My first contact with Demel was in 1994 while living in Tokyo. The local Demel, or K.u.K Hofzuckerbäcker Ch. Demel’s Söhne GmbH for the pedantic, was as Viennese as Wien and apart from selling the Demal confectionary range flown in from Vienna, had three tables to serve coffee and cake in house. On weekends, people would queue for hours for a place at these tables, but as the shop was a mere five-minute walk from my apartment, I was able to grab an empty table on the odd occasion. A love affair was born – both with Demel and Sachertore, its most celebrated product.

Although the courts have settled in Hotel Sacher’s favor who may call their Sachertorte "the Original" and who not, the matter of which tastes best is not that easily resovled. There was nothing to do than compare the two bakers on their respective premises. On a first visit to Demel’s, we sat at an outdoor table in Kohlmarkt with views of the Hofburg. The requested Wiener Melange and Sachertorte were served without delay.

In the taste test, my votes go to Demel, although I would never refuse a helping from Sacher either. The coffee (€3.80) was strong but very smooth and the Sachertorte simply divine. At €3.70, the cake at Demel is €0.80 less than at Sacher but I think it might have been slightly smaller too. (Mental note: be more scientific – next time pack the kitchen scale and measuring tape!)

Two days later, we lunched at Demel. Although there are several rooms spread over two floors, a vacant table was rather hard to find and we had to settle for a small one next to the flight of stairs. As this was adjacent to the main way into the restaurant from both the street and kitchen, enough activity allowed our children freedom of both expression and movement.

Demel has a reputation for quality, not for low prices. The small lunch menu did not disappoint in either score. My wife ordered a spinach cream soup (€4.80), which also pleased the one-year old and I had a Quiche Lorraine (€8.90) served with grilled vegetables and a fresh, green salad. For the toddler, we ordered Kaiserschmarrn (€7.80), a dish that resembles a broken up pancake. It was first served at the wedding of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph and Sisi, which explains the Kaiser (emperor) in the name. It often has raisins and is served with powdered sugar and fruit compote. I am more familiar with applesauce as accompaniment but on this occasion, it came with a fantastic prune compote. As an added bonus, the raisins were soaked in some alcohol allowing the parents to consume most of it while the toddler had to be fobbed off with the baby’s teething biscuits and promises of enormous ice creams to come.