Named for the Austrian dramatist and actor, Ferdinand Raimund (1790-1836; his statue stands in the square opposite the café), the Café Raimund is another of those delightful old coffee shops that are a specialty of Vienna. It is one of the classic cafés of the city, and was at one time, especially around the late 1940’s, extremely popular with the writers, dramatists and intellectuals of Vienna. Today, the quiet, old-fashioned atmosphere of Café Raimund is not a venue for hectic debates and serious theorising, but it remains the perfect place for a relaxing cup of coffee.We had walked down to Café Raimund after a satisfying (and very early) dinner at Phönixhof. We were headed for the Volkstheater U-bahn station on our way back to our hotel, when the inviting sight of this café diverted us. We made our way into the café, a cosy place with lace curtains, tables topped with white marble, and large windows on the sills of which sat large urns filled with faded artificial flowers. Very old-fashioned, perhaps even slightly down-at-heel, but with a comfortable feel to it. An old lady behind the counter indicated an empty table near the corner, and a smiling girl who spoke just about adequate English came over to give us the menus and help us place our orders.
This was the first Viennese café we visited, so we were unfamiliar with menu items that we later came to know and love. Apart from the espresso, mocha and cappuccino, none of the coffees listed made sense; and the only pastries we’d heard of before were the apfelstrudel and the sachertorte. With a little help from the cheerful young waitress, however, we managed to place our orders. Both Tarun and I ordered a mélange (strong coffee with milk) each. We also ordered two desserts that we’d share: apfelstrudel and powidltascherl. The apfelstrudel was something I’d wanted to have ever since I’d set foot in Austria; our waitress recommended the powidltascherl.
The coffee was good, the apfelstrudel deliciously fruity and low on sugar. But it was the powidltascherl (I’m still not too sure how it’s pronounced!) that literally took the cake. We got six crescent-shaped pieces of this little-known dessert, arranged neatly on a plate. Made of potato-flour dough, the powidltascherl was stuffed with plum jam, and dusted over with a mixture of sugar and breadcrumbs fried in butter. It was the most amazing blend of sweet and tart, soft and crunchy. Utterly sinful, and utterly irresistible!
All of it- coffees and desserts, plus a tip- cost us €13.50. Not too expensive. This is definitely a place I’d like to go back to- it was wonderfully homely, the desserts were fantastic, and the experience was good value for money.