Austria has no single law banning dogs from cafés or restaurants; like most of the EU, that decision is left to each individual operator rather than being set nationally. This matters most in Vienna, home to the UNESCO-recognised Viennese coffeehouse tradition (Kaffeehauskultur), where some of the grandest, most formal establishments lean toward a strictly indoor, white-tablecloth atmosphere that's less naturally dog-welcoming than a casual neighbourhood café.

In practice, the easiest approach anywhere in Austria is simply to ask before sitting down rather than assume either way — café culture here varies enough, café to café, that neither 'of course, dogs are always welcome' nor 'dogs are never allowed inside' is a safe general assumption. A dog kept calm on a short lead under or beside the table is the expected standard wherever it is welcomed.

Outdoor seating removes the question almost entirely, and is covered in its own article in this section — a genuinely useful workaround if a specific indoor coffeehouse turns out to be less flexible than you'd hoped.