New York in the glass, Vienna at heart
With Sanatorium, Jakob and Albert Trummer are bringing their international experience back to Vienna. Opening at Dr.-Karl-Lueger-Platz in early September, the new destination moves between cocktail bar, salon, gastronomy and culture – with an ambitious idea of what hospitality can mean today.
A bar is, first and foremost, a place to have a drink. But at its best, it has always been much more: a meeting place, a stage, a retreat and sometimes even a small social laboratory. It is precisely this tradition that Jakob and Albert Trummer want to revive with Sanatorium.
The new concept opens in central Vienna in early September 2026. Its name already suggests that this is not intended to be just another cocktail bar. Science, herbalism, gastronomy, art and nightlife meet Vienna’s traditions of coffeehouse and salon culture – complemented by the international energy that has shaped Jakob and Albert Trummer’s careers, particularly in New York.
From New York back to Vienna
Jakob Trummer returns to his home city with extensive international hospitality experience. His career has included work within the orbit of successful concepts such as Tao Group and Bagatelle Group. His understanding of luxury is less about exclusivity in the conventional sense and more about creating the atmosphere that makes a place distinctive.
Albert Trummer, meanwhile, is known as a pioneer of pharmaceutically inspired mixology. Herbs, botanical infusions and precisely composed ingredients become cocktails that are conceived almost like prescriptions. At Sanatorium, his signature creations will evolve further through contemporary techniques and seasonal ingredients.
The connection to New York will remain alive: bar teams from Vienna and New York are expected to regularly exchange places, bringing new ideas, techniques and influences to both cities.
Cocktails as prescriptions
The pharmaceutical inspiration behind Sanatorium is more than an aesthetic device. Cocktails are conceived as compositions in which flavour, effect, craftsmanship and botanical knowledge come together.
Another important influence is the late New York chef David Bouley, a close friend and mentor of the Trummers. His philosophy of hospitality – connecting pleasure with quality, seasonality and wellbeing – is intended to live on in the new Vienna concept.
During the day, Sanatorium will be a place for food, conversation and encounters. In the evening, its character changes as cocktails, music, art and nightlife take centre stage. Intimate cocktail salons and curated exhibitions are designed to turn the bar into a cultural meeting place as well.
A new home for the X Club
Below Sanatorium, another chapter of Vienna’s nightlife story is beginning. The X Club, part of Martin Ho’s RICEMONEY HOSPITALITY GROUP, is moving from Wollzeile to the building’s basement after around 15 years.
The private members club will retain its established identity while gaining a new culinary dimension. Guests will experience a selection from Ay-Vy, the group’s new restaurant concept. Its first location opens in Hanoi on 20 August 2026, followed by Dubai in mid-September.
The culinary direction is led by Yuki Sakamoto, a fourth-generation sushi master. Alongside his omakase concept, the menu will also revisit some of the avant-garde sushi creations that shaped Vienna’s DOTS restaurants for many years.
The bar as a social space
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Sanatorium is not one particular cocktail or dish, but the idea behind the entire house. Jakob and Albert Trummer want to reimagine the bar as a place where people do more than consume – where conversations begin, stories emerge and an evening can unexpectedly change direction.
In doing so, Sanatorium connects two cities with very different yet equally legendary bar cultures: the elegance and salon tradition of Vienna with the energy and experimental spirit of New York.
Whether it becomes a new Viennese institution remains to be seen. The ingredients, at least, are intriguing enough.
