When I visited: October 2016

Location: Vienna

Rating in the Michelin Guide: Not rated in the Guide

Dining Owl Hoot rating: 3/5

What to wear: Could go casual

Ambience: Smart cafe

Course of the meal: Haustorte

If I could change one thing: Closer toilets

Review:

On our quest to sample gorgeous Viennese cakes, my partner Owl and I headed to Gerstner, which looked like a Viennese version of the wonderful Ladurée cafe in Paris (it even uses similar colours in its branding and serves mini macarons).

We had a hard time choosing from the wonderful array of cakes on offer but went for the Gerstnertorte (pictured) with many layers and a genoise sponge) and the Haustorte (with almonds and a soft chocolate filling). Happily, my Haustorte won the battle with its flavours and texture. Neither cake was too sweet to enjoy with our green teas although both were arguably a little big. The only drawback was the location of the toilets, which were what felt like miles away in a mansion next door to the cafe.

Go for Gerstner if you want some good-quality Viennese cake in a smart, pretty setting.