The Best Street Food in Vienna You Must Try

You don’t really know Vienna until you try its street food that is far more affordable and often even tastes better than fancy dishes from sit-down restaurants.

^{Last updated: December 29, 2023}

The Best Street Food in Vienna for Every Budget

Food is one of the integral parts of a culture. No wonder, many traditions, rituals, and celebrations, involve traditional delicacies. As there are a few places that don’t have distinguishing cuisines, Vienna, Austria, is definitely not one of them.

Quite the opposite, you can travel to Vienna just to relish authentic and international food that has become an essential part of Austrian cuisine. Yet while dining in a traditional restaurant or café can cost a small fortune, street food in Vienna is perfect for all budgets. From hearty wraps to various snacks, Vienna’s street food offers a taste of traditional dishes while saving your buck.

THE BEST AFFORDABLE STREET FOOD IN VIENNA

Traditional Street Food in Vienna for Budget Travelers

Viennese Sausage (Wiener Würstel)

Vienna’s street food evolves around sausages. They are not just favorite meat products of the majority of locals and tourists.

The Viennese sausages established themselves as an essential part of the culture and have become one of the most popular street food choices for budget travelers visiting Vienna. Needless to say, with a wide variety of sausages, ranging from Käsekrainer, bratwurst, frankfurter, currywurst and bosna, you have no problems finding your favorites meat dish while strolling the streets of the capital of Austria.

Schnitzelsemmel

Schnitzelsemmel is by far the most popular street food in Vienna not only for budget travelers, but locals as well. This traditional sandwich is nothing but a white, crusty round bread roll with signature meat called schnitzel. You can also ask to add some lettuce, onion, and tomatoes on top. And voila, one of the most popular traditional street foods in Vienna is ready to be devoured.

Leberkäse Semmel

Leberkäse Semmel is another hearty street food you must try when in Vienna. The dish is very simple. Similar to Schnitzelsemmel, it’s a combination of meat, bread roll or semmel, and some sauce or mustard.

But the meat or Leberkäse is what makes the difference. It usually consists of corned beef, pork, and bacon, finely ground and baked as a loaf in a bread pan.

Bratkartoffeln

Bratkartoffeln, or simply roasted potatoes wedges, is a popular street snack in Vienna. It’s suits palates of first-time and frequent visitors that make an almost mandatory stop by a food stand to grab a serving or two of this flavorful and very affordable dish.

International Street Food in Vienna

Falafel Wraps and Sandwiches

Turkish food stands bring cheap and delicious food to the streets of Vienna that will suffice even budget travelers. These falafel wraps and sandwiches topped with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and sauce of your choice are in high demand any time of the year. Moreover, they come as a great street food choice for vegan and vegetarian budget travelers.

Kebab

On the other hand, chicken kebabs from the same Turkish street food stands in the center of Vienna attract meat-eating budget travelers. This hearty food is very satisfying and can sustain you for hours while you explore the capital of Austria.

Asian Street Food

Vienna’s alleys are not alien to the smell of Asian street food that please even picky travelers. The options are pretty wide. You can choose from rice with vegetables to wok egg noodles, sweet or sour chicken, and different kinds of sushi rolls.

Pizza Slices

Street food stands in Vienna accommodate even those travelers that can’t live without pizza. You can easily stumble upon food booths that sell pizza slices almost everywhere in the city.

Street Food in Vienna: Snacks

Roasted Chestnuts

Sometime around October, roasted chestnuts or maroni appear on the streets of Vienna. Usually this popular street food snack indicates the arrival of the holiday season. Whether you plan to visit Vienna during Christmas or after the winter holidays, you can indulge in this comforting and healthy treat well into February.

Apfelstrudel (Apple Strudel)

Just like Schnitzel, Apfelstudel is a signature dish of Austrian cuisine. But unlike some other traditional street foods in Vienna, these sweets can be found in regular cafés and at street stands alike. Moreover, the taste of the delicious pastries stuffed with apples, raisins, sugar, and cinnamon doesn’t change regardless of the place you get them from.