Best of Culinary Vienna

Experience scrumptious authentic Austrian cuisine on this Vienna food tour led by an expert historian guide and passionate foodie. Indulging your way through Austrian culinary culture, you discover the traditions, customs, and flavors that are classically Viennese while taking in some of Vienna’s most beautiful historic institutions for dining and drinking, including the Palais Todesco built in 1861 on the Ringstrasse, Zum Shwarzen Kameel (Black Camel) founded in 1619 and rebuilt in Art Nouveau in 1901, and the atmospheric Loos American Bar from 1908.

We begin our Vienna food tour at the Vollpension Bakery, a 2015 startup providing work and community for retired Viennese people. Grandmothers (and a few grandfathers) are the only staff baking and serving delicious cakes, using their own recipes, that are sold by the slice!

Except on Sundays, we continue our culinary journey nearby with Vienna’s colorful outdoor food market, Naschmarkt (literally translated as “Nibble Market”) with its wonderful specialty stalls full of Austrian and international cheeses, wine, oil, vinegar, meats and produce.

Next, we may stop at Bitzinger’s near Albertina, to enjoy the most famous sausage stand in Vienna. If the group likes, we can visit the legendary snack stall Leberkas-Pepi that began in Upper Austria. “Leberkas” literally means “liver cheese,” and consists of several varieties, corned beef, pork, bacon, spinach, cheese, and onions ground very finely and then baked as a loaf with a crunchy brown crust. Accompany the Leberkas with a glass of Neufeldner “Hopferl-Pils” from the Mühlviertel (also a product of Upper Austria).

After that relatively rich snack, we may decide to have a digestive at the iconic K.u.K. Hoflieferanten Gerstner and Schlumberger, located in the beautiful 1861 Palais Todesco on the Ringstrasse. Both shops were former purveyors to the Imperial Court. Gerstner provides more unforgettable cakes and sweets and Schlumberger’s splendid sparkling wines will cleanse the palate.

We pass by the Vienna State Opera and walk along Kärnter Straße to the most beautiful bar in the city, the American Bar, for a cocktail. Today, it is also called Loos Bar and protected as a historic monument because it was designed by the Austrian pioneer of modern architecture, Adolf Loos, in 1908. Moving along Kohlmarkt, we reach Cafe Demel with its show bakery and a small museum. Its famous pastries and specialties include candied violets and homemade ice cream with unique varieties, like punch cake or Katzenzungen (cat tongue). Ending at Zum Schwarzen Kameel, Vienna’s classic family-run delicatessen founded in 1621 and rebuilt in elegant art nouveau style in 1901. We can choose from an enormous variety of sandwiches while selecting a glass from 1,000 superb Austrian and international wines on their list.