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A good cup of coffee – whether a small or large "Brauner" with a dash of cream, a mocca, a cappuccino or a "Verlängerter" (diluted espresso) – will round off the pleasures of the palate! Coffee-house culture was introduced in Salzburg in 1703, only a few years after the Turks had left their coffee beans behind after being defeated at the Siege of Vienna in 1683!
All the year round, both locals and visitors are happy to spend a cosy hour in a café, to engage in interesting conversation over coffee and cake, or simply just to relax and soak up the atmosphere. The continuous coming and going of prominent figures has long since been a feature of Salzburg’s old traditional coffee houses. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart drank white coffee in the "Tomaselli", the oldest coffee house in Austria. As the writer, Friedrich Torberg, once proclaimed; "If all the coffee houses were to close their doors it would be the end of the world."
A historical atmosphere
The atmosphere in the coffee house in the Goldgasse, founded in 1703, is positively steeped in history. Since 1760 it has tempted passers by on the Alter Markt to come in and tarry awhile; numbered amongst famous guests are not only the Mozart family, who stayed in the Tomaselli in the 1820’s, but also Michael Haydn, Carl Maria von Weber, Hugo von Hoffmansthal and the founder of the Salzburg Festival, Max Reinhardt. At the end of the 2nd World War the American occupying power was quartered in the Tomaselli, converting the time-honoured coffee house into a “doughnut snack bar”. Since 1950 it has been firmly back in Austrian hands. The actors’ cafe
Whereas the Café Tomaselli was always preferred by musicians, the Café Bazar, by dint of its proximity to the theatres (Landestheater, Kammerspielen, Marionettentheater), has always been a meeting place for actors. A list of notable guests includes King Edward VIII., Marlene Dietrich and Louis Armstrong. For the last 90 years the coffee house, situated on the right bank of the Salzach, a stone’s throw from the Staatsbrücke, has enjoyed tremendous popularity, and especially during the festival season one can often spot the odd celebrity on the shaded terrace.
The original Mozartkugel
More than a hundred years ago, in 1890, the Salzburg pastry chef, Paul Fürst, created the "Salzburg Mozartkugel" at his premises in the Brodgasse, not far from the Tomaselli. At the Paris World exhibition in 1905 he was awarded a gold medal for this chocolate and marzipan creation. As far as first class confectionary is concerned, the cake shop in the Brodgasse, founded in 1884, is one of the top addresses in Salzburg. Josef Fingerlos equally understands the art of patisserie and although his café, opened three years ago, can, in no way, compete with the long standing tradition of the Viennese coffee houses, the sight of his world class creations are a sweet and tempting provocation to any gourmet.
Every cosmopolitan city has its Sacher
For many years now the original gateau (Sacher Torte) has been available at the Café Sacher directly adjacent to the Café Bazar. The café used to be called the Café Österreichischer Hof, affectionately shorterned to "ÖH" by regular customers, but a short while ago both the hotel and coffee house adopted the world famous name of Sacher and with it a new splendour. The cuisine on offer is made up of everything that has made the name Sacher famous; Eduard Sacher’s soured boiled rump of beef (Tafelspitz), original Sacher sausages – and, last but not least, the genuine Sacher gateau.
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