The Hotel Sacher Vienna is a world-famous establishment which is renowned for its speciality: the “Original Sacher-Torte”. While it is relatively easy to have à-la-carte breakfast or sample Viennese delicacies at Café Sacher, the Sacher hotel’s breakfast buffet requires booking well in advance, unless you are a hotel guest. I am a patient man (when food is involved), so I had the pleasure to review it:
July 2022 update: The Buffet breakfast is available again! Book early unless you’re a hotel guest 😉 Prices and menu updated.
Breakfast Buffet at Hotel Sacher Vienna, Austria (five-star hotel)
Overall Mark: ★★★★★
Breakfast buffet price: 55€/person
Beverage refills: Yes (Incl’ coffee, tea, juices, sparkling wine…)
Food refills: Yes (including buffet & à-la-carte options)
Monday-Sunday: 7:00 am to 11:00 am
in the Marble Room, Salon Mayerling & The Grüne Room
The Setting ★★★★★
The Sacher is located in the heart of Vienna, in the Innere Stadt. The building faces the Vienna State Opera and is just one street away from the Opernring. It is arguably among Vienna’s best hotels in terms of location: it’s close to pretty much every major landmark, including the Hofburg Imperial Palace.
Hotel Sacher Vienna Lobby
The Sacher Vienna was founded by Eduard Sacher, whose father Franz became famous for being the inventor of the Sachertorte. Eduard Sacher’s widow, the eccentric Anna Sacher (who was never seen without her cigar and her French bulldogs) proved to be a gifted businesswoman. The hotel thrived under her leadership: the Sacher was Vienna’s most luxurious and most selective establishment.
These elitist policies eventually led to the hotel’s financial ruin. She kept granting generous credits to aristocrats while refusing service to guests of common descent, even though the aristocracy’s glory days had ended with World War 1. The hotel went bankrupt in the 1930s and was bought by the Gürtler family, who still owns the hotel today.
The Sacher served as the British army’s headquarters during the 10 year-long occupation of Vienna. The hotel hosted many prestigious guests, be it royalty (Emperor Franz Joseph, Queen Elizabeth II…), politicians (Kennedy) or artists.
The Sacher’s art nouveau façade is hard to miss and there is usually a long line of people queuing for a spot at Café Sacher, which is open all-day-long should you wish to visit outside breakfast hours.
The Sacher interior is grandiose, with predominantly red interiors illuminated by some impressive chandeliers.
Art-lovers will feel right at home, there are many gorgeous paintings, photographies and even an art-gallery featuring 19th-century works.
The Breakfast Rooms ★★★★★
Breakfast is served in three rooms, each with a distinctive style:
- The Marble Room
- The Salon Mayerling
- The Grüne Bar
I had the pleasure to enjoy my breakfast in the Marble Room and I loved everything about it: the beautiful flowers, the superb chandeliers and the intimate atmosphere.
You may not have a say in where you’ll be seated but it doesn’t really matter as each room is gorgeous in its own way, even though the Green Room may be a bit less convenient as you’re a bit farther from the buffet.
The Beverage Selection ★★★★★
The detailed drink selection is available below. Oddly enough, the 2022 menu no longer features the tea selection so I’m also adding a 2020 picture for clarity:
The Hot Drinks (Tea, Coffee & Chocolate)
The Sacher breakfast is very generous beverages-wise, both for hot and cold drinks. There are many teas and coffees to choose from, as well as the delicious Sacher Hot Chocolate topped with cream.
For tea lovers, I recommend the “Sacher Original Mixture”, a blend of Earl Grey and Jasmine blossoms from Demmers (which was Anna Sacher’s favourite); and the “Darjeeling Castleton”, an aromatic black tea from Althaus.
12 teas & infusions from Althaus and Demmers; loose-leaf tea
10 choices of coffee (espresso, cappuccino, latte, americano)
2022 pictures:
The Cold Drinks (Juices, Smoothies & Sparkling Wine)
That may be my favourite part of the Sacher breakfast: the juice stand or “Sacher Fruit Manufactury” is heaven on earth for fans of freshly squeezed juices. The Sacher staff will also happily serve you any juice cocktail you have in mind using the ingredients on display, leaving you with dozens of possibilities.
Unfortunately as of 2022, the smoothies are no longer available and have been replaced with Ice tea and Lemonade.
8 juices (orange, melon, watermelon, grapefruit, pear, tomato, multivitamin…)
Ice tea & Lemonade
Sacher cuvée sparkling wine
Click here to see the 2018-20 pictures:
The Sacher Vienna Breakfast Buffet & A-la-carte Food Selection
The Hotel Sacher breakfast offers a lot more food than you’ll be able to sample, with a wide variety of choices cooked on request as well as gigantic buffet.
A-la-carte Breakfast ★★★★★
Guests can order food straight from the kitchen: eggs benedict, scrambled eggs (with various sides), porridge, pancakes…
February 2020 update; Pictures of the various dishes available at breakfast (I was in the mood for sweets that day ^^):
Breakfast Buffet ★★★★★
There are several counters to choose from, with enough choice to feed you for an entire day.
The Savouries
I was very pleased with the savouries: the verrines (first picture below) and the cheese counter (third picture below) were the stars of the show.
The Cakes & Sweets
Kids (and big kids) will love the “Petit Sacher” trolley: cereals, nuts, orange juice and the most gorgeous biscuits you’ve ever seen at breakfast.
Lactose intolerant people will not feel left out: there are many sorts of milk on offer, including soy milk.
The Sacher breakfast buffet is a sweet tooth’s dream come true. This will be a great opportunity to sample a few slices of the famous “Original Sacher-Torte” (a chocolate cake with layers of apricot jam and a thick chocolate-coating) along with a few other Hotel Sacher exclusives.
I especially loved the pastries, though I’ll admit that the Frenchman in me is very partial to some croissants with jam, marmalade and honey.
The cakes: Original Sacher-Torte, Ring cake, Fudge & Liqueur cake, Apfel Strudel, Ginger Brioche and Cherry crumble cake.
The pastries: Croissants, Sweet-cheese pastry, Strawberry & Pistachio roll, Apple pastry and Raisin & Almonds pastry.
February 2020 update; Pictures of the various cakes & sweets available at breakfast, including a closeup of the famed “Original Sacher-Torte”; I personally prefer the “Original Sacher Fudge cake with egg-liqueur” ♥ or the “Original Sacher Spring ring cake” ♥.
February 2020 update; Below is a video of the Sacher breakfast offer, starting with the Juice bar, onward to the Petit Sacher (kids section) and the Sacher Breakfast Buffet:
Service ★★★★★
The staff is professional, efficient and very friendly. You’ll never be short on anything, whether it’s food or beverages. I also appreciated how we never felt rushed, even though we stayed past the official breakfast closing time.
A very special thank you to Barbara for sharing so many great anecdotes about Hotel Sacher’s history, including the story behind the Sacher blend and the Sacher Torte. I encourage you to ask about it, the staff will be very happy to tell you about it, all in great English.
Below are some pictures of the Sacher Vienna’s breakfast menu:
Conclusion & Overall Mark ★★★★★
The Hotel Sacher Vienna’s breakfast buffet is amazing from start to finish, as long as you can wake up early and plan even earlier. I especially recommend the Sacher for its magnificent setting and its generous selection of cakes & sweets.
Whether you can afford to book a few months in advance or whether you can afford to stay at the Sacher Vienna, you’ll have a great breakfast buffet to look forward to. It’s really a pity they don’t serve brunch! If you need an alternative, the Sans Souci serves my favourite brunch buffet in Vienna 🙂
June 2022 update: The Buffet breakfast is available again! Book early unless you’re a hotel guest 😉
+: Amazing location
+: Fantastic setting
+: All-you-can-drink tea, coffee, fruit juices & co
+: Brunch buffet with plenty of fresh food
+: Solid choice of à-la-carte dishes
+: Kid-friendly
+: Exceptional value for money
+: Excellent service
-: Requires booking ahead (unless you’re a hotel guest)
-: Mornings only, even on weekends
Phone: +43 1 514560
E-Mail: wien@sacher.com
Address: Philharmoniker Str. 4, 1010 Wien, Austria
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