Café Hawelka is a coffeehouse in the Innere Stadt district of Vienna located at Dorotheergasse 6.
The Café Hawelka was opened by Leopold Hawelka in 1939. Hawelka had previously operated the Kaffee Alt Wien on Bäckerstraße since 1936 and together with his wife Josefine took over the Café Ludwig in the Dorotheergasse in May 1939. This spot was originally the location of the "Chatham Bar" opened in 1906. For two decades in recent past it was believed that the original venue was called "Je t'aime-Bar", this error resulting in the somewhat muted pronunciation of the original sources with the name making it to the books and articles about Hawelka. Research in Austrian newspapers of the early 20th century has helped to uncover this almost anecdotal mistake. After the outbreak of World War II, the Hawelka had to be closed, and in Fall 1945 it was reopened in the fortunately still largely intact building.
After the end of the period of occupation after 1955, the café quickly became a meeting point for writers and critics like Heimito von Doderer, Albert Paris Gütersloh, Hilde Spiel, Friedrich Torberg and Hans Weigel. After the closing of the Café Herrenhof in 1961, even more artists gathered here and it became a central meeting place in the art scene of the time. Regular guests included Friedrich Achleitner, H. C. Artmann, Konrad Bayer, Ernst Fuchs, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Rudolf Hausner, Wolfgang Hutter, Helmut Qualtinger, Gerhard Rühm, and Oskar Werner. In the sixties and seventies the café experienced its peak. The artistic atmosphere of the café also inspired Georg Danzer's 1976 song Jö, schau (...was macht ein Nackerter im Hawelka).
Josefine Hawelka died on March 22, 2005 after managing the café for sixty-six years with her husband. She had baked the place's specialty, its Buchteln desserts (which are still made by Günther Hawelka, son of Josefine and Leopold according to the old recipe). Leopold Hawelka can still be found sitting at its entrance, greeting guests.
Kleiner Schwarzer (also : Kleiner Mokka) : A small Espresso. Black, strong coffee made with a blend of Robusta and Arabica coffee varieties. It is prepared with at least 8 grams of freshly ground coffee with 40-60 ml weight-equivalent of water steam, extracting coffee into a cup for up to 60 seconds.
Kleiner Brauner : A small Espresso ("Kleiner Schwarzer") served in a small cup with small amount of hot milk and milk foam to make it lighter than "Kleiner Schwarzer" but still strong.
Melange : A small Espresso ("Kleiner Schwarzer") prepared with the double amount of water and mixed 1:1 with hot milk, served with milk foam. This is the coffee most similar to the Cappucino and probably the most popular among the Viennese varieties.
Einspaenner : A small Espresso ("Kleiner Schwarzer") served in a water glass, topped with plenty of whipped cream, it is served with powder sugar on the side.
Grosser Schwarzer (also : Grosser Mokka) : A large Espresso. Black, strong coffee made with a blend of Robusta and Arabica coffee varieties. It is prepared with at least 15 grams of freshly ground coffee with 80-100 ml weight-equivalent of water steam, extracting coffee into a cup for up to 60 seconds.
Grosser Brauner : A large Espresso ("Grosser Schwarzer") served in a large cup with small mount of hot milk and milk foam to make it lighter than "Grosser Schwarzer" but leaving it a strong coffee.
Maria Theresia Coffee : A Large Espresso served with Cointreau
Fiaker : An "Einspaenner" with a shot of rum.