Traditional Viennese Food: Seven Local Classics

In Vienna, a Frankfurter at a sausage stand, a plate of Tafelspitz and a slice of Sachertorte answer quite different appetites. Choose the dish before the venue: these seven local classics span a quick midday bite, a proper lunch or dinner and a long coffeehouse afternoon. The prices below are typical estimates, not fixed menu prices.

Ordering and prices

Order	What it is	When to have it	Typical price
Frankfurter	Sausage with bread	Midday snack	€5–9 at a stand
Wiener Schnitzel	Breaded veal cutlet	Lunch or dinner	€20–35; sides vary
Tafelspitz	Simmered beef	Lunch or dinner	€25–40; portion varies
Viennese goulash	Beef in onion sauce	Lunch or dinner	€16–25; sides vary
Apfelstrudel	Apple-filled pastry	Afternoon or dessert	€6–10; extras cost more
Sachertorte	Chocolate-apricot cake	Afternoon coffee	€7–11 a slice
Einspänner	Coffee under cream	Afternoon coffee	€5–8 a glass

Lunch is commonly around 12:00–14:00 and dinner from about 18:00 onwards. A coffeehouse visit need not be a meal. For a quick lunch, order at a sausage stand. For a cooked main, sit down at a restaurant or beisl, a traditional neighbourhood eatery. At a café, you can take just a drink or add a slice of cake. A larger portion, side dish, cream or vanilla sauce can raise the bill, while a café table may cost more than a counter order.

On a restaurant menu, Gedeck means a cover or bread-and-table-setting charge where one is listed. It is a charge on the bill, not a tip, so look for it separately when comparing the cost of sitting down. The ranges above are guides to individual orders rather than a complete bill for a meal with drinks.

Frankfurter sausage

At a Viennese Würstelstand (sausage stand), ask for a Frankfurter, the sausage called a Wiener in some other countries. It makes an easy midday snack when you want something hot without stopping for a restaurant lunch. The mild, slender sausage is usually handed over with a bread roll, mustard and freshly grated horseradish, and ketchup may also be offered.

The freshly grated horseradish gives the mild sausage a sharp edge. Ask for mustard or horseradish to suit your taste, then eat at the stand: this is a short stop rather than a seated restaurant meal.

Wiener Schnitzel

Wiener Schnitzel is a thin veal cutlet, coated in flour, beaten egg and fine breadcrumbs, then fried in fat until the coating turns golden and crisp. For lunch or dinner, order it at a restaurant or a beisl. A squeeze of lemon cuts through the richness, and potato salad is a common accompaniment. Sides depend on the kitchen, so read the plate description if you want a particular one.

The menu distinction matters if you want veal. Schnitzel Wiener Art means Viennese-style schnitzel and commonly uses pork. It is not another name for a veal Wiener Schnitzel. Order Wiener Schnitzel for veal, or choose Wiener Art if you want the pork version. A large cutlet or separately priced side moves the cost towards the higher end of a restaurant meal.

Tafelspitz

Tafelspitz is pointed rump cap of beef gently simmered in aromatic broth, rather than roasted. The tender slices make a substantial lunch or dinner at a traditional Viennese restaurant. Apple-horseradish sauce supplies a sweet sharpness, chive sauce a fresher bite. Roasted potatoes are a traditional side, and creamed spinach is another common accompaniment. The sauces are part of the pleasure of this dish, not merely decoration on the plate.

Plachutta Wollzeile is known for serving Tafelspitz. It is a more expensive sit-down choice than a quick sausage, suited to a full restaurant meal rather than a brief snack.

Viennese goulash

Wiener Saftgulasch is a thick beef-and-onion stew, not a bowl of Hungarian gulyás soup. Beef, often shin or another slow-cooking cut, braises with plenty of onions, paprika, caraway, marjoram, garlic and a little vinegar. As the onions soften, they make a glossy sauce around the tender meat. It is Vienna’s adaptation of the Hungarian dish, suited to a filling lunch or dinner at a beisl, often with bread or dumplings.

If the menu offers Fiakergulasch, expect the same sort of beef stew dressed with a fried egg, a Frankfurter sausage and a gherkin. Choose Saftgulasch for the plain stew or Fiakergulasch for the garnished plate. The latter is a bigger meal rather than a different soup. At a neighbourhood restaurant, look at whether bread or dumplings accompany the dish or are listed separately before you order.

Apfelstrudel

Apfelstrudel is an apple pastry wrapped in paper-thin, hand-stretched dough. Inside are tart apples, sugar, raisins, cinnamon and breadcrumbs, often browned in butter to absorb some of the fruit’s juices. In a Viennese coffeehouse it is a good afternoon sweet with a coffee, and it also works as dessert after dinner. A bakery is another place to find a slice. This is a much-loved Viennese way to eat strudel, not a pastry found only in Vienna.

It is commonly served warm with icing sugar. If you would like something alongside it, choose whipped cream or vanilla sauce where offered, but these additions make the order richer and may add to the price.

Sachertorte

Sachertorte is a dense chocolate sponge with apricot jam and dark chocolate icing, served with unsweetened whipped cream. A slice belongs naturally to an afternoon coffeehouse visit, when the cream balances the rich cake. Unlike warm apple strudel, it is a neat slice of layered cake, so you can choose between the two sweets at a café according to whether you want fruit pastry or chocolate.

Hotel Sacher makes the Original Sacher-Torte, which you can order at Café Sacher. Demel also makes its own historically associated Sachertorte: Demel’s has a single apricot-jam layer beneath the icing, while the Hotel Sacher version has jam through the middle as well. For a wider choice after these two classics, explore more Viennese cakes and sweet dishes.

Einspänner coffee

An Einspänner is strong black espresso beneath a thick layer of whipped cream, traditionally served in a handled glass mug on a small tray. Order it by that name at a Viennese coffeehouse for an afternoon pause, on its own or with cake. The cream sits above the coffee rather than being mixed into it, so you can sip through it or stir it in as you prefer.

Its name means a one-horse carriage. Viennese carriage drivers drank double espresso, or mokka, topped with whipped cream while seated on the carriage box, and the cream helped keep the coffee warm.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: key figures and opening hours.

• WienTourismus — key figures
• J. Bitzinger GmbH — opening hours