Alterszentrum Hottingen, Freiestrasse, Zurich

Brunch: for some it’s an ill-disguised breakfast, for others an existence-defining pasttime. Instagram feeds, newspaper journals, fancy websites and dubious blogs (ahem) all seem to be intent on finding THE place for brunch. Happily snapping a picture of an matcha oatly latte while nibbling a Hiestand Gipfeli seems to be what your average investigative brunch researcher defines as “exhaustive analysis”. Neatly summed up in something called “a listicle”.

Over the years we’ve honed and adapted our research to bring you the best dining information money can’t buy! (Note: this isn’t the readers money we’re talking about…). We’ve brunched until we could brunch no more. We risked health, taste buds, a wardrobe upgrade and a cholesterol overdose all in the name of science. The best brunch we had in a very long time was – I kid you not – at the Alterzentrum Hottingen a home for the elderly. Once a month they do the full monty brunch buffet with all the trimmings.

You get the usual bread, cold cuts, cheese, juice etc. collection. On top there’s a trained chef serving real lunch food (eg. roast with vegetables and sauce) once you’re done with the breakfast part of lunch. Except for the Birchermüesli, everything was tasty, well cooked and prepared with care. There are a few inmates milling around, but most of the crowd seems to be from the area. Quite frankly at just 35 swiss francs including coffee – it’s a steal.