Zum Schwarzen Kameel

A delicatessen, stand-up bar and restaurant on Bognergasse, just off the Graben, whose history reaches back to the early seventeenth century.

The business traces its origins to 1618, when a merchant named Cameel opened a spice and grocery shop here, and the name — the Black Camel — is a play on his. Over the centuries it became a purveyor of fine foods and wine to Vienna's upper classes, and later a restaurant. Its dining room, panelled in dark wood with Art Nouveau details from the early twentieth century, is one of the best-preserved of its kind in the Old Town.

The Viennese love it most for something simple: the open sandwiches. At the front counter you order Brötchen — small slices of bread topped with ham, egg, fish or spreads — and eat them standing at the bar with a glass of Austrian wine, or a Spritzer, alongside lawyers, shoppers and the Old Town's regulars. The ham, cut from the bone and served with fresh horseradish, is the signature. In the restaurant behind, the cooking is classic Viennese, done carefully, with a serious wine list.

Honest note: at lunchtime and early evening the bar is shoulder to shoulder, and there are no reservations for standing. It is not cheap, but a couple of Brötchen and a glass make one of the best short stops in the centre. Come at mid-morning or mid-afternoon for space; book ahead for the restaurant. Neighbourhood: the Innere Stadt; costs: Vienna prices.