Vienna Plaza serves big, creamy coffees (there are 18 to choose from), which go well with brick-sized slabs of gateaux and a long conversation. Unfortunately, the savoury food isn’t so great.
The Vienna sandwich consists of old salmon, wilted lettuce and brie that smells like something you’d use to clean the kitchen floor. The creamy mushroom toast is better, but the bread is too thin for the quantity of sauce and takes on the texture of a soggy sponge. But the mushrooms are fresh and chunky and the sauce is decadently delicious. If the chef added a bit more bread into the equation, this may be the perfect comfort food.
Thankfully, the ambience remains pleasant: big windows look out onto an oasis of greenery and, because the café is beyond the reception of the hotel it resides in, you don’t feel like you’re sitting in the lobby. There is a lovely purple velvet lounge, which is an interesting people-watching spot.
The staff are also friendly – to make up for the miserable meals the waiters are apologetic and may offer you a free cake – but we recommend you just stick to a slice of the sweet stuff and a cup of coffee in the first place.
