How lovely they are, these last days of summer in Vienna! The sun no longer beats down quite so hard on the streets. The air is mild and it’s glorious to stroll through the parks and along the Danube. Anyone visiting the Austrian capital is instantly enchanted by the charm of the old buildings from imperial times and by the famous Viennese wit known as Schmäh. All the more striking, then, is a venue on the Danube that at first glance you’d place in the far north rather than in the Alpine republic: Spelunke. This is a place that’s anything but easy to categorise. Gourmet temple, cocktail bar, hotspot for night owls. Either way, despite (or because of?) its maritime-urban flair, Vienna would be unthinkable without it. The look and the concept are as unique as its menu. With so many facets, the right scent has to waft through the rooms too. Thanks to AROMEA, that’s no problem. We talked to general manager Kenny Pajaziti about the concept behind Spelunke, the culinary world tour on the menu and AROMEA scent marketing.
The name “Spelunke” (German for a seedy dive) first conjures up images of the North Sea, harbour pubs and yellow oilskins. What’s the idea behind it?
Pajaziti: Spelunke is right on the Danube Canal - so at least the water is covered. The area around here is shaped by art, graffiti and young people from all over the world. The interior is reminiscent of a Hamburg harbour pub, that’s true. But combined with the open-mindedness you find in harbours and in Vienna alike, the place fits in well here. We simply won’t be pigeonholed.
So how would you best describe the concept?
Pajaziti: At Spelunke, anything is possible! We’re not just a restaurant with a food concept. The chef here does whatever he feels like. There’s a lot of regional food on the menu, but it’s influenced by international vibes. Even so, we make sure that as far as possible all the ingredients come from the region or from Austria. We even source our wasabi directly from Austria, for example. That’s important to us.
But the variety doesn’t stop at the food, does it?
Pajaziti: Definitely not! We’re not just a gourmet temple, we’re an event venue and a bar all in one. The jazz brunch goes down really well too! You can have a nice, relaxed breakfast here, accompanied by a jazz band that makes really good music. And from 10 pm, it’s “disco time” at Spelunke. The lights really do go out for a moment, and then it’s off into the night with music and our own specially created cocktails. If you come to us, you’re in for an experience.
There really is a lot going on! Delicious food, cocktails, lots of people - that naturally creates a real “blanket of smells” that doesn’t always smell pleasant. So how did the collaboration with AROMEA come about?
Pajaziti: After four years, we wanted to relaunch Spelunke. That included a complete makeover. Our aim is for people to experience the venue as a whole, with all their senses. A recognisable scent should contribute to that too. AROMEA quickly became our go-to partner for this. Together, we looked for fragrances and suitable diffusers that would achieve the goal of “experiencing Spelunke with all your senses”.
And what happened next?
Pajaziti: We did a lot of tests to see which fragrance could be introduced where. How does the scent spread? Where does it work best? Above all, we didn’t want food smells to linger in the room for so long. In the end, we decided to spread the scent via the ventilation into the guest area and the toilets too. We chose a distinctive yet subtle scent note that further underlines the ambience. We’re completely satisfied with it!
Thank you for talking to us!
Kenny Pajaziti on the effect of scent at “Spelunke”
