Based on numerous criteria—including economic and technological aspects, quality of life, and environmental factors—the city of Zurich, Switzerland is considered one of the best places to live in the world. A global banking and finance center with a year-round population of around a half-million people, Zurich took home the recent the top spot in the global IMD Smart City Index, and it’s not the first time it has reached this podium.
Coffee in Zurich, once a step behind other major European cities, has quickly become more sophisticated here. Locals are a major part of this scene, including folks like Dario Stoop, a Swiss entrepreneur, barista, and roaster that has played a key part in shaping some of Zurich’s iconic coffee spots. But the city is also home to a range of international influences, including from my home country of Brazil—Catherine Queiroz from Neumann Kaffee Gruppe and Giovanna Tonelli from Mame are both Brazilians working in Switzerland’s coffee business, and they helped point me towards some of their favorite places for this guide.
Auer & Co.
Auer & Co. was one of the first coffee shops in Zurich to embrace the multi-roaster concept. The coffee shop is housed in a former factory, part of which opens onto the Limmat, a river that flows from Lake Zurich and helps define the city’s landscape. People work between tables and sofas, drawn by fine coffee and high-quality food. “Everything here is really about community,” Dario Stoop tells me. “It’s a place where everyday people walk in, curious and open to experiencing great coffee.”
Stoop has crafted a medium roast that highlights the sweet spot of Brazilian coffee beans, making it an ideal match for milk-based drinks. Alongside it, you’ll find a curated selection of pour-over coffees, all sourced from his roastery, Coffee Architects, which launched at the Swiss Coffee Festival in October of 2023.
Kraftwerk
Located in a former power plant station, Kraftwerk features an industrial atmosphere and reflects the contemporary, laid-back style typical of Zurich’s western district. This stands in contrast to the city’s more austere center, where banks, global brands, and iconic Swiss trademarks, like traditional watches and chocolates, still dominate.
Inside, stacked shipping containers cleverly divide the spacious hall into two distinct areas. One section is dedicated to work, events, and concerts, while the expansive front area houses the Kraftwerk Café & Restaurant. The menu is primarily vegan, and the coffee program follows the same concept Stoop developed at Auer & Co.
Commercial – The Project
Commercial was founded by Nick Spanoudakis, a native of Crete, Greece, who has been living in Switzerland since 2018. Spanoudakis has done it all over his coffee career, which began in 2008. “It’s been just a constant evolution,” he tells me, “from bartender to barista, manager, competitor, cafe owner, and soon, roaster.”
His first cafe opened in 2024, in District 4 next to the charming Bäckeranlage Park, and now there’s a second location on Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich’s main commercial and financial street. When I visited, Spanoudakis was behind the counter himself, and I tasted some espressos brimming with character—a velvet-glove punch, as wine connoisseurs might say.
The shop serves several local roasters including Balloon, Mame, and Rose Coffee Roasters, and maintains a clean, minimalist atmosphere inspired by Japanese omakase. Milk-based drinks are the favorites here, but the cafe also offers hand-brewed filter coffee using V60s, Origami Brewers, and AeroPress.
Coffee
If you’re looking for a strategic stop to dive into the atmosphere of contemporary Zurich, this is the place. The cafe, simply named “COFFEE,” leaves no doubt about what to expect: quality drinks in a small, minimalist space with sidewalk seating, a laid-back vibe, and a cool story behind it.
Co-owners Shem Leupin and Thomas Leuenberger are deeply involved in the business—both inside and beyond the glass-fronted cafe, where the bold “COFFEE” sign can be spotted from a distance. Leupin, who holds the title of Swiss Barista Champion (2013), also works as a green coffee buyer for the Swiss roastery Stoll Kaffee, which supplies the cafe’s beans. Leuenberger, meanwhile, is a recipe developer at John Baker, considered Zurich’s trendiest bakery, which provides their cakes and breads.
With this kind of synergy and dedication to quality, all you need to do is take a seat, order an espresso or a filtered coffee, and if you want to experience a local favorite, grab the banana bread topped with a generous layer of Greek yogurt. A must-try.
Mame
Emi Fukahori and her business partner Mathieu Theis are the founders of Mame, a roaster / retailer with three cafe spaces in Zurich, two more in Geneva, and a roastery located in a warehouse called Das Provisorium. The space once housed a bakery and now serves as a coworking hub for innovative food projects in Zurich. On a recent visit to the roastworks, Fukahori explained her approach to roasting reflects changing tastes in Switzerland. “In the beginning, many people in Zurich didn’t really know what they liked in coffee, most just consumed caffeine out of habit,” she tells me. “Over time, we’ve noticed that customers are finding more meaning in their coffee, developing clearer preferences and a sense of what they truly enjoy.”
Fukahori is internationally recognized in the specialty coffee scene and attracts many foreigners who want to work with her. If you visit only one Mame in Zurich, make it the one on Josefstrasse, in the western part of the city. And watch for upcoming additional openings, including one more cafe in Zurich and a new project called Kuro Mame in Tokyo.
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Paulo Pedroso is a regular contributor to Brazilian newspapers Folha de São Paulo and Valor Econômico, as well as Revista Espresso, a Brazilian specialty coffee magazine. Read more Paulo Pedroso on Sprudge.
