Josef hides in plain sight on Sterngasse, behind a Baroque facade and a low-lit door. Inside, the bar builds drinks from Styrian ingredients and finishes them with the espumas that made its name on Vienna's cocktail circuit.
Published November 17, 2025 · By Daniel Okafor
Josef Cocktailbar sits at Sterngasse 1 in the heart of the old town, opened in March 2017 by the award-winning bartenders Andrea Horzer and Philipp M. Ernst. The World's 50 Best Bars Discovery list and Falstaff both log it as a fixture of the Vienna scene, a Baroque room with a deliberate speakeasy mood. It is a serious cocktail bar that wears its craft quietly.
Who would love it: the drinker who wants a considered cocktail in a calm, design-led room. Who would skip it: anyone after a loud night or a big round, since this is a bar for sipping and conversation.
The room
The space leans Baroque and dim, with quilted leather-backed chairs, low lighting and an old-school feel that keeps the volume down. The mood is intimate rather than scene-y, set for couples and small groups who came to taste rather than be seen. Seating favours pairs and fours, so it works as a date room or a quiet start to the night. The bar itself is the focal point, where the team works the espumas in view.
What to order
The signatures lead with Styrian ingredients and the airy espumas that regulars flag first, so ask which is current. The Crazy Lebowski, built on vodka, house coffee liqueur, caramel stout and a buttermilk white-chocolate liqueur, is the talking-point pour. Expect central-Vienna cocktail pricing in the upper-middle range, fair for drinks at this level of detail. The menu rotates often enough that a return visit rarely repeats the same list, which rewards regulars who let the team push them somewhere new. Put yourself in the bartender's hands if the menu reads unfamiliar.
The crowd and best time to go
The crowd mixes cocktail enthusiasts, dates, and old-town locals after a refined nightcap. Early evening is the calm window for a seat at the bar; later nights and weekends fill the small room. Josef runs evenings into the night, so it suits a first stop or a slow finish rather than a marathon. Midweek is the move for the quietest version of the room.
The detail worth knowing
The pedigree behind the bar is the reason the drinks land. Andrea Horzer and Philipp M. Ernst opened Josef in March 2017 with a track record on Vienna's bartending circuit, and the espuma technique they are known for, the airy foam that tops several signatures, is the house calling card rather than a passing trend. The World's 50 Best Bars Discovery listing and Falstaff both keep it in the conversation among the city's serious rooms, which is high company for a bar this quiet. The Styrian-ingredient focus ties the list back to Austrian produce, so even the playful pours like the Crazy Lebowski rest on a local spine.
Who it is for
This is for the cocktail lover, the date-night pair, and anyone working through Vienna cocktail bars who wants craft over noise. Skip it for a rowdy group night. For the wider city, see the full Vienna bar guide and our best cocktail bars in Vienna ranking.
The verdict
Josef wins on craft and calm, a Baroque cocktail room where the espumas and the Styrian builds reward a slow sip. Come early, take a leather chair, and order whatever the bartender is proud of. For more polished Vienna cocktails, compare the classic Roberto American Bar and the apothecary-styled Dino's Apothecary.
