1683
Coffee arrives in Vienna
Legend credits captured Ottoman coffee sacks with launching Vienna's coffeehouse culture.
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Cuisine book · 3 cities · 6 dishes
Austria
Imperial pastry and coffeehouse elegance
Austrian cuisine inherited dishes from across the old Habsburg Empire — Hungarian goulash, Bohemian dumplings — and refined them into Vienna's coffeehouse and palace-kitchen classics.
History
Where it all comes from
1700s
Habsburg imperial kitchen
The multi-ethnic empire's dishes — Hungarian, Czech, Italian — converged in the Viennese court kitchen.
1832
Sachertorte invented
A young apprentice chef created the chocolate-apricot cake for Prince Metternich.
1900s
Coffeehouse literary culture
Vienna's cafés became meeting grounds for writers and intellectuals of the era.
Today
Alpine-modern revival
Chefs are updating classic Austrian dishes with lighter, seasonal alpine ingredients.
Jump to a city
City 1 of 3
Vienna
Coffeehouses, schnitzel and imperial pastry.
Wiener Schnitzel
19th century
Breaded, pan-fried veal cutlet, thin enough to cover the plate.
Sachertorte
1832
Dense chocolate cake with a thin layer of apricot jam, invented for Prince Metternich.
Melange
Traditional Viennese coffee style
A softened cappuccino-style coffee, central to café culture.
City 2 of 3
Salzburg
Mozart's hometown, sweet with a dramatic soufflé.
Salzburger Nockerl
17th century legend
A giant sweet soufflé shaped to resemble the hills around the city.
City 3 of 3
Tyrol
Alpine dumplings and hearty mountain food.
Tiroler Knödel
Traditional alpine farmhouse dish
Bread dumplings studded with speck, served in broth or with sauerkraut.
Kaiserschmarrn
19th century, named for Emperor Franz Joseph
Shredded, caramelised pancake served with fruit compote.
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