Please note: This article was first published on The Vegan Tourist on 20 January 2014, and last updated May 25, 2019.
Update May 25, 2019: While the bookstore is still in business, it no longer functions as a vegan café.
Original blog post:
It takes a brave soul (or two) to open a bookstore in this day and age, when most people seem to buy their books on Amazon (guilty!) or download them from the Internet onto their E-Readers.
My friend Stefanie Klamuth and her boyfriend Pablo Hörtner recently both quit well-paying corporate jobs to open a “radically left” book store and vegan café in Vienna.
At Librería Utopía you won’t find the latest mainstream bestsellers, but books – old and new – on far-left politics, history and philosophy, which are usually hard to come by. You’ll also find books on their shelves which question/criticise the status quo of our society, which inform readers about feminism and gay/lesbian issues, and books about religion or vegetarian cooking.
You’ll also find alternative children’s books, and specialty travel guides like Jewish Vienna (available both in German and English, by publishing house mandelbaum). By the way, this book costs 15.80 Euros (English version) at Librería Utopía, but 19.90 Euros on “Amazon.de”. It’s worth every cent, so stop by their store and buy it, before you start your sightseeing tour of Vienna.
Author’s readings and other events are organized frequently at the store, which is made available as a meeting space for NGOs. Check their website for updates.
Librería Utopía is not just a bookstore, but also a vegan café, which looks and feels like Stefanie’s and Pablo’s own personal living room. Drinks are prized very moderately (1.60 Euros for mineral water, 2.20 Euros for a café latte). There are no fixed prices for the vegan snacks they offer. You pay what you think is fair. There’s free WiFi, and dogs are welcome. Even puppies, which are not yet housebroken (thank you for that!).
Address: Preysinggasse 2628, 1150 Vienna
Opening hours: Tuesdays – Fridays, 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM, Saturdays 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM.
Phone: +43 – 660 – 3913 865
Website: http://www.radicalbookstore.com