Café im Kunsthistorischen Museum Wien — Restaurant in Vienna

Just like so many other comments here, as for English-speaking foreigners, the service provided by this café is undeniably awful. the waiters here, have a superpower: they can instantly change their attitude from super-friendly to super-aloof when they spot who are tourists. It's like a magic trick, but it takes less than 1 seconds to pull off! The waitstaff employ a heavy accent when presenting the menu, and when customers respond with a puzzled "yes?" they swiftly interpret it as an order (though it remains uncertain whether this is deliberate or not). Furthermore, once orders are placed, the waitstaff omit the customary practice of confirming the order or providing a final list. Settlement of the bill only occurs after the meal has concluded.

In addition, the taste experience falls significantly short, particularly when compared to the offerings of street-side cafes.

Nevertheless, one cannot deny the café's commendable interior decor.

On a side note:

I ventured into the realm of online reviews for this café and discovered a trove of comments echoing grievances about the service, spanning across epochs. The café's owner, unwavering in their commitment to customer satisfaction, responded to each complaint with expressions of remorse, solemnly pledging, 'We deeply apologize and vow to engage in profound discussions with our esteemed team to enhance our service, and so on and so forth…'

But let's not sugarcoat it: 'Dear unsuspecting tourists, we are the solitary café within the grand confines of this museum, and be assured, change is not a dish we serve! What options does that leave you with? Ahahahaha!'

Now, for some personal pearls of wisdom:

Kindly request that the waitstaff provide you with a validated order list to ensure your preferences haven't been whimsically interpreted. Before settling the bill, exercise caution to ensure that they haven't 'accidentally' added a tip (unless, of course, you're feeling exceedingly generous). In the event their accented English veers into the realm of incomprehensibility, remember, the blame does not rest with you. Politely request a...

Such a beautiful cafeteria with a wrong payment system and incompetent staff who insist on paying cash with a wrongly printed bill. We came to this beautiful cafeteria during our museum visit.

The cafeteria is truly beautiful and elegant, but the good impression I had about this cafeteria disappeared as soon as I tried to make the payment. Firstly, I asked 3 times for the bill, and the younger waiter said it would be handled by an older guy who was just busy at that time. The older guy came, he said we should pay cash as it is easier and it is according to what was written at the entrance (Due to a technical problem, card payments require a longer processing time, and a cash payment is preferred).

I said ok but I demanded a printed bill, which he was reluctant to give. When I insisted for a bill, he was unhappily handing out a bill and the bill was with a wrong amount. He said “there is a problem with the bill.” I frankly don’t know what their internal problem is, but I ended up getting 2 euros less for what I had ordered. He gave me the change of 2,60 euros instead of 4,60 euros. I would have happily left a tip if he didn’t insist on paying cash and if he gave me a corrected bill.

Something is definitely wrong here. They SHOULD NOT operate a business with this kind of unjustified payment system unless they solve this fundamental payment system. It is not difficult to correct their order systems (cashier) with the correct amount of each menu, and they can easily solve a credit card payment problem with their bank considering how many tourists are spending money in their cafe. I am sure their bank would be happy to help. I hope their staff are not abusing this system. I hope the owner will take this...

On Nov. 18, 2023: My answer to the KHM Café Management's answer farther below.

Thank you for writing back! If your kitchen closes at 4:30 pm and my experience at 5 pm was so unpleasant (please read below), kindly allow me to suggest the following:

Indicate your kitchen and not-seating/servicing times clearly on the website and at the entrance to the café, where hopeful people queue up even after 5 pm! I believe no one should be allowed in after 4 pm but people having entered before that time should get top notch service! This way, your impatient/rude staff can clean up/settle bills and get ready to leave or prepare for the next event as of 5 pm!

Tuesday, October 31, 5 pm: After visiting the superb Tapestry exhibition at the KHM, a lady friend and myself wished to have a warm drink and something to eat. We were lucky to be seated promptly but the male waiter was rude and very unhelpful. He announced that the kitchen was closed and if we wanted anything to eat, it would be leftover cakes only, so we could go check them out ourselves at the counter (fast!). I asked for a typical Viennese cake and he said he didn't know it ... Soon after serving us our hot chocolate, he pressured us to pay before we had finished and probably wanted us to leave soon (at around 17:30!). After him, a more pleasant waiter/waitress came, but for us, the afternoon café experience was ruined. The fresh crew was there for another event, so they were also happy to see us leave... Other patrons who were there at around 5 pm just like we were, left the café when they saw how all of us were being treated. This was one more very disappointing experience with "typically cranky" and rude ...