9 | Inner districts | +4315850134
Mon – Sat 16:00 – 01:00

“The world belongs to those, who know how to relish”: This quote by Giacomo Leopardi is the mission and the summary of “Motto”. There is hardly any other restaurant in Vienna which has been part of the insider scene for so many years now. Whenever you go there you can only be surprised how many beautiful and stylish people there are. But it is even more surprising how comfortable and well treated you feel in “Motto”.

Apart from elegant and stylish interior, amazingly friendly and service oriented waiters and good food which is a mixture of Austrian, Asian and Mediterranean cuisine, there´s another important part of “Motto”: It´s all about music.

From Wednesday to Saturday there is life DJ playing all kinds of chill out and relaxing music, every day with another motto (from pure jazz to deep house, electro to soul). And on Thursday, there is the special line up called “girls play for the boys”: The fabulous night for gay people, who come to Motto not only this night of the week – no wonder, if you look at the waiters…

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Motto | Bars, Music, Restaurants (Intern.) | Dishes from € 8.00
Schönbrunner Straße 30 | Inner districts | +4315870672
Mon – Thu & Sun 18:00 – 02:00, Fri – Sat 18:00 – 04:00

There is no better meeting point in Vienna than MuseumsQuartier (for “insiders”: Muqua): Either you go to one of the many museums or you have breakfast at one of the various restaurants. Either you buy good and quite unique presents or just get some new ideas at the shop. Whatever you want to do, you can find it on this 60.000 m2 area.

As one of the ten biggest cultural spots in the world, MuseumsQuartier offers a huge variety of different art museums like Leopold Museum and MUMOK (Museum of modern art), modern exhibition halls such as Kunsthalle Wien or festivals like Wiener Festwochen or ImPulsTanz Festival. Moreover, you can also find the Tanzquartier (the location for modern dance, both training and shows), the Architekturzentrum (center for architecture), a museum for children (ZOOM), some smaller galleries and production studios. It is just all in one.

But even though Vienna is known for its cultural taste, locals more or less use MuseumsQuartier for another reason: To hang out and enjoy each other’s company. Whenever you walk through the area you always see a lot of mostly young people sitting around, having some drinks, reading and simply having a good time.

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MuseumsQuartier | Art & culture, Bars, Music, Relaxing, Snacks, Theaters
Museumsplatz 1/5 | Inner districts | +4315235881
Museums generally 10:00 – 18:00 daily

“By the way, the chair you are sitting on is for sale, oh and yes, the  book, which you just grabbed from the bookshelf as well. Of course we sell the record you are listening to.” That’s the phil, a colorful café-bar-bookshop-recordstore-interior shop-flea market and if you find something you can’t buy, then you are probably in the toilet, well actually I’m not even sure about that.

Actually the owner recently told us: “We don’t sell the toilet (except for the lamp maybe), we don’t sell the coffeemachine because she’s from the 60s and something special, we don’t sell the clothes we’re wearing, and we don’t sell the
artists (singers, writers, painters) when one of our from-time-to-time
events takes place.”

Students, young families, artists  and many more appreciate the easygoingness in the phil. The furniture are  mostly 70ies and as mentioned before, they can be bought. There is a  large corner with books, Dvds, records and posters which you can browse and sniff into while having a drink, and if you like it, you bring it home.

The place is non-smoking and food looks and tastes healthy. Bring your laptop to take advantage of the free Wi-Fi and make sure to reserve a table if you plan to come in a larger group.

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phil | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Shopping, Snacks
Gumpendorferstrasse 10 – 12 | Inner districts | +4315810489
Mon 17:00 – 01:00, Tue – Sun 09:00 – 01:00

A hooker saloon in former times, Tanzcafé Jenseits with worn-out red Brocade and Plush everywhere, cosy booths, dimmed light, golden lusters, cannot deny its past. And it does not want to hide it.

Jenseits means “Afterlife” or “on the other side”: Entering the Tanzcafé really is transferring you to another side – of Vienna, as it was but also as it is nowadays. First, you will be shocked by the air filled with cigarette smoke and all the people in the relatively small club. But within some minutes, you are going to be infected by the relaxed atmosphere and talk to one of the other guests having the time of your life.

It is not surprising that Tanzcafé Jenseits is known as one of those spots you can go to whenever you want: If you feel like going out after midnight, like joining a party till the sun rises and meeting lots of different people – you are going to find it there for sure. For further information about the DJ line-up and special events look at their website, which is not updated regularly but at least gives you a broad overview of the place.

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Tanzcafé Jenseits | Bars, Music, Relaxing
Nelkengasse 3 | Inner districts | +4315871233
Mon – Sat 21:00 – 04:00

A small street, somewhere in the 3rd district in a quiet residential area… who would expect such an authentic Cretan cuisine here. The Taverna Lefteris might look like the typical Greek from around the corner, but the quality of the food is outstanding.

Native extra virgin olive oil is the base of most dishes. Fish specialties are always worth trying here, and the best choices are usually the current seasonal offers. Food is served with a smile by the Greek staff and if you are curious enough to spy, you will see women ruling the kitchen. Open your stomach with a plate of Mesédes (cold or warm entrees) accompanied with homemade bread (incredible good!) and a glass of wine.

For an authentic Cretan experience head here on Tuesdays when crowds gather for live Greek music and, of course, good food.

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Taverna Lefteris | Music, Restaurants (Greek) | Main from € 8.00
Hörnesgasse 17 | Inner districts | +4317137451
Mon – Sat 18:00 – 23:00