When you arrive at Graz Hauptbahnhof, one café immediately catches your eye. Located in one of the most prominent spots right at the station entrance, Café Aida Graz Hauptbahnhof is hard to miss.
With its distinctive pink exterior, the café stands out even from a distance. Its convenient location makes it a great place to grab a coffee or cake while waiting for a train or shortly after arriving in Graz. This time, I tried their takeaway service and would like to share my honest review.
What Is Café Aida?
Aida is a long-established café chain that originated in Vienna and now has numerous locations throughout Austria. The Graz station branch has an especially convenient location, directly in front of the main entrance of Graz Hauptbahnhof.
The area is always busy with travelers, commuters, students, and other passengers coming and going from the station.
Inside the Café and Terrace Seating
There are several dozen seats inside, as well as outdoor terrace seating. However, because of its location right next to the station, the area can get quite busy.
Rather than being a quiet and relaxing café, it has the lively atmosphere you would expect from a café at a major train station.
It is very convenient if you only have a short time before your train, although you may want to choose your timing carefully if you are looking for a quieter experience.
A Huge Selection of Cakes
The display case is filled with a colorful selection of cakes. There are chocolate cakes, fruit cakes, nut-based cakes, tortes, tarts, and many other options.
There are so many choices that it can be surprisingly difficult to decide what to order. Even the menu photos at the entrance are colorful and eye-catching. The selection certainly feels like what you would expect from a long-established Austrian café chain.
Takeaway Experience: Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte
For this visit, I chose the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, also known as Black Forest cake, and ordered it to take away.
The Takeaway Box Is Really Cute
The first thing that impressed me was the takeaway box. It has Aida’s characteristic pink design and looks very cute. It would make a nice-looking gift or souvenir.
So far, I was very happy with the experience.
And Then I Opened the Box…
When I got home and opened the box…
…the cake had become quite a mess. (Sadly!)
I think the possible reasons are:
- The box was relatively large for just one cake
- There was no divider inside the box
- The cake was not secured in place
As a result, the cake seems to have moved around during the journey home. If you are buying just one cake to take away, you may want to be especially careful when carrying it.
Was the Cream Still Frozen?
Another thing I noticed was that the whipped cream was still partially frozen. I bought the cake early in the morning, which may have been a factor.
It seems that the cakes are produced at a central facility and delivered to individual stores in a frozen state.
To be honest, if the cake had been completely thawed, I probably would not have noticed much of a difference in taste. However, once I realized that the cakes are not necessarily made fresh inside the café itself, some of the special feeling was lost for me.
I understand that efficiency is important, especially for a location inside a busy train station, but it was still a little disappointing.
Another Difference from the Menu Photo…
There was one more small detail that caught my attention.
The menu photo showed berries on top of the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, but there were no berries on the actual cake. (Haha.)
It is a small thing, but there was definitely a slight difference between the photo and the actual product. I suppose these kinds of little surprises are also part of the experience of visiting cafés abroad.
Overall Review: Great for Convenience, but Keep Your Expectations in Check
Café Aida at Graz Hauptbahnhof has several advantages:
✔ Excellent location right by the station entrance
✔ Huge selection of cakes
✔ Cute takeaway packaging
✔ Relatively affordable prices
On the other hand:
△ Takeaway cakes can get damaged during transport
△ Cakes may be delivered frozen
△ The actual cake may differ slightly from the menu photo
For purposes such as grabbing something sweet at the station or enjoying coffee and cake while waiting for a train, I think Café Aida is a perfectly convenient option.
However, if you are expecting a particularly special cake experience, you might find it a little less impressive than expected.
There is no doubt that Café Aida at Graz Hauptbahnhof is a convenient choice when you are using Graz Central Station. The key is simply to choose it according to what you are looking for.
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