Vienna is a city of contradictions — imperial grandeur shadowed by punk squats, an afternoon waltz slipping into a dawn techno rave. You come here expecting Strauss and Sachertorte and leave haunted by the city’s hidden bars, the secret whisper of gin behind a velvet curtain, the low-lit hum of a second glass of Grüner Veltliner that turns into a third and fourth.
If you want to know Vienna, you don’t just walk its ring roads or visit its palaces. You taste it, one glass at a time, in the subterranean labyrinths and rooftop eyries where the city reveals its sly humor, its soft rebellion, its sweet and smoky soul.
From moody American speakeasies to rooftop oases and cinematic cafés turned cocktail havens, these are the best bars in Vienna — the ones you’ll remember long after the last night tram rattles home.
If Dogs Run Free
If Dogs Run Free isn’t just a bar — it’s a poem by Charles Bukowski disguised as a high-design cocktail den. The concrete walls look like they’re still setting, the ceiling is a tangle of glass threads like a captured storm. Here, bartenders conjure up drinks as layered and unexpected as Vienna itself: violet gin fizzes, whiskey highballs that taste like late summer rain. A favorite of the art-school set and off-duty architects, it’s the kind of place where you’ll discuss Hegel at midnight and leave with a sketch on a napkin.
Miranda Bar
Miranda Bar feels like stepping into a Wes Anderson daydream. Coral walls, potted palms, and shimmering lights wrap you in the sense that you’re somewhere slightly unreal. The drinks are bright, playful, and executed with clinical precision — whether it’s a yuzu-spiked sour or a fig-accented old fashioned. You’ll find a mix of local artists, wandering tourists, and folks who came in for one drink three hours ago and are now deep into a life story confessional with the bartender.
Loos American Bar
When you walk into Loos American Bar, you step inside a jewel box — and an architectural legend. Designed by Adolf Loos in 1908, it feels impossibly modern even today, all marble, mirrors, and onyx glow. It’s tiny — a mere blink of a space — but the drinks are big on classic Americana: Manhattans, martinis, and old fashioneds that feel both timeless and immediate. Vienna’s old soul pulses here under a low ceiling, best accompanied by a neat rye and a conspiratorial whisper.
Krypt.
Entering Krypt. feels like being initiated into a secret society. Hidden behind an unassuming door and a stairwell plunge into darkness, it’s one of Vienna’s best-kept secrets. Inside, a cavernous chamber of raw brick and candlelight unfolds like a fever dream. The menu leans heavily into experimental infusions and barrel-aged twists, with each cocktail feeling like an alchemical discovery. Krypt is for those who want to feel time slip away, to sip and imagine themselves in a subterranean Viennese novel.
Kleinod
Kleinod is where Vienna’s fashionable set sips martinis under lush chandeliers. The name means “jewel,” and that’s exactly what it feels like — glimmering, playful, precise. Their drinks focus on refined classics executed so perfectly they feel like new inventions. The kind of bar where you overhear creative deals being whispered and where a Negroni is as sharp and cold as a January night on the Donaukanal.
Top Kino
Not every great Viennese bar hides in a dark cellar. Top Kino is part art-house cinema, part cultural salon, part bar. A drifting community of cinephiles and bohemians gathers here before and after screenings. Drinks are simple — a crisp beer, a spritz, a cheap but shockingly good glass of red — but what you’re really here for is the buzz of conversation, the glow of cigarette smoke drifting outside into the cold, and the spontaneous sense that you’re part of something larger.
Blaue Bar
Blaue Bar at Hotel Sacher feels like a dream sequence from a film noir: plush blue velvet, deep couches, and low lighting that smooths out all the sharp edges of your day. The drinks skew toward classic elegance — Champagne cocktails, French 75s, smooth old fashioneds — and each is crafted with the kind of old-world hospitality you’d expect from one of Vienna’s most storied hotels. If you want to slip away into a night of whispers and violins, start here.
Das Loft Bar & Lounge
High above the city, Das Loft at the SO/ Vienna hotel offers a full-scale visual symphony. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls let Vienna sprawl out beneath you, a sea of golden streetlights and imperial silhouettes. The cocktails are equally show-stopping: bright, layered, and cosmopolitan, with an international flourish that feels appropriate given the skyline. You come for the view, but you stay for the tangy, pomegranate-accented gin creations that slip down far too easily.
Onyx Bar
If a diamond could dream, it might imagine Onyx Bar. Tucked inside the DO & CO Hotel Stephansplatz, Onyx offers commanding views of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Inside, reflective surfaces catch and scatter the candlelight, making each guest feel like a star in a private galaxy. The drinks are sleek and modern, often infused with exotic botanicals and seasonal accents — the kind of cocktails that make you want to take a slow, deliberate sip and just watch Vienna move beneath you.
D-Bar at the Ritz Carlton
D-Bar is the Ritz Carlton’s elegant cocktail den, balancing international polish with local warmth. The bartenders here are wizards of the shaker, conjuring everything from the purest martini to wildly inventive seasonal specials using local herbs and syrups. The atmosphere is upscale but never cold, the kind of place where business meetings blend into flirtatious late-night rendezvous under the flicker of candlelight. Every sip feels like an invitation into Vienna’s quieter, more contemplative side.
Tür 7
Tür 7 is Vienna’s answer to the speakeasy. There’s no sign outside — you need a reservation, and a buzz at the door to get in. Once inside, it’s as though you’ve entered a friend’s lavish living room: plush seating, warm lighting, and no menu. Instead, bartenders engage you in a quiet conversation about your tastes, your mood, your whims — and then they create. It’s pure, intimate, and deeply Viennese in its emphasis on experience over spectacle.
Le Bar
Le Bar at Hotel Sans Souci is all about understated luxury. Mirrored walls, Art Deco flourishes, and a hushed glamour that feels like the backdrop to a black-and-white romance film. The cocktail list skews classic, with a strong emphasis on champagne concoctions and precise martinis. This is a bar for long conversations, soft confessions, and that rare sense of being exactly where you should be, at exactly the right hour.
Cafe Europa
Cafe Europa embodies the all-day, all-night Viennese spirit. By day, it’s a quiet café for lingering with a melange and the newspaper; by night, it transforms into a buzzy meeting point for creatives and night owls. The drinks are straightforward, the music always good, and the vibe just the right balance of scruffy and cool. You might not remember every drink here, but you’ll remember the way you felt — and the stories you left with.
MQ Libelle
MuseumsQuartier’s Libelle is a rooftop bar that feels like a hidden terrace above the city’s cultural heart. By day, it’s a bright hangout for museum-goers; by night, it morphs into a sophisticated perch with skyline views that look like they were painted for a Klimt backdrop. Expect easygoing cocktails with Austrian twists — think elderflower spritzes and local vermouth — all best enjoyed as the sun sinks behind Vienna’s spires.
Motto am Fluss
Motto am Fluss feels like a secret dockside affair. Located on the Danube Canal, this spot offers one of Vienna’s most magnetic terraces. The drinks are clean, bright, and distinctly seasonal — perfect for sipping as boats glide past and the city slowly exhales. Inside, the design is crisp and maritime, a reminder that Vienna, though landlocked, has always been a port in spirit. A Negroni at sunset here is practically a local rite.
Der Dachboden
Der Dachboden sits atop the 25hours Hotel like a bohemian treehouse. Part bar, part open-air living room, it’s a favorite among Vienna’s young creatives and visiting musicians. The vibe is laid-back and a touch irreverent, with mismatched furniture and an all-seasons rooftop that invites you to stay long past the first drink. Cocktails are unfussy but deeply satisfying, each one a quiet celebration of Vienna’s love for lounging.
Cafe Habakuk
Cafe Habakuk feels like a mid-century letter to the city’s intellectual past. A neighborhood café by day, it transforms at night into an intimate hideaway for those in the know. The drinks are thoughtful and approachable, with a subtle creativity that sneaks up on you. It’s the kind of place where a single glass of wine turns into four, where books get scribbled in the margins, and where you might fall a little in love with the stranger at the next table.
Cafe Kafka
Cafe Kafka embodies the quiet melancholy that Vienna does better than anywhere else. A favorite of students and late-night philosophers, it’s both divey and romantic, with an existential edge. Drinks are straightforward, with good beer, no-fuss wine, and a few house cocktails that taste better at 2 a.m. This is the place for thinking deeply about art, the meaning of life, or that missed connection from two summers ago.
Zimmerservice Café Bar
Zimmerservice is a living room masquerading as a bar, or maybe the other way around. A cozy nook in the 8th district, it serves as an unpretentious gathering space for artists, writers, and those allergic to pretense. Cocktails are earnest and easygoing, the kind of drinks that disappear before you realize it. There’s a sense of soft familiarity here — as if you’ve always belonged, even on your first visit.
Rinkhy Little Plates
Rinkhy Little Plates might be more about the food than the cocktails, but the bar program holds its own in Vienna’s crowded scene. Focused on small plates inspired by global flavors, it’s a place where a perfectly balanced sour sits next to a delicate ceviche or charred eggplant salad. The drinks echo the food — bright, fresh, and quietly daring. You might start with a spritz and end up sharing a bottle of natural wine with new friends.
Vienna: A City to Drink In
Vienna is a city that rewards the slow, the curious, the wanderer who turns down the wrong alley and finds a candlelit bar humming with secrets. Each of these bars offers more than just a drink — they offer a window into Vienna’s complex soul, an invitation to step out of your own story and into a shared moment.
So, go. Order something unfamiliar. Sit with strangers. Let the city’s old ghosts lean in close. You’ll leave with more than a hangover — you’ll leave with Vienna in your veins.
Prost.
