Ajuni Burk (1980)

The first thing that stands out about My Place is the furniture – all designer and vintage fare from the 1960s onwards, and all for sale. Perhaps you are awash with cash, in which case you can purchase a piece of furniture there and then.

Most people, including the writer of this humble piece, will have to make do with the food and drink on offer at My Place, and it’s by no means a hard lot. The coffee is proper strong, and you get a great selection of snacks such as tartelettes, ciabattas, salads and birchermüesli. They also serve a Swiss beer called Appenzeller on tap, you ought to give it a try.

My Place makes for a pleasant stopover if you’re in the area, offering a welcome respite from all the art at Kunsthaus Zürich and it’s handy for a tipple before watching a play at Schauspielhaus around the corner. During the day My Place is popular with students from the nearby schools and universities, especially during lunchtime when securing a table requires impeccable timing – good luck, it’s worth trying!

This former garage most certainly won’t appeal to fans of sleek, decluttered interior spaces or those of a minimalist persuasion. Les Halles is a wacky, noisy affair, packed to the rafters with posters and mirrors, bicycles hanging off the ceiling, bric-a-brac, old, mismatched furniture – and punters.

Its popularity most certainly has something to do with Les Halles’ many different disguises: it is home to a bar, restaurant and take-away as well as a great little deli all under one roof. The restaurant menu is small, with a French tinge and usually consists of moules & frites, a pasta dish, antipasti and salads, with prices staying on the decent side of things.

Tucked away between Pfingstweidstrasse and Schiffbau, Les Halles isn’t the easiest place to find. Your best bet is to start underneath Hardbrücke, walk down Pfingstweidstrasse on the right-hand side and you’ll notice Les Halles’ unassuming front entrance after about a one-minute walk.

Les Halles provides an excellent starting point if you’re off exploring Zurich West’s nightlife, or a destination in its own right. It will seem like you’ve gone to at least three different places even though you never left the premises.

Tucked away at the quiet end of bustling Ankerstrasse is Si o No, one of my favorite drinking dens in Zurich. What makes it so great, or indeed better, than many of the other fine bars in this city?

For one, its interior is a pleasant, much-copied-but-never-quite-emulated mix of quirky furniture, beautiful floor tiles, clever lighting and an intriguing room layout: it’s like two corner shops stuck together. For another, whether you turn up in the middle of the day for coffee or in the wee hours for a nightcap, you can be sure that Si o No delivers.

The place is always lively and yet never too crowded. It attracts a diverse bunch of locals, students and office workers, hence nobody feels out of place. Furthermore, Si o No offers a decent selection of reasonably-priced drinks and bar snacks, including tasty quiches and salads for lunch. Lastly, the bar staff is friendly and efficient, making for a nice change from some of the trendier Zurich spots.

All this taken together goes some way to explaining why it’s always a Si! where Si o No is concerned.

This cozy café bar next to Fritschiwiese is the only place of its kind in this very corner of town and as a result it’s usually crowded with locals. The place is bright and airy, and in my view the pretty (1960s?) ceiling lights are a highlight (almost literally). Pay close attention to what you’re sitting on too – as part of an initiative called Take a Seat, artists are regularly invited to redesign some of the chairs, which are then sold off at auction.

The main draw is Z am Park’s weekend brunch. There’s three or four dishes to choose from, and as a nice touch, they carry the same female names as some of the nearby streets. Gertrud, with eggs, bacon, bread and salad and washed down with a cup of their excellent coffee, is a personal favorite. As a bonus, the brunch options aren’t as pricey as they are elsewhere in Zurich.

The one thing that is letting this place down is the service – I’ve had a run-in with a bad-tempered member of staff in the past and swore to myself I’d never go back. A quick poll among friends has shown I am not the only one. However, I have meanwhile caved in. There is simply too much to like about Z am Park to let grumpy staff deter you!

Bar 63, how do I love thee? Let me (re)count the ways…

All the best bars, in my opinion, are low-lit spots with dark furniture and more than a whiff of the clandestine about them. You know you are on to a winner when you also get an up-for-it crowd and an eclectic, carefully chosen selection of drinks.

Bar 63 is such a winner. It’s located just off Langstrasse surrounded by a number of dodgy-looking drinking establishments adding an urban edge. As you can tell from the photo, it delivers where the dim lights and dark interior is concerned. Service is swift and friendly without ever getting too chummy.

The best thing about Bar 63, however, is the excellent drinks menu. Rums and wines are the specialty, the former featuring prominently in a lethal house special. They also offer a mile-long list of whiskies and unusual spirits. It’s also one of the (too) few places in town where you can get your hands on sloe gin.

The crowd consists mostly of thirty-something creative types turning up in twos for a chat and a sip of fine wine. While the big party is usually taking place elsewhere, at Bar 63 you are only ever a few steps – or house specials – away from it.