Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker

Gerstner K. u. K. Hofzuckerbäcker im Palais Todesco

An imperial confectioner's café with the Opera out the window

Hours

Shop daily 08:00–22:00; café-bar Mon–Sat 11:30–22:00, Sun 08:00–22:00; restaurant Mon–Sat 08:00–20:00, Sun 15:00–20:00 (Vienna Tourist Board)

Budget

Check prices at the shop

Address

Kärntner Straße 51, 1st district (Palais Todesco, across from the Opera)

Anton Gerstner opened his confectionery in 1847 and was made purveyor to the imperial court in 1873. Today it fills three floors of Palais Todesco, a 19th-century mansion opposite the Opera: a cake and chocolate shop at street level, a café-bar with velvet sofas one floor up, and a café-restaurant above that. From the café-bar windows you look straight down at the Opera's facade, hence its nickname, the 'Opera-view café'. The Sisi Torte, named after Empress Elisabeth, is the signature.