Conditorei Sluka — Restaurant in Vienna

The back part backing onto Weihburggasse has gorgeous, restored interiors. There are no windows so you cannot look out and people-watch but the curtain-themed lead light glass ceiling panels on the high ceilings give the space a very cosy feel. The wooden dividers of the booth seating are very high and offer wonderful privacy screening from the other diners adjacent. Very picturesque and social-media friendly.

This is an old style but not an old cafe as the Sluka only opened the Kartner Strasse branch in 2017. The paint still looks very crisp and newly laid. So don’t expect similar histories of esteemed and infamous clientele as you would in Cafe Central or those others.

The waiters are all male — a Viennese tradition — and experienced. They are professionals and conduct themselves with the same air of haughtiness that we have come to expect — though not necessarily like — in these types of establishment in this part of Europe. They do not like folks asking for tap water (even though the tap water in Vienna is renowned) but if you ask nicely they will give you a small glass. The tap water traditionally served to go with the coffee is small so if you get dehydrated quickly, this isn’t the place to quiver about paying extra for bottled water.

Unlike the other old-style cafes, we did not find a newspaper rack displaying a selection of newspapers of record from around the world, only a smattering of free brochures and a couple of local German-language newspapers. So it’s not that kind of place, but it is the kind of place you might have a coffee date with your favourite person or two, or a business casual lunch. .

Tip: try the cakes because it is a Konditorei but we cannot recommend them because cake taste is so personal. We do recommend trying the daily special from the changing weekly M-F menu. Like most cafes in Vienna, they have a seasonal drinks special, which at present is still set to summer. The coffee is decent, and lactose -free and plant-based milk are available. The ambience is efficient but much less rushed than the other older or old-style cafe. Mobility-friendly except if you need the toilets which are three flights of stairs underground. Tipping...

Little to no service, I had to go take my own soda from the counter because the serving of food and drinks were just left to a few staff and the other staff behind the counter will ignore customers and just do their own thing. They left my soda there for a good 5 minutes and if I'd waited it'd probably lose its carbonation by then. Sachertorte was dry and expensive, and they charge 1.10 euro for whipped cream that tasted like nothing and I wasn't even warned they were charging me for it, they just asked if I wanted it and conveniently didn't mention the fee. When I asked for the bill this guy behind the counter just looked irritated and curtly said my colleague will get the bill for you and made no action to call his colleague, I had to call for the bill again when his colleague passed by. Not sure if it's the tourist region or if the staff just has super low morale and no sense of hospitality but the impression that I get is that no one is really happy working there and they don't really know the proper process of how to treat customers. I don't know how this cafe gets good reviews (I only went because someone said a local recommended it) but either they treat locals differently or the review is fake because this was the worst place I've been to so far in terms of food, price and service. As someone whose expectations of service isn't high (as it's not common in my country due to the very pragmatic nature of eateries), I can tell you this was 10 times worse, they literally either make you feel ignored or look at you like...

Husband and I decided to get some drinks and pastries here, after it was recommended by our walking tour guide. Unfortunately, we had a very bad experience and don't recommend that tourists visit this place.

We had a male server approach us to take our order. When I pointed to the cake showcase, asking for the chocolate cake, he mentioned something in German and left our table. He simply ignored us and didn't want to take our order. He spent 10 minutes serving other tables and we had to wave our hands constantly to get his attention.

When he finally came back to our table, he took our order of 1 coffee, 1 hot chocolate, 1 chocolate cake and 1 apple strudel. He came back a few minutes later with 2 chocolate cakes. We explained that we only ordered 1 cake and he was annoyed when taking back the other cake slice. I also realised that our apple strudel didn't come with cream or custard, like the other reviews.

When we finished and wanted to pay by card, the waiter mentioned that service charge is not included in the bill and indirectly forced us into giving him a tip. It was unexpected because we didn't experience this before. He forced us to give him a $2 tip and then threw the receipt on our dirty plates. It was a very bad experience and definitely don't recommend...