We found ourselves in Mozartplatz, one of the loveliest squares in Salzburg, when the baby demanded his late-morning meal. Café-Restaurant Glockenspiel was at hand, and as the rest of the becks’ family never needs an excuse to wander into café, we were just too happy to adhere to his wishes.
Café-Restaurant Glockenspiel is apparently one of the most popular cafés in Salzburg. Its location is splendid, with seating on two levels, and in summer, a large veranda with additional seating on the lovely square. As the name suggests, it offers a great location to listen to Salzburg’s famous carillon (Glockenspiel). It consists of 35 bells and has been in operation since the early 18th century. The tunes played are altered every month. We were not there at 7am, 11am, or, indeed, 6pm, so we could concentrate on the coffee and people-watching.
We sat indoors at street level, where the café is split into two rooms. Ours was completely empty except for our foursome. The upstairs rooms were cordoned off, and although there were tables outside, cool, misty weather ensured that these went unused on this particular morning. The main color was red, with upholstered benches following the flow of the wall and Thonet chairs available at the small round or square marble-top tables. While I had to concentrate on feeding the baby, toddler becks got a head start with the chocolate cake and maintained a steady pace to build up an unassailable lead. My judgment of very good for the cake is based on two small bites, which, in a lesser establishment, might have been a single mouthful, but the cappuccino was excellent. My wife was not totally impressed with her cake, but obviously it was not bad enough to leave any for me to try.
While searching the Internet to find the full address of Café-Restaurant Glockenspiel, I was surprised to read that it is being renovated, as I saw little wrong with its interior. However, my mouth started to water when reading that the establishment has been taken over by Demel – one of the classiest confectionaries in Vienna. Demel had been in a long-standing battle, which it eventually lost, with Sacher over the right to call their chocolate cakes the Original Sacher-Torte. (The local Hotel Sacher on the right bank of the Salzach River sells Sacher-Torte in beautiful wooden boxes, and yes, it does taste good.) I know Demel from Tokyo, where the company has a Vienner than Vienna little shop on Omotesando Dori, a 5-minute walk from the apartment I lived in for 4 years, which turned me into an unashamed fan of Sacher-Torte and very strong coffee with Schlagobers. At the time of writing, it was still unclear whether Demel was going to turn the establishment in to a café-restaurant or a coffee shop. Two things are certain: the quality of the cakes will go up, and so will the prices.
Demel in Salzburg? Enough reason to return…