The first place a visitor normally looks for in any city is a good caf, where you can catch the spirit of the city while lingering over a cup. We look at the ten best in the world and five in South Africa
Sarah Turner
1 Vienna – Braunerhof, Backerstrasse 9: A trip to Demels, Vienna’s most famous patisserie, will shorten the odds of developing diabetes with its selection of designer cakes: this is a temple to good value stodge tucked away near the Hofburg. All good Viennese cafes come with newspapers on sticks, but the Braunerhof scores by including British papers – an oddly international gesture from a caf that still believes in marking the onset of winter by putting nice thick curtains at the windows.
People: Sober, sensible Viennese citizens catching up on the day’s news.
Must have: The apple strudel.
2 Prague – Slavia, Smetanova nab Aeze 2: It seems appropriate that Europe’s most bourgeois revolution (democracy and avant-garde theatre for all!) was plotted 10 years ago from behind the quivering palms of the Slavia – a bar and coffee house in the grand caf tradition, rooted in the Twenties. Prague Castle is framed to perfection by the large picture windows and trams purr outside. After a patch of foreign ownership, the Slavia is back in Czech hands with a simple but sweet menu of food and drink.
People: Actors from the National Theatre opposite. Little old ladies and their dogs still make up a hearteningly large proportion of the clientele.
Must have: Pivo (beer).
3 San Francisco – Caffe Trieste, 601 Vallejo at Grant: Unfriendly staff (mostly related) but the big shiny espresso machines, marble countertops and a jukebox blasting out opera classics are ample compensation. The Fifties interiors are pretty much unchanged since Jack Kerouac and the Beat Poets hung out here – and the nicotine-stained walls still remind California’s beleaguered smokers of the days when they could start their mornings bathed in a fug of cigarette fumes.
People: Elderly Italian emigres, professional San Franciscans.
Must have: The artery-hardening morning fry-ups.
4 Venice – Florians, Piazza San Marco 56: The oldest coffee house in the world if we believe the publicity – and certainly the most famous. Florians was founded in 1720 and has been adept at hauling in the rich and famous ever since. Enter from St Mark’s Square, perch at a marble table and gaze at the murals while steeling yourself to pay the exorbitant price of a simple coffee. A bellini (prosecco and peach juice) may numb the pain.
People: Tourists. You’ll blend in nicely.
Must have: The Florentines.
5Lisbon – A Brasileira, Rua Garrett 120, Barrio Alto: A Brasileira is an old-style coffee house in the student/nightlife area. By day, a grandly baroque coffee and chat shop, livening up by night with cheerful and stylish imbibers. Big gilt-framed mirrors, glorious period bar and snacky food suitable for a night on the town.
People: Discreetly gay in the evenings.
Must have: Portuguese custard tart (pasteis de nata).
6 Kathmandu – Brezel Bakerie, Thamel Northwest: A caf worth scaling Everest for – although any form of coffee is nectar for travellers who reach Nepal after tea-stained India. Located in prime backpacker territory, the Brezel is Germanic in origin but has quality croissants, decent coffee, fruit juices made from purified water – and a huge roof terrace overlooking the rickshawed mayhem below. Highly conducive for whiling away the hours.
People: The lazier type of trekker.
Must have: The rye bread.
7 Amsterdam – De Rokerij, Langeledse Dwars Straat 41: One of Amsterdam’s more discreet dope cafs. Moroccan-inspired with tiled flooring, wooden stools, and low-level lighting. There’s a bar on the left while a trip to the right-hand side finds a little booth dispensing strong, medium and low impact ready-rolled spliffs. Most of the city’s hash caffs hark back to flower-power days but De Rokerij has soft-drug class.
People: Amsterdam sophisticates.
Must have: Need you ask?
8 Rome – El Forno de Ghetto, Via Portico d’Otaria 1: Closed on Saturdays, small, difficult to find and initially unprepossessing – but this caf in the city’s Jewish quarter has Romans prepared to make repeated pilgrimages to it. Run by three women (who don’t rush to welcome new customers), it is, probably for all these reasons, one of the Eternal City’s best places to hang out in.
People: Roman matrons.
Must have: Damson and ricotta tarts.
9 Berlin – Caf Silberstein, Orienienburger Strasse 27: Formerly the Jewish quarter of Berlin, the Mitte is now rightfully reasserting itself as the centre of German culture 10 years after the fall of the wall. Always busy, always happening, with music, art and tall sculptural chairs that could have been designed by Giacometti; a very modern caf.
People: Those for whom performance art is a way of life.
Must have: Sushi.
10 St Petersburg – Caf Idiot, 82 Naberezhnaya Reki Moika: A pleasing combination of cappuccinos, vodka and stroganoff, in a beautiful canalside setting. Arty posters, comfy chairs and mismatched furniture. With only a small sign, not easy to find. Perhaps a little overthemed on the Dostoevsky front but a noble attempt at a chill-out caf (including a small library of English language books) in a country where few have the luxury of leisure.
People: Western expats.
Must have: Blinis