Café Griensteidl

Café Griensteidl Review

Once the site of one of Vienna's oldest coffeehouses and named after the pharmacist Heinrich Griensteidl—the original dated back to 1847 but was demolished in 1897—this café was resurrected in 1990. Karl Kraus, the sardonic critic, spent many hours here writing his feared articles, and it's also here that Hugo von Hofmannsthal took time out from writing libretti for Richard Strauss. Although this establishment is still looking for the patina needed to give it real flair, locals are pleased by the attempt to re-create the historic atmosphere. Numerous newspapers and magazines hang on the rack (many are in English). It's also entirely no-smoking.