Café Sacher

Franz Sacher invented the Sachertorte in 1832 as a sixteen-year-old apprentice baker; his son Eduard refined the recipe and opened Hotel Sacher behind the Staatsoper in 1876, where the original Sachertorte has been baked on the same premises ever since. The 1960s court settlement with Demel divided rights — Sacher kept the trademark Original Sacher-Torte, Demel kept the historical Demel-Sacher. The kaffeehaus inside the hotel operates on the formal register: red velvet banquettes, gilt-framed mirrors, the cake served traditionally with a quenelle of unsweetened whipped cream and a small espresso. The pastry case extends to other Viennese standards, but the room is built around the one cake.