Nordbrücke – Trainspotting

Zurich’s district of Wipkingen is waking up. Its latest addition, the bar and restaurant Nordbrücke, is just beside the local train station and is great for Saturday afternoons. Buy your fresh vegetables, fruit and flowers at the nearby stall and then spend the rest of your time enjoying a beer or a coffee in the former train station buffet, while you watch people pass by. It’s a place to go for drinks or coffee, but also a good address to get some food.Open since March 2008, it seems the sheer volume of clientele and the variety of people visiting proves that the concept has hit the spot. Combining old (they simply varnished the nicotine-stained walls, kept the tables and chairs, and added comfort with Biedermeier sofas) with new (a blue/green fitted bar and new lighting system), the venue still has an air of train station buffet, but with a contemporary feel.

The big windows are great for people spotting and have recently been unveiled after a lifetime behind net curtains. The result of the gentle makeover is a charming and comfortable bar in which you immediately feel at home. It’s a place where you sense the past, making it feel somehow more real than many of today’s cloned modern, trendy bars.

In winter, the terrace and garden are not much use but the comfy interior as well as the diverse lunch menu make up for this. The menu alsways includes a vegetarian as well as a lactose-free dish.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Nordbrücke | Bars, Coffee & tea, Music, Restaurants (Swiss) | Lunch from CHF 17
Dammstrasse 58 | Kreis 10 Wipkingen | +41442710177
Tue – Thu 07:30 – 01:00, Fri 07:30 – 02:00, Sat 09:00 – 02:00, Sun 09:00 – 23:00