The Pelican Coffee Company

A Brazil espresso and three origin filters

Coffee is where The Pelican Coffee Company puts its weight. The house espresso is a Brazil, reading milk chocolate, raisin and hazelnut, which is why it holds up so well under milk. The filter list is where the range shows: a Colombia of orange, black tea, kiwi and grape; a Costa Rica of rose, black tea and wild raspberry; and an El Salvador of strawberry, cherry, tea and toffee.

The beans are direct trade specialty lots from Süssmund plus guest roasters, and they are sold to take home as well as brewed at the bar. The drinks list stays classic around them: espresso, cortado, cappuccino, café latte or flat white, and filter coffee, with tea, chocolate, cakes and brewing gear filling out the shelves.

Pastries, brunch and a room with space in it

Food is made in house rather than bought in, and it stretches further than a pastry case. Selfmade pastries sit alongside breakfast, brunch and small dishes, with croissants among the named bakes. Saturday brunch is the fixed point in the week, and it is the reason to treat the food as a plan rather than an accompaniment.

The room is unusually spacious for a Vienna specialty coffee café, in a city where most coffee bars are compact. There is seating indoors and out, and the format is loose: drink it there, take it away, stay for an hour, or come back at the weekend. The shop sits in the 9th district near Alser Straße and the Altes AKH university campus, which shapes the crowd into a mix of neighbourhood regulars, students and people who came specifically for the coffee.

Start with a filter, then add a pastry

For a first order, the filter menu is the clearest window into the place: Colombia for the orange and kiwi end, Costa Rica for the floral and raspberry side, El Salvador for strawberry, cherry and toffee. If you would rather have milk, the Brazil espresso profile of milk chocolate, raisin and hazelnut is what a cappuccino, café latte or flat white is built on. Espresso and cortado keep the order close to the bar.

Pair it with pastry rather than treating food as an afterthought, since the selfmade baking is part of the identity and a croissant is the simplest way in. For a longer visit, the breakfast, brunch and small-dish side is what people stay for, particularly on Saturdays. The appeal is the combination: Süssmund and guest-roaster coffee, origin-specific filters, beans to take home, and a room with enough space to sit in.