Food and drink | Kreislauf 4+5 | Design on and around Langstrasse

Food and drink

In the mid-1980s, the legendary Remo Tizziani taught Zurich a new way to dine at his Restaurant Gasometer (now the Josef). Since then, the 4th and 5th districts have witnessed the birth of a whole host of unconventional concepts for one-of-a-kind culinary and atmospheric charm, eateries whose will to go their own way has served as a model for restaurateurs throughout town. And what was once home to Zurich’s working class is to this day a forge for a lively culture of cuisine and bonhomie. The Kreislauf 4+5 team invite you to check out the following:

Aargauerhof Langstrasse / Hohlstrasse 43, 8004 Zurich, Phone 044 242 46 16 The former “Chreis-Cheib-Chnelle” (Zurich vernacular for a local dive) at the intersection of Langstrasse and Hohlstrasse has been transformed into a bright and cheerful place welcoming regulars both old and new. The menu features such traditional fare as Züri-Gschnätzlets (veal in cream sauce), macaroni with minced meat, cordon bleu and a super-size pork cutlet, the latter tender and served with a side of Rösti (potato hash), a Bernese country specialty.

Brasserie Lam Brauerstrasse 42, 8004 Zurich, Phone 044 241 66 88 This fusion of Asia and Zurich serves Vietnamese and Cantonese dishes in a stylishly urban ambience. Your host has an insider’s tip for you: “bun”, a sensational hot-and-cold layering of salad topped with rice noodles and meat. The version served in the evening, known as “banh”, takes longer to prepare but is more fun to eat, with ingredients to be rolled in rice paper by the diner and eaten with fish sauce and iced tea.

Casablanca Langstrasse 62, 8004 Zurich, Phone 044 241 60 60 Just the sort of café-bar you want in your neighbourhood, with soft music soothing the ear, a small and delicate selection of soups, snacks and salads on offer, and a very promising-looking coffee machine. Enjoy a picnic as you set off on an imaginary voyage around the world. Your ticket: something to read, and a view of bustling Langstrasse on the other side of the window.

Für Dich Stauffacherstrasse 141, 8004 Zurich, Phone 043 317 91 60 This calm, uncomplicated spot near the Bäckeranlage has something for everyone. The “Kafi” is welcoming, with big windows and a lovely parquet floor, serves soup, sandwiches and cakes at lunchtime, to adults and children alike, and clears away the playthings in the evening to break out the fine wines: it’s bar time! Sunday caters to the brunch crowd, in summer there’s the city’s best ice cream, and a comfy wee inn on the floors above is the newest addition to the range of offerings.

La Galerie du Vin Feldstrasse 62, 8004 Zurich, Phone 044 248 35 35 The art of making outstanding wines is the star of Reichmuth’s new showcase: more than a thousand stylized wooden crates from the Bordeaux region tower over the room to create a grotto-like landscape replete with display stands for over five hundred noble wines of mainly French provenance. The ruby-red counter is an invitation to sample and enjoy the varietals, as well as to engage in a stimulating discussion of grapes and other delicacies.

Greulich Hotel Herman-Greulich-Strasse 56, 8004 Zurich, Phone 043 243 42 43 A flare for design and an eye for sustainability are the hallmarks of this hospitable institution, where guests spend most of their time on the ground floor, enjoying an outstanding restaurant fronted by a streetside café, a little bar, and a lounge area complete with fireplace. These in turn encircle an atmospheric inner courtyard, with its pond and sculptural stand of birch trees the heart of the Greulich. Tables are set here for outside dining in the summer, and overnight visitors cross it to reach a wing of lofty guestrooms.

Hot Pasta Due Militärstrasse 76, 8004 Zurich, Phone 043 243 33 10 Because it tastes as great as it looks, there’s now a secondo: Hot Pasta 2 – new in Kreis 4 as well – is a hospitable mamma for those who don’t have the time to prepare homemade tortelli, spaghetti, cannelloni or lasagna, or to jet off to Bella Italia for it. The staff are always pleasant and welcoming, and they’ve got a tavola calda from 11 in the morning until 11 at night. This paradise of pasta is also a heaven of panini, a ristorante, takeout, bar, birreria, and a little bit of Torino, Roma, Milano ...

Italia Zeughausstrasse 61, 8004 Zurich, Phone 043 233 88 44 The specialty of this authentic, uncomplicated osteria is “cucina della mamma”, served in summer in a lovely garden. When it’s cold guests move indoors, to tables surrounding a “salumeria”, a display case featuring game and other delights from Switzerland’s southern neighbour and its own Italian-speaking region. An authentic taste of the country that has taught the world how to live, and whose cuisine remains completely up-to-date to this day.

Plaza Badenerstrasse 109, 8004 Zurich, Phone 044 542 90 90 A meeting place for birds of paradise and nighthawks, where club culture is celebrated on the premises of a 1924-era cinema. With its three bars, four lounges and a stage, the Plaza Saal on the below-ground level is an event venue and dancefloor rolled into one. On the above-ground level, at the Kosmos, where as in the good old days you’re allowed to smoke, it’s all about pleasure, while the Plaza Bar, accessible from the street, opens as evening falls to offer you a first taste of the night.

Si o no Ankerstrasse 6, 8004 Zurich, Phone 044 241 03 01 Yep, another drink please. And some tapas too, por favor. Because the colourfully patterned floor tiles and the worn velvet sofas are such a nice memory of our last vacation. A little melancholy, and a little anticipation of what the evening may bring: this former butchery is where the neighbourhood gets together, and has been doing so long enough for the place to call itself an institution.

Volkshaus Stauffacherstrasse 60, 8004 Zurich, Phone 044 242 11 55 Comfy séparées divide the big, eccentrically decorated hall into hospitable compartments. A whiff of Paris – or is it Barcelona? Like the name says, the “House of the People” is a cosmopolitan venue to see and be seen: local hipsters at the bar and in the lounge out front, and folks who’ve been living here since the dawn of time enjoying their favourite roast (with some unusual sides) at the restaurant in back.

Acapulco Neugasse 56, 8005 Zurich, Phone 044 272 66 88 It’s amazing that the windows of the Acapulco Bar are not permanently fogged over, what with the atmosphere of a weekend like a night down south and the place cooking – especially when karaoke fans are competing at the top of their lungs, pinball championships are noisily underway downstairs, and Zurich is generally loving the night.

Café Gloria Josefstrasse 59, 8005 Zurich, Phone 044 272 35 70 Reminiscent by turns of a UFO and a student commune, Café Gloria would have loungers passing the time by its round windows with a view of the district’s prettiest street, or sitting outside in summer, where trestle tables and benches turn the sidewalk into a splendid urban spot to pass the time, with or without the residual hip of its retro look.

Café Noir Neugasse 33, 8005 Zurich, Phone 043 535 46 77 If there were a prize for Zurich’s best café, this place would be in the running. The delicious coffees, roasted onsite, are served with snacks and cakes inside or, when the weather is fine, on the terrace. And anyone who doesn’t know beans about creating a java taste sensation can simply buy their coffee here to brew at home, or take a course.

Cinque Langstrasse 215, 8005 Zurich, Phone 044 272 46 30 There are guests who are convinced Cinque has been around for generations. Wrong! Or rather, it’s a perfect put-up job: the ambience in this knickknack-laden place takes diners straight to the heart of the Italian province. On offer is solid Italian fare, with a wine list to match.

Maison Blunt Gasometerstrasse 5, 8005 Zurich, Phone 043 211 00 33 Up front there’s a restaurant with simple wooden tables and chairs, out back a Moroccan lounge with cushions: just the right environment to smoke a waterpipe in peace, eat a couscous, and drink some marvellously fresh mint tea. The atmosphere in this former garage is pure fairy tale.

Mata Hari Langstrasse 237, 8005 Zurich, Phone 043 205 22 50 Smiling idols watch over the guests in Hawaiian shirts and Kon-Tiki fever. The South Sea decor means that it’s summer all year long here, which would be enough to intoxicate the holiday-deprived senses even without exotic drinks and beer.

Restaurant Markthalle Limmatstrasse 231, 8005 Zurich, Phone 044 201 00 60 Cooking with market-fresh ingredients is taken seriously here, with grocers’ stands set up just past the bar. And what could make more sense than having wine delivered from the Südhang winery just around the corner, and serving vegetables, salad and suckling pig from the region? High-quality products for feet-on-the-ground cuisine, seasoned with sophistication. The high stone vault of the overhead railway forms a roof for this cheerful canteen, where dinner is served directly out of the pot.

Restaurant Viadukt Im Viadukt ...8, 8005 Zurich, Phone 043 204 18 99 It probably doesn’t get any more urban: railway tracks above, an exciting world of design in the arches below. So those in need of a place to recover from the excitement will be delighted by the unique atmosphere of the Viadukt, with its innovative, seasonal, calorie-conscious country cooking and, when it’s warm out, service in the garden conjuring up the feeling that the Josefswiese is perched atop an Alp. Plus there’s music! For which see the weekend programme...

RiffRaff Neugasse 57/63, 8005 Zurich, Phone 044 444 22 05 One of the neighbourhood’s most architecturally intriguing ensembles, the RiffRaff’s four screens, bistro and bar, where the light of the projector plays eerily across the darkness above your head during a film, make it the perfect spot for a nightcap.