Coffee house culture

Hardly any country has as pronounced a tradition when it comes to coffee culture and sweet dishes as Austria. A tradition that is also maintained in many places in Bregenz.

Chocolate pro & enjoyment guarantor
For 50 years, Theatercafé Troy at the Kornmarkt has continuously enchanted epicureans with new ideas and creations. Rainer Troy, who took over the tradition-steeped business from his parents, is the city’s only chocolatier and creates chocolates by himself with more than 30 different tastes, from almond and orange to rosemary, lavender and macadamia. Also a hit at the Theatercafé is the organic chocolate, which is produced in cooperation with local farmers. “Organic” is important to Rainer Troy – and has become a fixed component of production: all the products of the confectionery are produced with spelt flour instead of wheat flour. For Troy, this “original wheat”, which is also used out of consideration for allergy sufferers, is the “nature boy” among the ears – one has to have seen the quantity of different cakes and tarts that the Theatercafé conjures up using this product. It is similar with the various pralines and breakfast variations as well as the pictures on the wall – the café, which has already received numerous gourmet awards, was and always is an exhibition space. And always worth a visit… Since it is often well visited, a reservation is recommended at the weekend.

Classic café
The second “star” among the Bregenz coffee houses is Café Götze in Kaiserstraße. “Gault Millau” wrote about the small café in the heart of the city: a land of plenty for those with a sweet tooth – this café-confectionery in the pedestrian area is considered an obligatory sweet “feast station”. No wonder, as the selection is considerable: banana cream tart, cream cuts, pear chocolate tart, Bregenz tart with marzipan, Punschkrapferl, passion fruit-peach tartlet, raspberry fruit tart, cheese cream tart, wild cherry tart, poppyseed Danish pastry, apple strudel as well as the homemade truffles (including the champagne truffles aka “original Bregenz festival truffles”) and pralines.

New faces
The fine tradition of Austrian coffee and confectionery art is continued by numerous coffee houses, but also clubs (in which, in Bregenz, mainly original Italian espresso is served) and ice cream parlours. New openings include the Stadtcafé Pfanner at Sparkassenplatz, which indulges with sweet delights during the day and turns into a trendy hangout in the evening, as well as Café PerDu in Vorkloster, in which likewise exclusively homemade cakes and tarts as well as all types of vegetarian delicacies are served…

Regional specialities
Those who would like to try out the numerous Austrian specialities have many opportunities to do so in Bregenz. On a visit to the Festival, “buehnedrei”, located in the Festival House, sweetens the waiting time until the performance with “Viennese apple strudel” and coffee specialities such as a “Fiaker” (coffee with milk and whipped cream). On a cosy stroll through the city, the cafés in the centre of Bregenz, such as the small “Kaffeemacher” (Bahnhofstraße), “Café Leutbühl” or “Deuringstraße 11” offer typical Austrian fare.

Esspressi é gelati
Since the south begins in Bregenz, friends of the typically Mediterranean cafés and ice cream parlours also get their full money’s worth here. Walter Corona, a Sardinian and a coffee lover, offers 16 different Italian varieties at his café “Corona” – including specialities such as “espresso crema shakerato” and “cappugiro”. “Il Gelato Paradiso”, “Iso la Bella”, “Pinocchio” and “Kolibri” are also of Romance influence, offering both the best of the black beans and a substantial ice cream menu with unusual varieties. “Cafe Braike” in the Vorkloster district and the “Eispavillion am See” are also recommended for ice cream lovers, the latter of which can also hold its own with any Mediterranean café when it comes to good views thanks to its incomparable location. Outstanding coffee is also available in Kornmarktstraße, for example at “Cuenstler” and “KUB-Café”, both of which are also known as artist hangouts. And those who cannot go a single day without the unique smell of roasted beans, fine baking and daily newspapers hot of the press can simply treat themselves to their daily “cherry on the cake” at the tucked-away “Cafesito” in Maurachgasse – seven times a week…