WORD OF MOUTH
Coffee pit stop LA STANZA Bleicherweg 10, Zürich lastanza.ch
With its curved-glass shopfront, leafy terrace and Art Nouveaustyle interior, this Italian café is light and airy. The coffee is strong and bitter – made from a unique blend of beans roasted especially for the café by Blaser, a 95-year-old roastery in the Swiss capital of Bern – and you won’t find an espresso quite like it anywhere else. They don’t do takeaway so make like a local and down your brew at the bar.
Breakfast meeting METROPOL Fraumünsterstrasse 12, Zürich metropol-restaurant.ch
The Swiss rarely do breakfast meetings – as far as business is concerned, lunch is the most important meal of the day. If you have scheduled a morning appointment – the Swiss aren’t fond of spontaneous meetings – the Neo-Baroque grandeur of the Metropol offers the right mix of comfort and splendour. On the Limmat edge of the financial district, the café has an outdoor terrace and a small but functional breakfast menu.
Dining alone TAO’S Augustinergasse 3, Zürich taos-zurich.ch
Only minutes from the financial district in the heart of the Old Town is the maze-like collection of sumptuous dining spaces that is Tao’s. An upscale Eastmeets-West fusion restaurant, it offers inventive dishes with an Asian twist (entrecôte beef tataki with truffle mayo and orange ponzu sauce) alongside Swiss classics (beef tartare with brioche and salted butter), a decent seafood menu and options from the teppanyaki grill. There’s also a bamboo courtyard for dining al fresco. Tao’s is often recommended by concierges so it’s not unusual to see out-of-town businesspeople, solo or in groups, at this musttry restaurant.
Drinks with clients OLD FASHION BAR Fraumünsterstrasse 15, Zürich old-fashion-bar.ch
Although the bar opened in 2015, this site in the Old Town has been welcoming sophisticated drinkers since 1886. Its style is traditional Zürich – chandeliers, leather-and-wood wall panels and a long brass bar – but it is elegant, quiet and a great spot for business drinks.
Business dinner KRONENHALLE Rämistrasse 4, Zürich kronenhalle.ch
Kronenhalle brasserie is a Zürich institution that embodies the city’s old-world opulence. This is traditional business dining at its best, with a menu as classic as the restaurant’s brass fittings and leather banquettes – think oxtail soup, fillet of beef with pepper and sides of rösti and spätzli (soft egg noodles). Then there’s the art. Real Mirós and Chagalls grace the dark walls – a tribute to both artists who regularly ate here. If you want something more modern, try Hato (hato-restaurants.com). With ridiculously good Japanese at ridiculously high prices, it’s definitely one for the expense account.