Balthasar Coffee Bar — Restaurant in Vienna

It is one of the best specialty coffee shops in Vienna. We arrived in a Monday morning and it was very busy. Design is very catchy with beautiful colors gamma and a very functional use of space.The menu is simple focused on specialty coffee and complementary products. We tried both origins for espresso and they were both very good. We ordered a Ethiopia first. It was flavorful light roast, a bit herbal citric. Second espresso was a Brazil, a bit on the dark side but still much better than other Brazil we tried in Vienna. It seems there is a good slice of customers that prefer dark classic roasts even in the specialty coffee shops. We also tried their batch brew and it was very pleasant. They also serve other brew methods but is was a bit too much for us to try it all in a single morning. The food - mostly deserts but they had sandwiches options as well, was very good. A nice selection of pastry and tarts complementary to coffee. Beside these products they serve teas, refreshments, wines and a nice little selection of spirits.The staff was very polite and they move very fast. It is always a very nice surprise for travelers to run into staff that speaks...

Balthasar became less a café for us and more a daily pilgrimage site during our week in Vienna. There were four of us, the best of friends, technically in town for a conference, but in reality attending a symposium on “Why Conference Coffee Is an International Tragedy.” The conclusion of our study: abandon ship and head to Balthasar.

Every morning, like clockwork, we ordered filter coffee that was so smooth and rich it made the watery brown liquid at the convention center feel like it came from a puddle outside. By day three we weren’t even pretending to try the conference brew anymore—straight to Balthasar we marched, our lanyards flapping with purpose.

And then there were the raspberry chocolate cookies. "Cookies" feels like too small a word. These were not baked goods; they were spiritual encounters. Transcendent, glorious discs of joy that could probably settle international disputes if served at peace talks.

By the end of the week, the baristas knew us, the chairs molded to our shape, and Balthasar had become the unofficial headquarters of our delegation. Five stars. Stronger than any keynote speaker: their filter coffee and raspberry...

Great enthusiast grade coffee. Has a decent small sortiment of good quality equipment for sale as well. Hario, Commandante, the works. The beans you can buy here are great quality and recently roasted as well. The coffee they make is delicious and the patries are great as well. Patries and sandwiches can be pricey but the coffee is fairly priced.

During high time long lines are to be expected. During winter, you will not get seating inside as there are only a few tables due to the limited size inside the cafe. During spring/summer/fall, sitting outside is comfortable enough and will vastly improve your chances of getting a seat. If you are brave enough you can do this during winter as well, assuming they didn't chain off the outside seating. Otherwise, get it to-go and enjoy the coffee when you can. It is...