After opening its first cafe in Bangalore in 1996 and 552 outlets in 90 cities within India, Cafe Coffee Day decided to conquer the world and came to Vienna in 2005.

"Consumer research conducted in Vienna revealed a craving for more charming table service, freshly made food and coffee made the European way," Rapunzel D'mello, a company spokesperson says.

There are three outlets in Vienna today. The first one round the corner from Vienna's majestic Opera House is a favourite haunt of tourists and those who live in the city's posh first district.

The second outlet is near the university and packed with students who cannot get enough of chicken chettinad and chicken makhani along with coffee that comes all the way from the fields of Chikmagalur in Karnataka.

The third outlet opened last February and five more are expected by the end of this financial year.

'This is great news,' gushes Birgit Pestal, a 28-year-old Viennese journalist.

She was introduced to the cafe by the city's Bollywood fan club in 2005. She loves the furniture, music, wireless internet connection, the samosas and particularly the taste of the milk in her melange.

Melange is the king of coffee here and the most popular. It is consumed throughout the day. Similar to the Italian cappuccino, the perfect melange must be an exact mixture of steamed coffee and frothy milk.

It is correct, says Pestal, that the melange is a very Viennese cup of coffee but nobody is able to whip it up in the city these days like Cafe Coffee Day does. 

Photograph: Getty Images