From the outside, the Zähringer looks pretty inconspicuous. There’s not much that indicates that this is not quite an ordinary Café. But this is not quite an ordinary café. Beginning with the ownership: The Zähringer is self-governing, which means everyone who works there is part owner and has a say in everything that happens. So the girl who serves you coffee is basically part of the executive board.

The Zähringer, which I call the living room café for its cosy atmosphere, is a good place to drink coffee, but also to eat lunch or dinner. If you care about the environment, you’ll like this: All the food is freshly prepared and most of it is organic. I say most of it because the Zähringer-Collective favors regional products (even if not organic) over products that have traveled around the whole globe. Normally you can choose between a yummy vegetarian, a vegan and a carnivoric (yes, that’s how they call it) meal.

And it’s not just food, there’s culture too. The place originated in the heated eighties and had a lot going on: Concerts, readings, exhibitions and so on. Nowadays it’s a little calmer, but there are still cultural events several times a month. Interested? Stop by, have a homemade ice tea and check out the programme.