The line in front of Café Central is daunting, especially since it starts already at 8:30 in the morning and keeps that way until 9 o’clock in the evening. I am not sure why all the tourists line up, because even if the café is beautiful, don’t people have better things to do with their time? To find out what the hype was all about, I decided to give Café Central a chance and see for myself. And that is quite a sacrifice for a local, who has never been here before.
It was impossible to make an online reservation, everything appeared to be booked for weeks on end. But after a quick call I got a table on my preferred day. So here we were on a Saturday morning, shortly before 9am and already a short queue had formed.
waiting to get in @Café Central
I passed the line and entered Café Central on the left side, leaving clueless tourists in my wake. Upon getting a first look at the inside of the coffeehouse I felt a bit in awe, it is, in all honesty, really beautiful.
inside @Café Central
The breakfast menu at Café Central is short and uninspired. According to the waiter most people come for the cakes. Why is beyond me, since there are better places for cake in Vienna. But I was not here for a cake anyway.
Most items on the menu seemed ready made, a lot scrambled egg dishes were available and not much else. So I went with a Viennese staple: two soft boiled eggs, peeled and served in a bowl with a slice of buttered bread with chive on the side. It sounds simple, but even here things can go wrong.
It took a while for our breakfast to appear. Probably because we didn’t order the scrambled eggs like everyone else. So the kitchen had some work to do and made our breakfast from scratch. My eggs were great, with a runny yolk and a firm white. The bread had a nice crust, but it missed some flavor. Just because bread is organic doesn’t mean it tastes good. I want bread that actually tastes of something.
two soft boiled eggs and butter bread with chive @Café Central
My friend had ordered bacon and eggs, and when the waiter repeated our order, I heard him say scrambled eggs with bacon. Now that’s a thing we usually don’t eat in Austria. Bacon and eggs are always two or three fried eggs, sunny side up. Most often there’s a problem with the bacon, but the eggs come always fried. Café Central has fried eggs on the menu for this dish, but clearly advised the waiters to push for scrambled eggs to free up the kitchen.
When this dish arrived it was unfortunately still a let down. The bacon had been pre-fried and put in the pan with some oil and the eggs on top for reheating. The eggs showed no visible sign of frying, but rather as if a lid had been put on top to speed up the process. The yolk had a milky white cover and was cooked through, indicating that a steaming process had happened. Which is not what Bacon & Eggs is all about. Quite a shame actually to cut the cooking time for such a dish and not serve the real deal. A complete disappointment.
bacon and eggs @Café Central
So is the Café Central worth the wait? For breakfast definitely not! It might be better in the baking department, but honestly I wouldn’t want to try the cakes here. If the kitchen is not able to bring out bacon & eggs the way it should be, why should I trust them with a fancy cake?
cake display @Café Central
Personally I find it is a shame that such a Viennese gem caters only to tourists. Just because they can do so due to a never ending stream of tourists. Would I bring international friends to Café Central? For sure not! Instead I recommend to head next door and walk through the Ferstl Passage. Since it is the same building, you can see the same architecture. For breakfast, coffee or cake head to one of the many delicious places in Vienna. There is no need for you to line up and waste your time. Yours, Pollybert
Café Central
1010 Wien, Herrengasse 14
Tel: +43 1 5333763
Email: cafe.central@palaisevents.at
Mon-Sat: 08:00-22:00, Sun: 10:00-22:00
https://cafecentral.wien/en/
