Dizzi Alfons: The New Sacher Caffe Is To Change Trieste’s Course

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Interview: MK

In a city that pioneered coffeehouse culture experience, a patron saint of Austrian dessert brings together history and savoir faire. Classy and luxurious, the new Sacher caffe in via Dante in Trieste will satisfy your yearning for dessert and as well as classical Viennese experience.

For more than 100 years the Trieste “Rosini” shop  has been a gathering spot for shoes and quality lovers. Now a thoughtful renovation aims to preserve it as a place for future generations to become part of history simply by walking in the door.

Is Dizzi Alfons the enfant terrible of luxurious Austrian dessert? Or just the talented (not to mention classy and world–savvy) vanguard of a necessary evolution in Triestine lifestyle? We interviewed the master to find out.

Dressed to the nines, Dizzi welcomed us in his aroma-filled Sacher caffe with a big smile “We are testing various cocktails today. Do you smell the mint?”. The elegance of the caffe (and its owner) is instantly striking as we walk into the former shoe shop. Draped in red velvet, it instantly takes you back to the Viennese caffes.

“I started working in fashion together with Lagerfeld in London. I was in my early twenties and it was the time of my life,” begins Dizzi. “I am an architect by education and entrepreneur by nature. I love discovering, taking on new challenges, and climbing new heights.”

Dizzi goes on telling us about his awestriking globetrotting lifestyle having lived in the New York city, London, Paris, and Rome, “I love Trieste. I didn’t know it at all up to two years ago, but I see it as the place to be now.” Just over a year in Trieste, Alfons is already loved and admired by many locals. “You know, my mom used to say that I could land on a deserted island and half an hour later I’d be playing cards with the indigenous tribes. That’s just who I am, I love communicating and I speak Italian fluently, which obviously helps. Also, I love Italian culture as I used to own properties in Tuscany where I spent many years. It used to be my home away from home, as is now Trieste.”

As Dizzi goes on telling us about his worldly adventures, while playing with his dog with a Greek name Matakia, – “he is the real boss here”- we can’t help but notice how spotless, organized and prepared everything is. “We must maintain our standards,” he adds. “Only the highest-quality materials, the finest fabrics and the most exceptional lamps have been chosen for the decor. It is important to us that every guest knows that they are at the Sacher cafe,” reveals Dizzi.

The world-famous Original Sacher-Torte owes its existence to a coincidence and it is still made by hand in 34 steps, just as it was back in 1832, making it even more special for Trieste dwellers to stop by for a slice or two. Needless to say, the unique ambiance of Sacher caffe on via Dante will become the backdrop for many happy moments.

“When I came to Trieste, I didn’t know that a year and a half later I’d be opening the first Sacher caffe in Italy,” Dizzi laughs. “And here I am, ready to for the Triestine public. All of our cakes arrive directly from Vienna every other day. At Sacher we pride ourselves in delivering a classically exquisite experience. Everything has to be of the highest standards, including the customer service. We must maintain the excellent reputation that began in 1832 with Franz Sacher.”

Behind the luxurious decor, there’s a lot of hard work and dedication.

“I have always been hard working. I worked in fashion, traveled the world as a journalist, architect. Everything I did had to be done with excellence and class. It’s my style.”

Right downtown Trieste, many locals have been impatiently waiting for the famous caffe to open.

“We have a small séparé, just like back in Vienna in the late 1800s. It can be rented for private dinning but it’s also just a perfect place to indulge in your piece of sacher while sipping champagne and people – watching. It allows for privacy, intimacy and luxury indulgence.”

Sacher caffe has all the cards to become one of the most exclusive hot-spots in Trieste, with its timeless luxury, elegant design, precision and style, many a city dweller will want to stop by for a delicious slice of sacher and a flute of champagne.