Our story begins back in the 19th century, when the cake war between Cafe Demel and Hotel Sacher broke out.
Hotel Sacher claims that the cake was invented in 1832 when Prince Metternich of Austria requested a special cake at a time when the chef was ill, so 16-year-old apprentice Franz Sacher filled in and created the Sachertorte (which the hotel has trademarked as the "Original Sacher-Torte," and that particular spelling), a spokesperson explained to Insider.
However, Cafe Demel has always refuted this claim, insisting that it is in fact the creator of the iconic cake, Deutsche Welle and the BBC report.
Franz Sacher's son Edouard had also completed an apprenticeship at Cafe Demel, according to Deutsche Welle, and he tweaked the Sachertorte recipe to what it is today, so it's a complicated case.
The Viennese take their cakes so seriously that the two establishments fought a nine-year legal battle (from 1954 to 1963) over who could call their Sachertorte "the original."
Although Hotel Sacher confirmed to Insider that it won in the end, the two companies have a complete duopoly over the Sachertorte market (every bakery, cafe, and restaurant across Austria serves the cake), both in Vienna and when it comes to shipping abroad.
Cafe Demel and Hotel Sacher are still huge rivals, but are their cakes really so different? There was only one way to find out.
First up, I went to Cafe Demel, which is found in a particularly posh area of central Vienna alongside designer stores like Gucci, Tiffany & Co, and Dior.
It smelled amazing as soon as I walked in, and the interior was opulent and traditional. The main cafe area is upstairs. There was a sign at the entrance to the cafe instructing me to wait to be seated, so I waited. And waited.
After what felt like a very long time of being ignored by staff, I tried to get someone's attention, but he just pointed to the sign and told me to wait. I wasn't impressed.
I was ultimately shown to a nice table by the window.
The room was grand and traditional in decor — tables were covered in white tablecloths and laid with fine china and fancy silverware, guests sat on wooden chairs with leather upholstery and red sofas, and huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
But on closer inspection, I realized everything was a bit worn, dated, and even tacky — the sofas could have done with being reupholstered, the orchid by my table was fake, and one of the chandeliers was garish pink and blue. It was a bit strange.
Although there was no queue when I arrived at 4.30 p.m. on a Wednesday, the cafe was full. By around 5.15 p.m., there were only a few free tables.
As I perused the menu, I was perplexed by the pricing: tea was €6.50 ($7.20), but an Aperol Spritz was €6 ($6.60).
Although the traditional accompaniment to cake in Austria is coffee, I'm British, so I couldn't help but order tea. However, while you order beverages from a waiter at Demel, to order a cake you have to go up to a counter. I'm not sure why. I knew which cake I was getting, though.
Cafe Demel told Insider it sells between 350-500 pieces of Sachertorte every day.
Its pastry chefs added that it's very important to them that their Sachertorte is handmade from scratch using the finest ingredients.
They still use their original recipe, make everything on-site, and wrap every cake in the shop by hand, too.
"The exquisite ingredients and the skilled hands of our pastry chefs make the Demel Sachertorte such a fine chocolate cake," a spokesperson for Cafe Demel added.
What I liked most about Cafe Demel's Sachertorte was the icing. It was thick, smooth, soft, creamy, and rich but not bitter.
Under the icing, there was a thin layer of apricot jam which provided a very welcome subtle tanginess to contrast with the rich chocolate.
As for the actual cake, I found it a little dry and, well, not particularly exciting. Not unpleasant by any means — perfectly fine, in fact — but nothing mind-blowing.
At least there was plenty of cream to counteract the somewhat dry crumb of the cake.
At €5.50 ($6) a slice, Sachertorte at Cafe Demel isn't cheap.
From my experience, you're certainly not paying for the service, either. Although I was treated perfectly well once seated, I did spot the waiting staff being quite rude to other diners — it was clear one waitress in particular was entirely done with tourists and their questions.
The website states that Demel's staff should have "a combination of discrete politeness with the slightest suggestion of distance," and I'm not convinced that was entirely the case.
The next day I went to Hotel Sacher, which is by Vienna's famous opera house, also in the centre of the city.
Hotel Director Reiner Heilmann told Insider that they consider their cake to be a "sweet ambassador of Vienna."
"It also represents the values of our house and everything we work for: handmade, tradition, the aim for excellence, a familial environment, and the satisfaction of our guests," he said.
I popped into the gift shop, where there are endless stacks of the cake for sale, all wrapped up in Hotel Sacher's distinctive packaging.
In fact, there are 34 steps involved in the packaging up of each cake, which comes in a commemorative wooden box.
I decided to find a spot in the traditional Cafe Sacher for my Sachertorte experience.
I was pleased to find there was barely a queue (it was about 10.30 a.m. on a Thursday), and I was swiftly shown to a table.
The interior was incredibly grand, with lots of plush red velvet, chandeliers, high ceilings, marble tables, and mirrors.
Unlike in Cafe Demel, however, nothing looked worn or like it needed a fresh lick of paint.
I opted to sit in the garden area of the cafe as it was nice and bright.
Much like in Cafe Demel, my fellow diners were clearly all tourists, many of whom were taking endless selfies and photos of their Sacher-Torte.
Clearly very proud of having won the aforementioned legal battle, the menu comes with the whole backstory of the cake, and "Das Original" is branded everywhere you look.
"There is only one original," the label on the packaging reads, and the recipe is top secret.
I ordered my Sachertorte, and this time I actually did things the Austrian way and got a coffee.
The service couldn't have been more different to Cafe Demel — all the waiters in Cafe Sacher greeted guests with a cheery "Gruß Gott" (an Austrian way to say hello) and responded to orders with "gerne," meaning "gladly."
However, a slice of Sachertorte costs a princely €7.50 ($8.25), so it's more expensive than Cafe Demel's cake.
The cake looked pretty similar to the one I'd had in Cafe Demel, so I was intrigued to see whether it would taste much different.
It was slightly chilled, and I'd have preferred it to be at room temperature.
However, I was pleased to find the Sachertorte was more moist than the one I'd had the previous day, and slightly sweeter generally.
Perhaps the most crucial distinguisher between Hotel Sacher and Cafe Demel's Sachertorte is that the former has an extra layer of apricot jam in the middle, and I am a big fan of the extra jam.
The jam was less tangy than Cafe Demel's and the cake overall had a looser crumb.
The icing, however, was harder at Hotel Sacher than Cafe Demel.
When I cut into the cake, the icing cracked, but this may have been mainly because the cake was slightly chilled. It was decorated with Hotel Sacher's famous chocolate seal.
Much like at Cafe Demel, the Sachertorte came with fluffy, unsweetened whipped cream, which was, well, perfectly fine unsweetened whipped cream.
Overall, I preferred Hotel Sacher's Sachertorte.
There really wasn't a huge difference between the cakes, and the experience you have may very well depend on the day you visit.
While I preferred the ganache-like frosting on Demel's Sachertorte, the actual cake was a little dry for my taste, and it was better at Hotel Sacher. I also was a fan of the latter's extra layer of jam in the middle.
I also preferred the interior decor, service, and overall vibe at Sacher — it felt grand, opulent, and special.
At the end of the day, I don't think you get any Viennese locals going into either of the cafes for Sachertorte very often — they're both very much for tourists.
But if you are vacationing in Vienna, treating yourself to a slice of this famous cake is a fun thing to do. And if you only eat one slice of Sacher-Torte, I'd go for Hotel Sacher.
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