Josef Cocktailbar — Restaurant in Vienna

My sister and I stumbled in here on a rainy Saturday night after a terrible experience at one of the "established" local bars. One look at the menu and we knew we had found something special. We both had several drinks and all of them were perfect. I began with the daiquiri. It was well balanced, and made with a dark rum. Can't ask for more there. The bar had then opened up and we moved to the front row, a highly suggested move.

At the bar I ordered La Cantina, a very nice tequila drink that is put in a glass container and smoke is added. I highly recommend this one. Next up was a pisco sour, a Chilean/Peruvian cocktail (depending on who you ask), it was one of the best I've had.

After carrying on with Philip and Andreas they introduce us to a drink they call Coco Chanel, and yes, it smells like the perfume and tastes even better. Highly recommended, as it should be on their summer cocktail menu. To send us off with a warm heart to battle the torrential rain they made us a drink that honestly I didn't think I would like. It was made with a garlic tasting flower. Yes, I know that sounds disgusting. It had a very complex flavor and turned out to be very nice. Lesson learned.

If you have the opportunity to put your trust in these guys, do it. They will take you on a journey you won't soon forget. They both could easily have come from Employees only or Dead Rabbit in New York. Vienna,...

Bad drinks across the board. I tried Marianne’s Martini — poorly made, too wet, with an overpowering amount of vermouth. It came off as amateurish and unbalanced. The “Carat” cocktail was worse — cloyingly sweet to the point of being undrinkable. It was genuinely disgusting. I also sampled a peanut butter Old Fashioned, which sounded interesting but tasted terrible — a muddled, unappealing mess.

To their credit, the waitstaff were polite and friendly, and the service itself was professional. However, the pacing was incredibly slow. We waited far too long for drinks to arrive, which only made the disappointment more frustrating.

The outdoor area was overwhelmed with cigarette smoke. Nearly everyone around us was smoking, making it hard to breathe or enjoy the space. It was genuinely unpleasant.

The menu tries hard to impress but comes off as pretentious — cluttered with ads and design fluff that doesn’t translate to quality. It gives the illusion of something high-end but fails to deliver on execution.

In short, don’t come here. It’s overpriced ($21 per drink), underwhelming, and frustrating from start to finish. Not worth the money...

This is the only bar in the world that has matched all my criteria for the perfect place for a pleasant evening.

I enjoyed great music, as if it was my own playlist—songs by Lana Del Rey, Cigarettes After Sex, Kali Uchis, and LP.

I received a personal recommendation for a cocktail that matched my preferences 100%. Not to mention that the entire menu was filled with unique drinks and designed like a fashion magazine.

The atmosphere in the bar was both classy and welcoming. The service was filled with care and attention. The music was at the perfect volume—loud enough to enjoy but still allowing for easy conversation with friends.

A courteous bartender made sure I always had a glass of water. And while speaking to me, he bent down on one knee to stay at my eye level as I sat on the cozy couch.

All these tiny details combined made my evening unforgettable. The staff showed great devotion to their job. This is what a bar should be...