Vienna Coffeehouse Conversations

At Vienna Coffeehouse Conversations, strangers sit down to eat or drink together, with a menu of questions to ask each other.
The events are in English to allow people from all over the world to take part. After a brief introduction from us at space and place, you will be invited to sit down with someone and enjoy fine Viennese food in a relaxed atmosphere.

A typical question is, ‚How important is money to you?‘, and a second is ‚Which part of your life was a waste of time?‘. These questions are not easy to answer, and previous dinners have led to weeks of email exchanges, where the pair continued to discuss the ideas presented. Other questions explore travel, friendship, work and inspiration. The questions are designed to produce stories among participants, and the evening is basically an adventure in storytelling. We are keen to revive the spirit of debate that existed in the coffeehouses 100 years ago.

The Vienna Coffeehouse Conversations build on Oxford University professor Theodore Zeldin’s Conversation Meals, which have taken place as part of street festivals, in art galleries from London to Singapore, and at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The Café Ministerium is a plush local favourite just off Vienna’s Ringstrasse. Voted the most popular coffeehouse in the city centre in 2013, civil servants from the surrounding ministries and local business people love to lunch there on red velvety seats and marble tables. The Ministerium also serves as the ‚extended living room‘ for a few regulars‘ tables and club meetings.