Continuing with my coffee shop hunt in Vienna, I decided to visit the last of the top 3 coffee shops in Vienna (a recent Austrian magazine listed the Roast, Mocca Club and Alt Wien), the Roast on 21 Augasse, opposite the University in the 19th District.
Being in a prime location, I expected the place to be empty on a Saturday afternoon, which it was. In any case, I was impressed by the authenticity of the place. It’s got chairs and tables outside with an extensive list of items on offer. As you enter the shop, you have to climb some stairs, where you are greeted with a comforting interior, complete with brown interior and wooden furniture. To the left as you enter, they have what seemed like a Bagel Bar, where during the week and meal times, you can get fresh filled bagel sandwiches. However, as you enter the shop, the name “the Roast” lives up to its name, as you are greeted with an enormous commercial coffee roasting machine, often used to roast green beans. On the left of this awesome machine, naturally, they have freshly roasted coffee beans to buy and take away. The beans are primarily from Ethiopia and Kenya and they have some blends suitable for different types of coffee drinks; graded according to strength. I bought the 80:20 – ideal for espresso.
Of course, I had to try their coffee making skills and I ordered an espresso macchiato, extracted from their manual hand lever commercial grade espresso machine. A good shot ! I’ll try and go back sometime God willing during their busy period to get a real feel for the place.
From Coffee With Love 