Contactless enjoyment

That art and music can also take place virtually in times like these is demonstrated by Vienna's virtual art offerings and music streamings, for the second time already this year. But the closed restaurant trade confronts us with really different challenges, where even the delivery service can't help out: Where on earth do I get my Viennese melange? Or the popular Sachertorte for the virtual cake party? Or the urgently needed Viennese Gemischter Satz from your favorite vintner? Coffee from the windowsill, cake drive-thru, and 24-hour vending machines make it all possible.

Coffee from the counter

The Fenster-Café, or window café, was the welcome alternative to the conventional coffee shop in Vienna long before coronavirus. It is a (really) minor sensation because there is only space inside for the barista. The guests collect their coffee straight from the window – payment is by card only – and then simply continue on their way. Apart from traditional kinds of coffee, the cornettoccino is very popular. And it hardly gets any more sustainable because this coffee cup is a waffle ice cream cone covered with chocolate – 100% edible. Even more about the Fenster-Café

Sacher - safely, for sure!

Thanks to the Sacher drive-in, the yearning for the popular Sachertorte is finally at an end: one of the most legendary cakes in the city can be picked up contactlessly right in front of the Hotel Sacher, daily from 8.00 am – 7.00 pm. Click here for the sweetest drive-in in the city

Fully automatically …

... is probably not how the thought of wine and bread comes to mind when standing in front of a vending machine. But what has worked with chewing gum for decades should work just fine with these products, too.

Wine – 24/7 – is available from the new wine vending machine in front of the large entrance gate to the urban vineyard on the Cobenzl. When vineyard and wine tavern are closed, there's still an adequate supply to be had here. Nicely chilled Viennese Gemischter Satz, sparkling wine, grape juice, and honey can be purchased here at the press of a button. This year's wine, "the Junger Wiener", can also be sampled. Contactless payment is possible, of course, but not mandatory.

Just as unusual, but no less useful: a bread vending machine for a bread-based snack, 365 nights a year. In this case, it wasn't necessity that drove this invention but simply the love of bread. Every evening after the stores close, the bread vending machines on Schottenfeldgasse and Kaiserstraße are filled with unsold bakery items. So passers-by can still get their evening meal between 8.00 pm and 6.00 am.

If you prefer beer instead of wine with your bread, then head to Siebensterngasse 19 in the 7th district. There, in the entrance area of the Siebensternbräu beer hall, is a vending machine selling dark, pale, Prague, or even chili beer.