Image by Christine Syrad

Sunday Brunching is one thing I’ve tried and tested many times here in Zurich and I’ve seen that some places do food better than others while others offer better atmospheres. Piazza is one of the places you go to for the atmosphere, although the food’s not half bad either. Just make sure you book yourself a spot since, as is often the case here in Zurich, brunch tends to be a busy ordeal and there’s nothing more heartbreaking on a Sunday than turning up to your favourite place only to find it’s booked out…again. If you do miss the boat, you can always come back for an afternoon snack or beers in the evening!

What I love about this place is its location – I think it’s safe to say that Idaplatz is still a little bit of a hidden gem buried in a residential part of town. In the summer it boasts a crowd of fun-loving people who happily rest their tight-jean-wearing bums on the benches while sipping on beers bought at the kiosk. When it’s still too early for beers you can sit in one of the charming bars lining the square, Piazza being one of them.

Some people describe the piazza as making you feel like you’re elsewhere in Europe and while I agreed at first, I now think it’s actually very typical of the relaxed side of Zurich visitors to the city tend to oversee because they expect it to be nothing more than a finance hub.

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Piazza | Bars, Coffee & tea, Relaxing | Large brunch CHF 24
Idaplatz 2 | Kreis 3 Wiedikon | +41445589529
Tue – Sat 09:00 – 00:00, Sun 10:00 – 18:00

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Image by Christine Syrad

On a Sunday morning if my bagel and egg Benedict craving is one of my waking thoughts then I know I’ll be trekking across the city to Bohemia where, in my opinion, the American brunch experience is worth the journey.

Bohemia was under renovation for a while so Ponyhof was the replacement pop up restaurant they were running in the meantime. If you like the sound of the brunch, go check out Bohemia. I plan on making my way over in the next few days to scope out the new decor and to update this review and take new pictures. If you beat me to it, leave a comment on what you thought!

However, as I remember it pre-renovation, bagels aren’t the only bready substance to have received my seal of approval, the pancakes are also divine with a generous helping of toppings. For the less glutinous there are healthier options but I can’t say I’ve tried them yet! You’ve got to be ready to give into temptation when you set foot in here.

While Bohemia is not on Romerhof, where Ponyhof was, but at Kreuzplatz, the funicular up to the Dolder is is still just a stone’s throw away so you can venture up the hill and go for a wander in the forests while admiring the view. A little picturesque post feeding ramble is just what you need to perfect your Sunday!

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Bohemia | Coffee & tea, Restaurants (American) | Complete brunch CHF 35
Klosbachstrasse 2 | Kreis 6/7 Fluntern | +41443837060
Mon – Wed 06:45 – 00:00, Thu – Fri 06:45 – 01:00, Sat 09:00 – 01:00, Sun 09:00 – 00:00

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Image by Miltiadis Sarakinos

“So where do we go now?” you asked your companion(s) that Saturday evening after dinner; it somehow felt too early to call it an evening and you had something like a bar with music in mind.

Or maybe you felt like having a tea or a snack that Saturday afternoon after shopping?

Read my other articles to get plenty of ideas for such occasions. Read this one to know a place that offers all in one for you: Café Terrasse.

The special thing about Café Terrasse is that there is nothing special about it: it is an excellent choice for all occasions. Centrally located near Bellevueplatz, the venue is open from early till late: for a snack, a complete meal, a tea, a late drink, inside or outside, with or without music.

There is a big central area with tables and plenty of light during daytime for the bourgeoisie that wants to feel pampered with a bit of luxury: yes, the moment of truth is when that big tea portion you ordered arrives.

Lights are dimmed later on and the mood adapts accordingly.

The outside: a garden terrace for the warm season, Zurich style (flip flops and tattoos on those areas of the body that can be decently exposed). For some intimacy, there is a small balcony terrace on the side of the river.

Last but not least: a bar area with a younger (or younger feeling) public and the appropriate (electronic) music. Sounded like house last time.

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Terrasse Café | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music | Espresso CHF 6.20
Limmatquai 3 | Kreis 1 City | +41442511074
Mon – Tue 10:00 – 01:00, Wed – Sat 10:00 – 02:00, Sun 10:00 – 00:00

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Image by Miltiadis Sarakinos

Every rule is best confirmed by its exceptions. So here are some of my rules: I practice dinner cancelling and I avoid red meat (health awareness). I also prefer ethnic restaurants: Arabic, Asian, Indian, Italian, Greek etc.

And now the exception(s): I permit myself the pleasure of a dinner with red meat in a typical Swiss restaurant. My favorite delicacy is bio-beefsteak tatar. For those unaware: it is smashed high quality raw beef that is pasted like (or together with) butter on toasted bread. OK, I skip the butter and have a good conscience but I order the very spicy version of the meal.

Mövenpick is a chain of Swiss restaurants. Their offerings overlap. Quality and service are impeccable. From the entire chain in Zurich I prefer the Palavrion because of the setting: in the summer it is possible to sit outside and in the winter just behind the big glass wall where it feels like sitting outside. Since the venue is located in an area with many bars and clubs, it is possible to enjoy people-watching at its best.

After my favorite meal, I always neutralize the flavor with a scoop of stracciatella ice cream and an Espresso. Only afterwards do I regain my health awareness.

Some additional information: there is a wide Sushi offering and a Sunday buffet brunch for CHF 29.00.

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Mövenpick Palavrion | Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Swiss) | Beefstake Tatar CHF 31
Beethovenstrasse 32 | Kreis 2 Enge | +41442865454
Mon – Fri 08:30 – 00:00, Sat 11:00 – 00:00, Sun 11:00 – 23:00

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Image by Miltiadis Sarakinos

I have always had a love-hate relation to jazz. I understand nothing about it. I cannot name any artists or tell it apart from soul, blues etc. And all jazz sounds the same to me.

But I love jazz bars. Many years ago I discovered the “Gig”, a small hot smoky jazz club in the Müllerstrasse. The artists were not internationally famous (probably) but little bands, sometimes local ones (luckily, because I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference). Then the Gig moved to a new location in the Fraumünsterstrasse; from the red light district to the business district. Same faces, same concept: no entrance fee, no overpriced drinks, just voluntary tipping.

Guests could order from the Italian restaurant next door and consume while listening to music. And then, a couple of years later, the Gig closed; a sign was pointing to the Trattoria & Soul in Seefeld, a going-out district.

Trattoria and Soul brings me back (mentally) to the Gig. The environment has evolved: it is more bourgeois than underground and a bit more luminous but is very pleasant anyway. Live music plays only on Thursday and Friday from October to May; for a couple of hours starting at 21:00. There is a rich artist repertoire that changes weekly. You can enjoy the music with bar-food or just a drink and/or a cigar from the humidor.

At other times you are in a very nice Italian restaurant. In the summer there are tables outside.

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Trattoria & Soul | Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks, Restaurants (Italian)
Seefeldstrasse 5 | Kreis 8 Seefeld | +41442525212
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 02:00, Sat 17:00 – 02:00, Sun 17:00 – 00:00

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Image by Ajuni

Literally translated, ‘Volkshaus’ means ‘house of the people’. The most accurate English term is probably ‘community centre’. Zurich’s version is located in the heart of the former working class area Kreis 4 and has been around since 1910, as is proudly proclaimed on the website.

Volkshaus is arguably best known for hosting gigs. This is one of the largest venues in town and the bands that play here tend to be on their way up to going stadium-size – or they are on their way down from world domination.

On the premises there is also a bookshop specializing in political science and psychoanalysis but they also stock more profane stuff such as the humble novel.

The sauna in the Volkshaus’s basement has just been refurbished and is now open for business, offering a hammam and sauna facilities in modern, slick surroundings.

Last but by no means least the café and restaurant have been refurbished a few years ago. Gone are the cobwebs of yesteryear, the place looks sleek but has retained a nice vintage touch. The best time to stop by here is in the afternoon, sitting by the huge windows and watching the world go by. This is community service with a difference.

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Volkshaus | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Restaurants (Swiss) | Pot of tea CHF 5.00
Stauffacherstrasse 60 | Kreis 4 Aussersihl
Mon – Tue 08:00 – 00:00, Wed 08:00 – 01:00, Thu – Fri 08:00 – 02:00, Sat 09:00 – 02:00, Sun 10:00 – 00:00

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Image by Miltiadis Sarakinos

The 0815 bar in Seefeld opened in October 2008 and is the younger brother of the 0815 bar near the train station which is about 5 years older. Like all brothers that are not identical twins, the 0815 bars have their similarities and their differences.

The similarities:

A mix of architectural design, electronic music, snacks and drinks. I have tried the tapas but my favorite is the beefsteak tartar. My special wish, lots of toasted bread, was impeccably fulfilled.

The differences:

Think about the spot near the train station as somewhat crowded and noisy, the type of crowd having an after-work drink. A bit of pretension? Unavoidably. And there might be difficulty finding a seat (so choose the most interesting crows and squeeze in diplomatically).

Now leave the urban center and move towards the lake. Time to relax. After a swim in Bad Utoquai during the summer or a dip in the frozen lake after a sauna in the winter, 0815 in the Kreuzstrasse is a very valid continuation. It is less crowded than the older brother but busy, less pretentious but still cool and the crowds are no less handsome than near the train station.

In the Summer, there are tables outside. And every other summer, there is football: world cup or European cup. Two big screen TVs with different orientations are located inside. But you can follow the games comfortably even if you are sitting outside.

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0815 | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Orange Juice CHF 5.00
Kreuzstrasse 26 | Kreis 8 Seefeld | +41442420815
Mon – Fri 07:00 – 00:00, Sat 09:00 – 02:00

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Image by Miltiadis Sarakinos

Pur pur is a place with two faces. In the warm season you chill out on the terrace outside. At other times, you can relax in the oriental setting inside during the early hours but as the evening progresses, the venue turns into a night club with beautiful people and loud music (see photos).

The terrace has two sections. The front side, along Seefeldstrasse, is the “see and be seen” area where seeing really means “(people) watching”: something like the after-work drink for the professional crowds in their thirties.

If you are lucky you get to sit on the little sofa at the edge. The side terrace feels quieter: a place for focusing on the person you are with. The tables are decorated with nice red candlelight.

During major football events, there are two TV screens outside, one in the front terrace and one in the back. During the Euro 2008, the former had a visible region of dead pixels (which probably means the crowd didn’t really care about football).

Inside the venue you get to sit on pillows and smoke the hookah to get in some “1000+1 nights” mood. The first thing you notice when you find a nice free spot to sit is the little paper note telling from which time the spot is reserved for others. But there is usually enough time to enjoy an evening drink.

From the snacks, try the tartar. From the non-alcoholic cocktails I like the frullato.

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Pur Pur | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Snacks | Non-alcoholic drink CHF 12
Seefeldstr.9 | Kreis 8 Seefeld | +41444192066
Mon – Thu 11:00 – 02:00, Fri 11:00 – 04:00, Sat 14:00 – 04:00, Sun 14:00 – 02:00

Copyrights Spotted by Locals Zurich

Image by Miltiadis Sarakinos

La Stanza was destined to catch my eye and become an addition to my list of favourites. The venue is located on Bleicherweg, somewhere between Paradeplatz and the next Tram stop (Stockerstrasse), near Palavrion, Onyx Bar and Coco. La Stanza opened its doors in the summer of 2008.

Not only the location but also the style fitted my taste. That first Friday evening I saw a bar packed with young people, most of them standing in the Art Nouveau interior (built by an Italian bar constructor brought from Northern Italy). The crowd was loud; come in Italia.

What did I order that first time? Espresso, of course, what else? I consumed it standing up and in a hurry. Since then, I always order the same when I go there. Be warned: the Espresso in La Stanza is so strong and bitter that even a fanatic like me needs to add a bit of milk. The October 2010 issue of the Swiss Airlines on-board magazine calls it the best Espresso in town.

La Stanza is also well visited during the daytime and offers snacks. But I choose the late summer or autumn evening when it is dark: the crowd is in the small side terrace with the wooden tables, the wooden chairs, the wooden floor and the colourful hanging lamps (see photos). It is a small terrace so table sharing is common (I like that). But it feels quite relaxed: the Espresso does not have to be consumed standing up and in a hurry.

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La Stanza | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Espresso CHF 4.00
Bleicherweg 10 | Kreis 1 City | +41438176282
Mon – Wed 06:30 – 23:00, Thu 06:30 – 00:00, Fri 06:30 – 02:00, Sat 11:00 – 02:00

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Image by Miltiadis Sarakinos

Café Milchbar is a recent discovery. Several years after my first visit, I ventured again into the Zentralhof, a beautiful and quiet square hidden near the busy and hectic Bahnhofstrasse. The square evoked vague memories of the Place Vosges in Paris. In the middle there is a fountain. During the warm season it is surrounded by flowers. Two cafés share the southeastern corner of the square for their tables.

The venue is a bakery offering a wide range of breads, sandwiches and pastries. It claims to be the only bakery in the city center preparing its own bread. It caters to early birds since it opens at 05:00 during working days. Lunch is also an option.

For me personally the spot is becoming a preferred station during my Saturday afternoon city stroll. I evade the crowds of the Bahnhofstrasse and enjoy my tomato-mozzarella specialty before going back to where the action is, preferably Confisserie Sprüngli (see the Sprüngli article).

Self service applies. Several major daily newspapers are available. When sitting outside you can choose between a table in the square or in the corridor leading out to the Kappelergasse, where the front entrance to the Café is. But even when sitting inside, during colder weather, you will still appreciate the atmosphere, it always feels like “taking a break”.

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Café Milchbar | Coffee & tea, Snacks, Restaurants (Bakery) | Espresso CHF 4.10
Kappelergasse 16 | Kreis 1 City | +41442119013
Mon – Fri 05:00 – 18:00, Sat 07:00 – 17:00

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