Adolf Loos, Architekt der Originaleinrichtung des Café Museum, hatte die Möglichkeit sich auf die Funktionalität zu fokusieren had the opinion that an architect had to focus on the functional aspects and not on the artistic ones. He concentrated on a very plain design for the Café Museum, which was revolutionary in the time of its opening.
The furnishings of the café were influenced by the simple and sober style, which was expressed with bentwood chairs made by the firm Gebrüder Thonet. In view of this, Ludwig Hevesi created the nickname Café Nihilismus (café nihilism) for the café. Even the front is held in a very simple style – nowadays you can only see the golden letters “Café Museum” on a white background.
Regular guests of the café in the early twentieth century included Peter Altenberg, Joseph Schmidt, Richard Tauber, Alban Berg, Hermann Broch, Elias Canetti, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Karl Kraus, Franz Lehár, Robert Musil, Leo Perutz, Joseph Roth, Roda Roda, Egon Schiele, Georg Trakl, Otto Wagner, Franz Werfel
