The Palmenhaus Brasserie in the Burggarten
Updated September 18, 2026
The Palmenhaus is the glasshouse at the edge of the Burggarten, behind the Hofburg, and half of it is a brasserie. It is the only real restaurant inside the palace gardens, it has a terrace that works from spring, and it shares its building with the Butterfly House — which is the single most common source of confusion about the place.
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1. Palmenhaus brasserie
Burggarten
The restaurant half of the glasshouse. Open Monday to Friday 10:00 to 23:00 and Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 09:00 to 23:00, with the kitchen running until 21:30. Breakfast is served until 12:00 every day. Online booking is available; groups of more than six must reserve by email, and weekend and holiday reservations for up to six are taken between 09:00 and 18:00. Evening terrace reservations with place settings are accepted from 1 May; daytime terrace tables are not reservable.
Burggarten 1, 1010 Wien
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2. The Butterfly House, next door
Burggarten
The other half of the same glasshouse, and a separate business with a separate door. Around 500 free-flying butterflies, EUR 10 for an adult and EUR 6 for a child aged 3 to school entry. Open daily 10:00 to 17:45 from April to October and 10:00 to 15:45 from November to March. Buy your butterfly ticket at the butterfly entrance, not at the restaurant.
Burggarten, 1010 Wien
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3. The Burggarten itself
Burggarten
Free, open air and the reason to be on this side of the palace at all. Laid out after French troops destroyed the Hofburg's bastion in 1809, on the same redesign that produced Heldenplatz and the Volksgarten. Lawns you are allowed to sit on, the Mozart monument, and the Albertina at the far corner. If the brasserie is full, this is where to wait.
Burggarten, 1010 Wien
The building
An art nouveau glass and steel palm house built for the imperial court at the edge of the Burggarten. The operator's own description places Emperor Franz Joseph I in it: this is where he "once found rest and relaxation". It sits roughly 100 metres from the Albertina and 200 metres from the State Opera, which makes it the most convenient place to eat on the whole Hofburg site — and the only one actually inside the gardens. The interior is the appeal: high glass, palms, and a room that is bright in a way no Viennese coffee house is.
What it serves and when
Brasserie cooking rather than Viennese coffee-house fare, with a kitchen that runs until 21:30 and a bar that goes on to 23:00. Breakfast until noon every day is the underused part. On a Saturday or Sunday it opens at 09:00, which lines up neatly with the palace museums opening at 09:00 and the Albertina at 10:00 — breakfast under the glass, then the Albertina, then the imperial rooms. The operator does not publish dish prices on its site, so we are not going to quote any. Expect Vienna first-district restaurant pricing rather than café pricing.
Booking, and the terrace
Online booking through the restaurant's own site. Parties of more than six must reserve by email rather than online. At weekends and on public holidays, reservations for up to six are taken between 09:00 and 18:00. The terrace is the thing people come for in warm weather and it has its own rules: evening terrace reservations with place settings are accepted from 1 May, and daytime terrace tables are not reservable at all. In practice that means turning up and waiting on a sunny afternoon, which the Burggarten lawn makes painless.
How it fits a Hofburg day
As the break between two halves of a visit. The palace museum route runs about two hours and ends at the shop; the Albertina is ten minutes away and open until 21:00 on Wednesdays and Fridays. The Palmenhaus sits physically between them. The practical sequence: Imperial Apartments and Sisi Museum in the morning from 09:00, lunch here, the Albertina in the afternoon, and the Butterfly House on the way past if there are children. That is a full day that never leaves the palace grounds and only crosses one road.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Palmenhaus in the Burggarten?
A brasserie in the Hofburg's art nouveau palm house, at Burggarten 1. It shares the building with the Butterfly House, which is a separate business with its own entrance.
What are the Palmenhaus opening hours?
Monday to Friday 10:00 to 23:00, and Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 09:00 to 23:00, with the kitchen open until 21:30.
Does the Palmenhaus serve breakfast?
Yes, until 12:00 every day.
Can I book a table on the terrace?
Evening terrace reservations with place settings are accepted from 1 May. Daytime terrace tables cannot be reserved.
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