Restaurants in Salzburg

Two special desserts you'll want to sample while in Salzburg are the famous Salzburger Nockerln, a light mixture of stiff egg whites, and Mozart-Kugeln, with bittersweet chocolate, hazelnut nougat, and marzipan. You should also try a beer in one of the numerous Salzburg breweries.

If you want to picnic, the city has a number of delis where you can stock up on supplies. The best place to eat your picnic goodies is Mirabell Gardens, on the right bank.

While Salzburg is not a late-night dining town in the way that New York and some European cities are, many restaurants stay open late, often to accommodate concert- or theatergoers. But "late" in this sense rarely means beyond 11pm.

Cafes

Café Bazar, Schwarzstrasse 3 (tel. 0662/874278; www.cafe-bazar.at; bus: 1 or 5), is deeply entrenched in Salzburg's social life and has been since 1906. Its regular clientele comes from all walks of life. Housed in a palatial pink-stucco building with many baroque features, it's located across the river from the main section of the Old Town. The interior is high-ceilinged and vaguely Art Deco. You'll still occasionally see someone with a Franz Josef mustache wearing a gray flannel Styrian suit with loden trim, but a growing number of the patrons are young and stylish. You can order salads, sandwiches, and omelets. It's open Monday to Saturday 7:30am to 11pm, Sunday 9 to 6pm.

At the Café-Konditorei Fürst, Brodgasse 13, at the corner of Getreidegasse (tel. 0662/843759), Mozart-Kugeln (traditional marzipan-pistachio chocolate-dipped cookies) are sold. The owner invented this sweet in 1890 but forgot to patent the recipe. The treat is often duplicated, but here you can sample it from the authentic and original recipe. Norbert Fürst, a descendant of the original founder, still makes these fine chocolates with a recipe handed down to him by his great-grandfather. In addition to the Mozart-Kugeln, there's a wide range of other chocolates and truffle specialties, including such Austrian favorites as the Sachertorte, the Dobosch torte, and the inevitable apfelstrudel. Open Monday to Saturday 8am to 9pm, Sunday 9am to 9pm.

Established in 1705, Café Tomaselli, Alter Markt 9 (tel. 0662/844488; www.tomaselli.at; bus: 2 or 5), opens onto one of the most charming cobblestone squares of the Altstadt. Aside from the chairs placed outdoors during summer, you'll find a room with a high ceiling and many tables (it's a great place to sit and talk), and another more formal room to the right of the entrance that houses oil portraits of well-known 19th-century Salzburgers and attracts a haute bourgeois crowd. Choose from 40 different kinds of cakes or other menu items, including omelets, wursts, ice cream, and a wide range of drinks. Of course, the pastries and ice cream are all homemade. The cafe is open Monday to Saturday 7am to 9pm; Sunday 8am to 9pm.

A melody by Mozart, who was born next door, might accompany your before-dinner drink at Hagenauerstuben, Universitätsplatz 14 (tel. 0662/842657; tram: 2, 49, or 95). Many visitors never get beyond the street-level bar, where snacks (such as salads and goulash) and drinks are served in a 14th-century room with stone floors and a vaulted ceiling, highlighted by a changing exhibition of modern lithographs and watercolors. At the top of a narrow flight of stone steps, you'll discover an austere trio of thick-walled rooms decorated with a ceramic stove and wooden armoires. A central serving table holds an array of salads and hors d'oeuvres. The cafe is open daily 9am to 1am.

The small Konditorei Ratzka, Imbergstrasse 45 (tel. 0662/640024; bus: 2 or 5), 10 minutes from the center of town, is owned by its pastry chef, Herwig Ratzka. A master at his craft, he uses the freshest ingredients to produce about 30 different pastries. Because the cakes are made fresh every day, much of the selection is gone by late afternoon, so go early. It's open Tuesday through Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 6pm. Closed 2 weeks in January, June, and September. Mr. Ratzka requests that patrons don't smoke in the shop.

Almost every item sold at the old-time Austrian confectionery Schatz-Konditorei, Getreidegasse 3 (tel. 0662/842792; bus: 2 or 5), is made from traditional recipes. Our favorite treat is the well-known Mozart-Kugeln, a cookie of pistachio, marzipan, and hazelnut nougat, all dipped in chocolate. You can enjoy the pastries and coffees at a table inside the cafe or take them away. Some varieties of pastry, including the Mozart-Kugeln, can be shipped around the world. It's open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 6:30pm and Saturday 8am to 5pm, with extended hours during the summer Salzburg Festival.