September 23, 2016

The modern cosy coffeehouse with a French flair

A neighbourhood coffeehouse in Vienna’s 19th district has been taken over by French flair, and has transformed into a cornerstone slash cosy brasserie.

Daniel Moser’s Cottage cafe has always been known for its homey-ness, but the French flavour brought to it’s menu is recent. Karin Payer is responsible for the freshening up of this coffeehouse beloved amongst the 19th district-ers.

The coffee roasters, Daniel Moser, wanted a place of their own out where the birds sing and the city is green so they opened up this sister cafe to their city center address a while back. They did a top notch job of it, creating a cafe with a beautiful Schanigarten, and a cosy and big indoor space that carries modern elements of the Viennese coffeehouse charm. But Karin went one further with the place.

She wanted to create a space that's like an extended living room, a space for everyone to come and go as they please.

Karin herself took over the place in June this year, giving the whole place a French twist.

With a passion for Paris, Karin brings in dishes such as quiche, baguette sandwiches, tartes, and a brasserie-style menu. Not to mention the French music playing in the background.

She also introduced the newly opened corner stone at Cottage, which sells a variety of French and Austrian artisan food products, such as sardines, jams, wines and freshly-made bread from the Waldviertel bakers at Brotocnik bakery.

Karin aims to bring the ‘savoir vivre’ of Paris to her restaurant. She also pays homage to their love for good food with her strict policy that all produce used in the cafe is sourced from small regional farmers, right down to the wine and the honey. And, of course, the coffee, which is the signature Daniel Moser coffee, is simply magnificent.

People come here for many reasons: to enjoy a long meal, spend hours feasting on the breakfast (served all day), create art, sign real estate deals, watch films on their computer, have drinks in the evening – so pretty much anything you would do in your own living room. Well, anything kosher (and with clothes on) you would do in your living room.

Alongside the signature dishes, lots of the stuff on the menu is seasonally-inspired. In addition to the Schnitzel burgers and Viennese breakfast classics, every day there is a different lunch menu and monthly the menu changes with the seasons. During summer, you can enjoy the likes of a shrimp and watermelon salad, while in winter the soups are da’ bomb.

The large selection of teas (we recommend the apple cinnamon) and the murmur of chitter chatter calls for a relaxed atmosphere.

This is the future of Viennese coffeehouses, as it holds onto the traditional touches, like the daily selection of newspapers hanging about, and the classic pastries and tarts, homemade by the pastry chefs.