Cafe Sacher Vienna - go or not -thoughts
 

I will be leaving for Vienna soon and have been reading reviews of Cafe Sacher and the Sachertorte. At first I thought I would give it a miss - tourist trap. And although I love chocolate, chocolate cake is not my first choice of dessert. But I am wondering if I don't go if I'll miss out on the quintesesstial Vienna experience. Does anyone have any experiences with Cafe Sacher or opinions?

We went for the name and found the torte dry as dust - definitely not worth the time, money or calories.

Go for the Apple Strudel. The Sacher is very elegant so go for the atmosphere. And there is Demel but the torte is no better there either. Have fun! Schonbrun Palace has a tea room and pastries and hot chocolate were excellent so you should keep that in mind if you visit the palace.

It was quite a few years ago (though no doubt the same recipe), and we thought it was dreadful.

There seems to be a concensus here. We, DW, another couple and myself, tried the Sachertorte several times in Vienna including at Cafe Sacher. The first time we had the same impression as nytraveler etc. We figured because of the reputation, we would have to give it more chances. All were about the same. Our conclusion is that the Sachertorte is the most overrated piece of cake out there. OTH, the Cafe Sacher is a nicely elegant place to go - only, order something else.

Instead of the Cafe Sacher, go to Cafe Central in the Palais Ferstel. It's a lovely cafe with many yummy deserts as well as other good food. We love this place and visited recently on our trip to Vienna in September.

Be sure to walk thru the Freyung Passage right next to the Cafe Central.

A few of our photos of the above:

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/285...11574650qhbjeM

We enjoyed Demel, whatever we had there, and the jewelry shops opposite were fabulous !

There are so many wonderful cafes in Vienna. You'll be in heaven. The sacher torte has a recognizable name, but is not, IMO, the best. We looked through the window of the Hotel Sacher, but the $$ it cost to get a dessert there didn't make sense to us, again considering all the other wonderful cafes in Vienna.

Have a great time.

We went to the Hotel Sacher for Sachertorte because people told us we "had to go". When we got there and saw how expensive it was, we ended up going to their take-out section, ordered one piece of sachertorte to share and sat outside to try it.

Happy I can say I tried it, but even happier that I didn't spend all that $$

Eh - you could do worse things with a half an hour than sitting in the historic Cafe Sacher eating dry cake. Just don't make it your only Vienna cafe experience.

Sachertorte is the driest thing on earth!

I would go to the Cafe Sacher and other cafes too. Don't leave Vienna with only 1 cafe experience.

It was some time ago, but we had fantastic cakes at Demels and many other cafes in Vienna
I don't care a bit for Sachertorte.

Cafe Sacher was great for the atmosphere and selection of pastries and cakes - very old worldly and charming. We really enjoyed the experience.
When you visit, make sure you also make use of the rest rooms! Di

Not to brag, but I'm known as the Queen of Sacher Torte. :-)

First of all, the Cafe Sacher had nothing to do with Sacher Torte. There is a rivalry between the Hotel Sacher and Demel's as to who created it.

I had a slice of the real sacher torte from the Hotel Sacher (flown in for a party somewhere) and it was to DIE FOR.

Now, I happen to like REAL sacher torte. The cake is slightly dry and almost boring, with apricot filling and dark chocolate topping. Best when eaten "mit schlag" (whipped cream -- to balance out the richness of it -- it is VERY rich -- one is probably enough for two)

I make real ST only for very special occassions. When done right it's a two day endeavor. One drop of water in the wrong place, I found the hard way, ruins the whole thing. I only do it for love. (This ain't no brownies from a mix -- tho some might argue the brownies are better -- I like both!)

Now what would be really cool, would be to get one slice from each place and then sit down and compare them. (Hmmm how far is vienna from Cannes or Rome...)

But to miss the chance to try real authentic SacherTorte would be sad. Just be sure to go to one of the two real places! (or both ;-) )

Agree with everyone else. Nice place, food sucked.

Saving for Xmas with thanks!

can't stand sacher-torte but had to have it there. so split one?? however-- the cafe right by the opera is really beautiful-- and i seem to recall theat their hot chocolate was a show-stopper. -kawh

Re above - Sacher had everything to do with Sacher Torte . Austrian courts have confirmed Sacher as the original-

they ( Sacher ) are the only ones to be able to use " The Original " in their propaganda

If you are like me you will stop in at least two cafés per day so give it a try. I did NOT like their sacher toret ether. But nice atmosphere.

Sorry I wasn't clear. The HOTEL Sacher is one of the two accepted places. But if the Cafe Sacher is not part of the Hotel then it it is not the place to stop. Rather, try either the Hotel Sacher or Demels (as I said, or both).

Again, expect a really thick rich, hard cake. More like an less sweet fudge almost. To be eaten slowly and with whipped cream.

It just depends on if you are interested in food or not I guess. I'm sure there are many things in Morocco that I won't love, but I'm going to try them (except for the P*nis of the sheep -- I am NOT going there lol)

But it is certainly not a tourist trap. It is the true home of one of the world's great pastries. Whether you like it or not is a different question.

Enjoy for me... yummm!

TF

TF