Ground control: a guide to Zürich’s world-class coffee scene

This article is part of a guide to Zürich from FT Globetrotter

For many years, Zürich had a solid but unexciting coffee scene. This was, after all, the country that invented Nespresso.

Even as Australian-style coffee culture began to sweep London more than 15 years ago, going on to trigger interest in speciality coffee all over Europe, Zürich clung to its traditional preferences: dark, Italian-style robusta roasts, producing bitter espressos with a tightly drawn menu of “Swiss” coffees based on them, from Schale (latte) to Kafi Crème (espresso, but with a long extraction).

No longer. In the past five years, specialist coffee culture in Zürich has blossomed. It’s still a small scene, but some of the city’s coffee shops are now world-famous — at least among the barista cognoscenti.

“Zürich was sleeping for a long time, but it’s finally waking up,” says Emi Fukahori, the co-founder of one of them, Mame, over a filter coffee at her roastery. “Perceptions have really changed.” 

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It’s a development indicative of the food scene in Zürich as a whole, says Fukahori, who is originally from Japan but a longtime resident of the city. Now there is an abundance of sophisticated but simple and focused producers and restaurants, offering a growing variety of cuisines and dining styles, she says.

The nice thing about the niche coffee scene, Fukahori adds, is that “everyone has a different angle . . . so it’s not like we’re cannibalising each other”.

From purveyors of rare tisane-like filter coffees to roasters of rich, classic espressos, here are a few of the best.

Miró Manufactura de Café 

Brauerstrasse 58, 8004 Zürich (Plus a branch at zürich central station and a coffee truck in various locations)

• Good for: Floral, lighter roasts; meeting friends

• Not so good for: Sitting alone with a book

• FYI: Don’t miss the “Desayuno” vegan brunch, served at the weekend

• Website; Directions

Brothers Dani and David Sanchez were trailblazers for Zürich’s speciality coffee scene. After a period of studying in Melbourne, Dani decided that Zürich was missing out. In 2013, he bought his own roasting machine and began selling his own coffee. Wholesale orders followed, and Miró eventually opened its premises on Brauerstrasse, in Zürich’s nightlife district, Langstrasse, where the roasting is now also done.

Miró’s focus is on lighter roasts that explore the complexity of the various single-origin beans it showcases for customers. The full range of standard espresso-based drinks is available, as well as batch filters and hand-brews. The café on Brauerstrasse is airy and light — a “millennial’s conservatory” aesthetic, with houseplants, whitewashed floors, exposed ducting and elegant plywood furniture.

It gets busy at weekends, when the extended breakfast menu — Desayuno — is a particular hit. Sadly (for this writer at least), veganism has wrought its work here too, so there are no longer any delicious egg dishes and the yoghurt is now soy-based. The non-vegan pastries are still good, though.

Mame

Josefstrasse 160, 8005 Zürich, and Seefeldstrasse 19, 8008 Zürich

• Good for: Filter flights and champion baristas

• Not so good for: Kicking back. Space is a bit limited and most inside seating is stool-based. Be prepared for a short wait at weekends

• FYI: At weekends, you will occasionally find some of the best canelé outside Bordeaux, made by local pâtisserie Atelier Okashi. Crispy and soft, with a ghostly perfume of rum, made the traditional way with beeswax

• Website; Directions

Co-founder Emi Fukahori is pretty sure this is the only coffee shop in the world where national barista champions from two different countries (and at time of writing, a hopeful third) might serve you. Currently pulling espressos at Josefstrasse (Mame’s original shop, in the modish District 5) are the Italian and Polish winners for 2023. Fukahori and co-founder Mathieu Theis (who looks after the sourcing of their beans) are champions too: Fukahori was the World Brewers Cup champion in 2018 and a world barista finalist in 2021. Theis is a two-time world barista finalist.

Regardless of their garlands, the staff are super-friendly, open and relaxed. Mame’s reputation draws the best baristas from all over the world to come and work here.

A selection of different beans is on offer, ranging from more unusual fruity roasts to traditional darker-chocolatey styles. Customers can go for the tasting and flight menus (as an espresso, filter and macchiato). A changing range of rarer “exceptional” beans is also available — roasted in tiny quantities and often crafted especially for Mame’s baristas to use in competitions. The usual range of milk coffees are, of course, available too, whether with oat or cow’s.

Places to sit are a little limited at the Josefstrasse branch, which gets busy at weekends. There’s a small range of cakes and pâtisserie, but no savoury food.

Coffee 

Grüngasse 4, 8004 Zürich

• Good for: Classic espressos, eggs Benedict and creative small-plates (veggie) brunch on Saturdays

• Not so good for: A place to sit if the sun isn’t shining

• FYI: Closed Sundays

• Website; Directions

What Coffee might lack in space it makes up for in taste. This small, stylish café was co-founded by Shem Leupin and Thomas Leuenberger. Leupin also works as a buyer at Stoll, one of Zürich’s oldest coffee manufacturers. Its coffee is on offer here, and these days includes a range of styles, roasts and origins. Leupin caught the speciality-coffee bug growing up in Australia; on sale at Coffee are the usual range of Aussie-style espresso-based drinks. On a warm day there’s usually extra space on sunny tables outside, and a cast of super-loyal regulars gives the café a family feel.

There is a small range of pastries. Somehow — given the space constraints — Coffee manages to pull off a delicious brunch option of freshly made small dishes on Saturdays too.

ViCafe

Bahnhofstrasse 93, 8001 Zürich (PLUS branches across the city)

• Good for: Classic, top-notch espresso coffees on the run

• Not so good for: Experimentation or sitting down

• FYI: Although most ViCafes are takeaway “bars”, there’s ample outdoor seating at the Münsterhof outlet on a good day and indoor spaces at Kweer, an LGBTQ+ friendly cultural venue in the old town, the Niederdorf.

• Website; Directions

ViCafe began as a cola business. Founder Christian Forrer revived the beloved Swiss heritage-cola brand Vivi Kola in 2010 from a tiny café on the river Rhine in his hometown of Eglisau. Realising he might need more than just a fizzy drink to sell, he set up a micro-roastery.

Now ViCafe has expanded with a small chain of outlets across nearby Zürich, serving excellent espresso-based coffees, all ethically sourced and roasted by Forrer and his team. Most ViCafe outlets are takeaway only or have limited seats. You’ll find a few downtown: on Bahnhofstrasse, close to the main station; at enSoie, the cult shop just below the Lindenhof, a historic site and popular viewpoint; on the Münsterhof, Zürich’s old city square; and at Kweer, an LGBTQ+ social space in the winding streets of the old town.

Omnia

Stauffacherstrasse 105, 8004 Zürich

• Good for: Getting to know Indonesian coffee

• Not so good for: Sitting. There are only a couple of stools to perch on

• FYI: Did you know matcha comes in pink and blue? You do now

• Website; Directions

Omnia, despite its name, has a particular niche: it serves speciality coffees sourced only from Indonesia. A wide range of matcha drinks is also available. There are pastries and homemade cakes, but this isn’t really a place to linger: a bench outside and a couple of stools indoors make this a takeaway-only experience. A range of single-origin filters highlights the different floral styles of Indonesian beans, while the house Black Pearl espresso works perfectly in milk-based drinks (oat or cow’s).

Café Noir

Neugasse 33, 8005 Zürich

• Good for: A hidden, faintly bohemian-feeling place to hang out

• Not so good for: Groups — tables tend to be for one or two

• FYI: Unlike most coffee outlets in Zürich, which close between 5pm and 6pm, Café Noir is open until 8pm (Monday to Friday), making it ideal post-work. Stronger (alcoholic) drinks are available too if the need seizes you

• Website; Directions

A small but cosy place in the trendy District 5 (not too far from Mame), Café Noir roasts its own coffees, and was one of the original new-wave roasters to hit the Zürich scene. The focus here is on the traditional range of espresso-based drinks. There are also some sweet snacks, as well as booze. In the summer, a patio at the front has a few nice tables in the shade.

Monocle Café

Dufourstrasse 90, 8008 Zürich

• Good for: Sitting down to read a book or flip through an achingly hip design journal, while secretly people watching and feeling luxe

• Not so good for: A particularly local experience

• FYI: Monocle is open until 9pm from Thursday to Sunday, and its outdoor tables make it a great spot for a summer aperitif

• Website; Directions

Be prepared at weekends to fight your way through crowds of hipsters clad in the latest cult pieces by Japanese designers you’ve never heard of. Excellent coffee will be your reward.

The Monocle Café is situated in the eponymous lifestyle media group’s Zürich headquarters (founder Tyler Brûlé, a local resident, works from here) in upmarket Seefeld, close to the lake shore. A small shop selling bobo bibelots, tote bags and such is also part of the experience. There’s an excellent selection of international newspapers and magazines, as you’d expect (and, naturally, an ample stock of FTs). On warmer days there are plenty of tables on the pleasantly shaded pavement outside.

Best of the rest

If your tastes are more traditional, you can also get decent espresso-based coffees at La Stanza, Grande Café, Bar 45, Milchbar and Le Raymond.

Who in your opinion does the best coffee in Zürich? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter

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