Wirr is a little understated and relaxed. This cafe/club hybrid is a regular haunt for students and freelance wifi warriors. Prices are moderate (breakfast for 5,90€) and they only use organic eggs and meat for their omelets and burgers. One of the many places in Vienna where you can get breakfast till late in the afternoon. The basement club usually gets its jump off during the weekends, small, dark and packed. Pretty open sound policy resulting in different types of party nights, from indie rock to techno.

Somewhere in the corner of Passage 81, a blue neon sign flickers above a traditional Japanese restaurant. It is Soya, a destination restaurant for a quick, cheap bite after a hard day’s shopping—and its population reflects that. It is nothing short of swamped during lunch and dinner, making the slower hours in the late afternoon the ideal dining time.

Though its premises are unassuming, the eatery does yield an ambient outdoor courtyard garden good for summer months. Otherwise, it’s the smorgasbord of crowdpleasers that’s the main draw: tempura, bento boxes, sashimi and maki are the no-fail accompaniments to this respite from the Mariahilfer throngs.

At the kitchen’s helm is the dreadlocked chef, Patrick Müller, from the famed TV cooking show Silent Cooking. For those who haven’t seen it, the late late-night show features Müller preparing three courses without speaking a word. All you hear is the sound of cooking and faint lounge music.

Restauration Marx is located in the beautiful old livestock market and slaughterhouse. The 19th-century Neo-Rennaissance buildings complete with a palace have been converted into the media production studios. Enjoy reinterpreted Viennese classics made with organic products. Do try to get a table outside—the expansive premises are impressive.

The sad fact: it’s only open for weekday lunch or by appointment for special events.

Grab a bite with the artsy crowd at this cafeteria at the Academy of Fine Arts, even if you’re not a student. Meals are warm and surprisingly decent, like a millet and cheese casserole for 3.90 euros or a hearty beef stew for 4.20 euros, and you can top it off with a bowl of soup for just 60 cents. Set in the historical building by Theophil Hansen, this small and sleek caf’s more interesting than most, and by that we also mean the sculpture students dusting off their overalls, media artists eating over their MacBooks, and the art theorists looking—how else?—slightly bewildered.

Money saved, you could even splurge on a post-meal coffee at the Le Meridien hotel across Schillerplatz that will set you back more than your entire lunch.