Paolo Bortolotti — Restaurant in Vienna

unbelievable experience on a saturday morning: after consumation locked in the basement toilet of this branch for half an hour. whenever i had a possibility to use my phone (bad network in the cellar), i tried to call the branch on the phone as well as another one in the same street. no one answered the phone. no one heard me hitting against the door, nobody heard me scream for help. so i had to call my kids to come and free me. they arrived, alerted the waitress, who finally came and told me in a very rude tone through the door not to touch anything. at a stage when i already had given up and was just waiting to get out, there was no need to address me like that. a guy finally was able to open the door. getting out i asked why they didn't answer the phone. the waitress replied (again very loud and impolite) "was glauben sie? wir haben offen und können nicht ans telefon gehen!" no excuses at all. no ice-cream for my kids. no nothing. just a tiny early morning panic attack at an italian ice-cream...

The ice cream is fine. We’ve got some “to go”, but since the wind was rising, as it often does in Vienna, we thought we could take a seat outside. Important to note: there were about 7-8 empty tables. No waiting line, no rush. Rather quiet actually. The moment we sat down at a table for two with the ice cream we just bought - a waiter approached us, asking if we’d like some coffee or something. We politely declined, and he told us to leave, since the tables are strictly for people dining in not the customers who took ice cream to go. Again - there were plenty of empty tables there. We didn’t want to make a fuss and left, but since the ice cream was dripping (+23 in Vienna that day) we had to stop and just awkwardly eat nearby as it was impossible to walk and eat at the same time with chocolate running down your hands. This is ridiculous and completely unjustifiable to kick your own customers out the dining area for ordering...

We came to this wonderful Caffé yesterday for the first time as we were tired. The service was wonderful, the coffee food and all reasonably priced. We had Sacher Torte which was not to my liking but I wouldn’t be the biggest fan of this type of cake anyway.

We returned today after the great experience yesterday to rest our legs again. I had the Apple Strudel and Melange which was delightful. My wife had an Aperol Spritz and light bites deal for €8.90 which is incredible value. The service again once again was just amazing. We met a waiter named Rene who was so friendly and accommodating. It’s rare to find someone who so clearly loves their job. The great experience we’ve had 2 days in a row guarantees we will return again tomorrow.

If you need a rest in the middle of the day then this wonderful little shop is definitely the...