The first Austrian cat café

Magnificent summer weather, great sales and a happening city!

This week I could no longer keep myself from strolling through our beautiful capital city and joining the scores the tourists.

I settled on a shopping tour through the heart of Vienna and couldn’t get around without starting straight off with a tasty refreshment. So I stopped by the ice cream parlor at Schwedenplatz and treated myself to a lovely sundae! If you’d like to learn more about the history of this ice cream, my colleague Cornelia Jarosch wrote an interesting article on it called Ice Cream – then and now. 

Invigorated and cooled off, I walked on and discovered that many stores are already enticing customers with great discounts and countless offers. The Kärtner Strasse was full as always and after a good two hours, I also had my fill. In search of a calm, cozy little spot to rest, I decided on a side street and landed in the Blumenstockgasse.

My curiosity was piqued by a corner building that made quite a modern impression. I peeked inside and discovered… cats! This was it: the first cat café in Vienna, the Café Neko (neko = Japanese for cats). Last year, owner Takako Ishimitsu brought to Vienna something that has long been part of the gastronomy scene in Japan: a special sort of relaxation trend.

The “Neko” offers a small menu with food and drink (listed in both German and Japanese), all of it peppered with cute cat photos and information.

I enjoyed my coffee and the company of “Thomas,” which was obviously very sprightly and playful and enjoyed being petted. The other cats (Sonia, Moritz, Luca and Momo) took advantage of the many opportunities to retreat, such as the climbing area or the basket for relaxing.

The café is open to visitors daily from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM and is definitely a must for cat lovers. For more information on the playful four-legged creatures, visit here.

A little tip: Photos are allowed, but no flash!