A Place to Linger Since 1859: Café Maldaner

( “The Chocolate Girl” by Jean-Étienne Liotard )

Café Maldaner is often crowded and customer service is hit or miss. I still believe it’s worth a visit, or in my case, a dozen.

Spinning through the turnstile doorway transports you to a bygone era of a Viennese style coffee house; a place where a forgotten pastime is encouraged: lingering.  

Prompt service, a 21st century expectation, doesn’t exist within the striped yellow silk-lined walls. Beneath crystal chandeliers, you’re encouraged to lose track of time under the faint melodies of Mozart and Vivaldi.

I’ve enjoyed countless hours nursing a cup of coffee in the company of my daughters and friends, but often I find myself sitting alone daydreaming, writing and witnessing life in slow motion: ladies sitting among friends, men reading newspapers alongside their well-mannered Irish Setters, couples in love, wide-eyed tourists and local women cradling porcelain cups of coffee in one hand, while the other flips through pages of a novel.

This coffee house will satisfy those addicted to sweets: pastel petits fours, dense chocolate cakes bearing fanciful script, apple strudel dusted in confectioners sugar, black forest cake rimmed with cherries, and swirls of snow white meringues mimicking Rococo clouds under a glistening glass pastry case.

At Café Maldaner, your purchase extends beyond consumption. You’re buying a historical piece of real estate, a seat and table. Yours for as long as you choose to linger.

(For modern day convenience: if you’re under time constraints you can order pastries and coffee to-go at the pastry counter. )   

Café Maldaner
Marktstraße 34,
65183 Wiesbaden
Phone: (+49) 0611/305214