The Kaisersemmel

No Kaisersemmel, no Viennese breakfast. Full stop. The star-scored crusty roll is the city’s iconic breakfast bread and was already being served at the court of Maria Theresia in the 18th century. If you don’t believe us: on a painting by court painter Martin van Meytens from around 1760, you can spot it clearly on the table. The painting hangs today at Schönbrunn Palace.

The Kaisersemmel’s international breakthrough came in 1867, when it won a gold medal at the Paris World Exposition. Alongside the Thonet Chair No. 14. Two Viennese classics, one year, two golds. Not bad.

Butter and apricot jam

Butter and jam come with the Semmel. Which in Vienna almost always means apricot. The Marille, as apricot is called here, is closely tied to the Wachau valley and counts as the classic jam fruit in Austria. It also shows up in Sachertorte, in apricot dumplings in summer, and as the base for countless Viennese pastries.

If you ask for Aprikosen-Marmelade in Vienna, you’ll be understood. If you say Marille, you’ve arrived.

The soft-boiled egg

The egg for a Viennese breakfast is a soft-boiled egg in an egg cup. Not scrambled, not fried, not omelette. Sometimes we have to explain that to guests. The soft-boiled egg is eaten with a spoon, classically sprinkled with a little salt and spooned straight from the shell. Opening it becomes a tiny ritual. Some tap off the top, others cleanly slice it with a knife. Both are correct.

The Kipferl

Alongside the Semmel, a Kipferl often shows up: a crescent-shaped white pastry. And since this is one of our favourite stories: the Kipferl is the ancestor of the French croissant. Legend has it that Viennese bakers invented it in the 17th century to commemorate the Turkish siege, with the crescent shape a nod to the Ottoman symbol.

Historians dispute this, since crescent-shaped baked goods existed in Vienna even earlier. What is certain: Marie Antoinette, born a Habsburg, took the Kipferl with her to Paris after marrying the French king. And that’s where it evolved into the croissant in the 19th century. Which means: when you eat a croissant in Paris, you’re basically eating a Viennese breakfast pastry. Only with better PR.

The coffee

No coffee, no Viennese breakfast. The classic order is a Melange: an espresso with hot milk and milk foam, served in a large cup. Alternatives include the Verlängerter, an espresso lengthened with hot water, or, for the brave, the Kaisermelange with egg yolk. If you want to learn to distinguish the various Viennese coffee specialties, you’ll find them in detail in our Coffee House Guide.

What can also belong

Optional, but welcome.

From German breakfast

German breakfasts tend to be more abundant: many types of bread, lots of cold cuts, muesli, yoghurt, eggs in many preparations. Viennese breakfast is more reduced. Fewer elements, but each precisely defined.

From French breakfast

A French breakfast usually consists of a croissant or baguette with butter and jam, alongside café au lait. No egg, no cold cuts. In Vienna it’s heartier. Which is slightly ironic, given that the croissant is, as mentioned, essentially a Viennese breakfast pastry. The French just don’t advertise that.

From English breakfast

The full English breakfast is warm and heavy: bacon, sausages, beans, grilled tomato, egg, toast. In Vienna, breakfast is lighter, cooler, and organised around Semmel and coffee, not around pan-fried protein.

Viennese breakfast is served in the city’s classic coffee houses, in modern intergenerational cafés like ours, and in many Beisln. At Vollpension, we serve it in its classic form as our „Wiener Frühstückerl”: butter, jam and fresh bread from the grandmothers. If you want more, cold cuts and fresh orange juice are also on the menu.

As an award-winning intergenerational café and social business, we are a modern reinterpretation of the Viennese coffee house. More information about our breakfast can be found on our breakfast page. At Johannesgasse 4A in the 1st district we are open daily from 08:00 to 18:00, at Schleifmühlgasse 16 in the 4th district from 08:00 to 20:00. We look forward to seeing you.