Demel

Gold everywhere, mirrors, neo-baroque rooms grand enough to overawe on the way in. The tables are tiny, the window displays at the entrance built like theatre scenes. The waitresses address customers in the third person, the old German polite form, and that alone says where this is.

Demel is at Kohlmarkt 14, a stone's throw from the Hofburg, and was founded in 1786. It moved here in 1888, into the building where it still stands today. For generations it was the court confectioner, supplier to the Habsburgs, and it still carries the K.u.K. Hofzuckerbäcker sign. The queue outside, almost an hour at peak times, is as much a part of the experience as the pastries.