Why go
House roasts and guest beans on the same shelf
Coffee comes first here and breakfast is attached to it, which is the right way round for a room calling itself a lab. The range is hand-picked rather than exclusive: roasters brought into Vienna from elsewhere sit next to the group’s own roasts, so what is in the grinder changes with what has been bought. Retail bags follow the same logic, from the house New Stumpergasse Mix #2 in 250 gram and one kilogram formats to New Colombia, La Riviera, a nitro washed lot and the TGCS X NOWHERE collaboration. Years of roasting, brewing and tasting sit behind the selection, and the shelf is the clearest evidence of it.
The Alsergrund room in a small Vienna group
This is the Alsergrund branch rather than the whole company. The Good Coffee Society opened its first café in 2021, started by two people who had worked in cafés around the world, and has since grown into a handful of district rooms, with others in Leopoldstadt and Mariahilf. The Lab carries Alsergrund.
The mood is deliberately easy rather than formal: order at the counter, sit with the cup, and expect service that treats regulars as regulars. It fills up, so the earlier part of the day is the more comfortable one, and the room is better suited to brewed coffee and breakfast than to a long, late sitting.
What to order, and what to eat with it
Taste whatever is current before defaulting to the usual. The house New Stumpergasse Mix #2 is the baseline, and a named origin lot such as Colombia La Riviera is the order when you want the range rather than the house style. Espresso-led drinks and brewed coffee both make sense, depending on how much of the origin you want to read in the cup.
Breakfast is the food anchor, with a sweet side of cakes, pastries and desserts, vegan options among them, so a pastry pause works as well as a full plate. For anyone not drinking coffee, the shop sells kit for making café-standard coffee and tea at home, though there is no separate tea or matcha menu on the counter to speak of.
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Frequently asked questions
What coffee does the Lab pour?
A hand-picked range that mixes the group’s own roasts with beans brought in from other roasters, so the grinder changes with what has been bought. The house New Stumpergasse Mix #2 is the baseline, sold in 250 gram and one kilogram bags, alongside named lots such as Colombia La Riviera.
Is there anything to eat?
Breakfast is the main food, and it is built around the coffee rather than the other way round. The sweet side runs to cakes, pastries and desserts with vegan options among them, which makes an afternoon pause as workable as a morning plate.
Compare nearby places
| Venue | Type | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Caffè a Casa | Café | Innere Stadt |
| Coffee and Beard | Café | Alsergrund |
| CoffeePirates | Café | Alsergrund |
| Coffee Pirates | Café | Alservorstadt |
| People on Caffeine | Café | Josefstadt |
