Café Life in Zurich
Where to find a Good Coffee
One or the pleasures of living in Zurich is visiting the cafes dotted all over town. Whether you’re looking for somewhere busy and frenetic, somewhere calm and mediative, somewhere trendy or somewhere cosy and warm – or perhaps a cafe with a view, Zurich can cater for all your wishes. Here are a selection of some of our favourites.
Babus Bakery & Coffee House – a large bustling café just behind Bahnhofstrasse with great food, snacks coffees and juices. Gets quite full – so get there early to grab a table.
Bohemia – as well as being a restaurant and bar Bohemia is also a great place for a coffee stop and when the sun is shining you can sit outside and watch the world go by. Good wifi and plenty of space to sit down.
Brasserie Schiller – whether the sun’s shining and you choose to sit outside with a cocktail or a coffee on Sechseläutenplatz just next to the Opera house, or cosy up inside it’s a great location and very close to Stadelhofen station. Good wifi if you want to get online.
Cafe Felix – effusive flowers, beautiful chocolates and delicious pastries, Felix on Bellevue is situated in a great location and there is plenty of seating on two levels. Great location to sit outside too on a sunny afternoon.
Cafe Schober – this cafe dates back hundreds of years and each room is decorated in the most beautiful individual style. The “Salon Rouge”with its red velvet and gilt is a cosy retreat on a cold, chilly day whilst the patio outside is summery and relaxing on a sunny day. Don’t miss the beautiful old-fashioned till and the stunning light fitting in the entrance room. A must-see for visitors and locals alike.
Cafe Noir – At Café Noir they have there own coffee roaster and as well as serving great coffee they also sell coffee beans, freshly ground as required. Selected from small local producers, they also have a good selection of teas.
Clouds – for coffee with a view head no further than the highest point in Zurich. Clouds cafe bar is located in Prime Tower, the tallest building in Zurich (and until the Roche Tower supersedes it, the tallest billing in Switzerland).
Frau Gerolds Garten – located in Zurich West this outdoor cafe serves a small selection of well priced and fresh food as well as coffee and hot and cold drinks. It’s a great place to go to meet friends or simply people watching.
Cafe New Zealand – located in the bustling Langstrasse this café has a great coffee menu and offers really good coffee. Definitely worth a visit.
Honold Tea Rooms – centrally located in Rennweg this family run business which has been going since 1905 is an insider secret for some of the best cakes, pastries and chocolate to be found in Zurich. Don’t miss their hot chocolate – you’ll definitely be going back for more!
Le Pain Quotidien – lovely long communal tables, a French inspired menu this is a lovely location for salads, soups and lunches as well as coffee. Generous “bowls” of coffee served and you their home made meringues are enormous!
Café Odéon – known as the cafe that James Joyce frequented, as well as many other famous names from the past, this centrally located cafe just off Bellevue is a convenient meeting place and full of character and history.
Lucky Cap – this Hungarian cafe located in Mühlegasse close to Central and not far from Central Bibliothek serves beautifully presented cappuccinos and flat-whites with great art work. They have very friendly staff as well as great wifi and serve delicious Hungarian specialities such as “langos” and various other Hungarian treats. If you’re a student you can benefit from reduced student prices too!
Cupcakes
Carrie Bradshaw and Sex in the City have a lot to answer for as far as cup cakes are concerned. So it’s not surprising that it didn’t take long for the cupcake movement to hit Switzerland. Cupcake shops are cropping up all over the country and in Zurich in particular there are now a number of great places that specialise in these sweet treats.
In fact, the first Cupcake shop in Zurich (in fact in the whole of the German-speaking part of Switzerland) was Cupcake Affair, which was started by Melanie Jones in the Niederdorf and she now has offshoots in Berne and Basel too.
For a list of Cupcake Shops please see our list below:
And outside Zurich:
Baking Supplies and Courses
If you’re making your own cakes and cupcakes you may like to visit www.Bakeria.ch to get your baking supplies. They also have a baking supplies shop at at Gotthardstasse 30, 8800 Thalwil (10 km from Zurich) and they also run courses at their Bake Academy in English.
Email us at newinzurich (at) gmail.com with your favourite cafe so that we can add it to the list! Or write us a comment in the section below. We look forward to hearing from you.
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