Café Bar Odeon

The Odeon opened its doors at Bellevue on 1 July 1911 as an Art Nouveau grand café, and it soon became a second home for the avant-garde. The founders of the Dada movement were regulars shortly after it opened, and the café counts Albert Einstein, Lenin, the writer Kurt Tucholsky and James Joyce among its past guests. Zürich Tourism says hardly any other establishment in the city can look back on such a long culinary history. The café also claims that the Cüpli, the Swiss term for a glass of champagne, was invented here more than a century ago.

Today it runs in the spirit of a Viennese coffeehouse, serving food from early morning until late at night. Mornings bring croissants, coffee, breakfast and brunch; at lunchtime there is a daily menu from the kitchen's creative repertoire; and the à la carte menu offers classics such as beef tartare and the Odeon club sandwich, along with fresh seafood, including Atlantic oysters. The café states that its meat is Swiss, its eggs are Swiss free-range and its fish is certified, with exceptions labelled on the menu.

As the evening goes on, the Odeon turns into a bar, so you can come for coffee at breakfast time and return for a drink late in the evening. On the first Wednesday of each month, a Champagne Wednesday in the early evening offers unlimited Cüpli for a fixed price, a nod to the café's claim to have invented the term.

Zürich Tourism lists it as open every day from early morning until midnight, and until 2:00 on Friday and Saturday nights, with later morning openings at weekends. Tables can be reserved online, which is wise for weekend brunch and evenings. It suits anyone interested in literary and artistic history, couples, solo travellers with a book and groups meeting for a drink.

The Odeon is on Limmatquai at Bellevue, close to the lake, the Opernhaus and the Sternen Grill, and at the southern end of the Old Town. The Kronenhalle is also nearby, and the Grossmünster and the Niederdorf are a pleasant walk north along the river.