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Anna Sacher would have been interesting to take along on a girls’ night out, even though she probably would’ve lit up a cigar at some point (she probably would’ve brought along one or two of her dogs also). Frau Sacher died in 1930, but the business she managed for many years is still going strong — and it’s perfectly located for classical music lovers, shopaholics, and spa enthusiasts. Plus, they’ve always got chocolate cake.
The Hotel Sacher sits at Philharmonikerstraße 4 in Vienna, across from the Opera in the city’s first district. Though it’s a five-star hotel, it’s most famous for its specialty dessert, invented by Anna Sacher’s father-in-law: Sachertorte. Maybe that’s why there are so many places to eat and drink in the hotel — two restaurants, two cafés, and a bar. They let you enjoy the ambience of the Sacher without paying about $600 a night to stay there.
The dinner-only restaurant is named, fittingly, Anna Sacher. You can choose from “inventive” or “classic” cooking. Dishes include goulash with sour cream dumplings and marinated boiled beef; they can be ordered a la carte or in meals of four, five, or six courses (€ 64 to € 86 for food alone, € 102 to € 142 with wine pairings). Anna Sacher is open Tuesday to Sunday from 6 pm to midnight.
The Restaurant Rote Bar, with its conservatory facing the Opera, may be a better spot to watch passers-by if you enjoy that. It’s open every day from noon to midnight. As at Anna Sacher, the menu includes house specialties like boiled beef and goose liver tart, at more or less the same prices.
This may be a good place to say that Sachertorte isn’t to everyone’s taste, even though it’s full of chocolate (with a touch of apricot). They’re still using the recipe from 1832, and some reviewers find it dry. Never mind, there are plenty of other desserts, like mocha parfait with raspberries and whiskey foam.
Café Sacher specializes in “Viennese coffee-house atmosphere”, with sandwiches, hot drinks, and of course that cake. Open every day from 10:00 AM to midnight, it can take some waiting to get into.
The Sacher Eck (corner), with a more modern look than the other places, is mainly for drinks, snacks, desserts, and watching the people on Kaerntnerstraße, a pedestrian shopping precinct.
The hotel also has a spa, mainly for guests but open to others, so you might think about a relaxing treatment before heading to dinner. There’s a unique line of body care products with a name that fits right in with the Sacher reputation: Time to Chocolate.
With so much to choose from, there’ll be something to make all the “girls” happy at Anna Sacher’s place.
Editor’s Note: If you don’t want to stay at the Hotel Sacher, there are many other choices that are great for a girls’ trip. Check out our top options here.
