Café Diglas in the Schottenstift Coffee house tradition in the idyllic inner courtyard

Café Diglas in the Schottenstift is a little hidden: it is located in the inner courtyard of the almost 1000-year-old Benedictine monastery, and signs are prohibited on the listed façade. The café impresses with one of Vienna's most beautiful guest gardens - and a successful mix of tradition and modernity.

The Diglas family has been shaping Vienna's coffee house landscape for almost 150 years. A visit to the centrally located main house in Wollzeile - unmistakable with its pink façade - is a fixed item on the agenda for many visitors and a daily ritual for the numerous, long-standing regulars.

The traditional business is now being run by the 6th generation. The family runs five restaurants in the city, and since 2016 also one in the Schottenstift, the imposing Benedictine monastery in the heart of Vienna. Café Diglas in the Schottenstift undoubtedly has one of the most beautiful gardens in the city.

All stress and city noise is forgotten as soon as you enter the spacious inner courtyard of the monastery. Instead: Peace, cool air and sprawling trees several storeys high. Classic coffee house dishes are served. It starts with a Viennese breakfast with handmade pastries, croissants and egg dishes and ends with a relaxed glass of wine in the evening, accompanied by small snacks.

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At lunchtime, Café Diglas in the Schottenstift serves a menu that changes daily - popular classics and modern creations. Cakes and pastries come from the in-house bakery on Fleischmarkt, such as the legendary, cloud-like currant mousse.

As beautiful as the guest garden is, Café Diglas in the Schottenstift also cuts a fine figure on cold and rainy days. The interior, with its vaulted ceilings, is also extremely inviting. The time-honoured interior with its red seating corners, marble tables and thonet armchairs has been given a subtle make-over.

The famous coffee house elements, such as the extensive range of newspapers and the occasional pianist, are, of course, also available here.

Verena Carola Mayer

Author Vienna and Berlin