The World Cup Bar rundown for Zurich

Calvados / Idaplatz http://www.lecalvados.ch

Idaplatz is slowly moving past its prime. Now that everyone has heard about it, it’s always full and has turned from hotspot of habituées to a hotspot for the whole city. Or in true football fashion “you will never walk alone” here at the Idaplatz.

It’s a good idea to send someone here early to grab a great seat. Personal recommendation is to bring a book and show up 2 hours early for a fantastic seat and start sampling the beers.  Showing up 10′ before game begin will leave you fighting for standing room

There are tons of TVs and there’s even an inside option if it rains. For food you have to run to the Mezzerie across the street, which is a bit of a buzz kill. Great place for people who like Brasil because they have a beautiful jersey.

Chang Arena / Letzipark http://chang-arena.ch/

Authentic. A word often casually used in many food reviews to undermine that a restaurant is “the real thing and not a bad copy”. On a hot day the Chang Arena is perfect. Scorching under a tent imported from Bangkok or tucked away in the shed, dozens of small plastic tables with stools give you this Thailand vacation feeling. Throw in the food and massage corner it truly becomes authentic.

However, this also means great Thai food which has little to do with what you get in a Zurich Thai restaurant.  Grilled tongue, Omelettes with fermented mushrooms, fish cakes or a specially crafted Thai Curry Wurst are some examples of the menu, which is clearly a standout – also in terms of spicyness.

On a summer day, the feeling at Chang Arena is almost unbeatable and the steady stream of large 0.62l bottles of Chang beer makes you feel like you’re in an exotic location. TV situation is very good. This is for people who like to combine courageous dining with heroic football feats.

Langstrasse 94, Langstrasse 94

Your best friend has this quaint appartment in a great location and happens to have a roof top terrace. He floats the idea of putting up a grill, a bar, a few TVs and some cushions. That’s Langstrasse 94 in a nutshell. You walk past the Palestine Grill and there’s the coveted entrance, all you need to do is be friendly to the bouncer (the building is in use by other tenants as well).

The biggest stand out of the Bar is the great view and the terrific hot dog. Cooked on the grill, sprinkled with garnishes this alone is worth the visit. Two large TVs on either side are available. The place is small and gets crowded quickly. It’s perfect for people who like rooftops, quality fast food and don’t mind a crowd.

Z am Park / Zurlindenstrasse http://zampark.ch/

You have a meeting and Iran is playing Marocco at the same time? You need not despair – the Z am Park is a great solution to a problem real football fans face more often than not. The Z am Park has ingeniously put out tables next to the windows and – leaving a 5 meter gap – on the other side of the sidewalk. These are spectactular tables for watching a game AND having a meeting you can talk without shouting at the same time.

You casually glance at the television tucked on the side of the  walls, while discussing strategy with our counterpart using an indoor voice. Nothing too memorable on food and drinks, but hey – having a quite location, with a great view of the TV, that is not your home… very hard too find. The place for the busy professional having to balance a world cup around a full calendar.

Rosengarten / Hottingerplatz https://www.rosengarten.ch/

You’ve already told your spouse, that summer vacation is off this year and your well laid out argument that it’s the World Cup and the only World Cup for another 8 years (Sarkozy and his crony Platini sold 2022  to Qatar and it’s taking place in December!) only got you weird looks, frowns and scepsis if you are actually mentally sane.

Now… Switzerland is playing and due to a scheduling error you hadn’t blocked the evening in your calendar and now it’s date night! It’s huge dilemma and you’re right in the middle of it. But… there’s a solution. The Rosengarten has one of the nicest gardens in the city and on game nights you can eat dinner under the lush trees, while watching the game! Even better – every time Switzerland scores: a round of beer is on the house!

The only small drawback is, the screen is big but not huge and you’ll have waiters zipping in and out your view every now and then. Having a sit down meal and making every one happy at the same time is a rare treat! Who thought you could be romantic and a staunch supporter of the Swiss national team at once?

Zentralstube / Zentralstrasse

Food: none. Smokers: plenty. Conversation: optional. Asking for a craft beer: puzzled stares. The Zentralstube is a great place to watch football since it’s totally void of any half-hearted football fans. It’s more of an existential experience, free of thrills, weird decoration or football hipsters. But – you’ll always find a seat!

Buckhuser / Buckhauserstrasse http://www.buckhuser.ch

Tucked away there’s a bit of a surprise: football is taken very seriously at the Buckhuser. A full-fledged 5m screen and arena style seating, complete with a bar and a grill is open to the public. Right next to it, the terrace has been fitted with large tv screens and you can order off the full restaurant menu, while you watch the game.

The Buckhuser is the location for people which need to combine a slew of different needs. The non-fans can drink inside at the bar, the more relaxed fan can have a proper meal with service while watching the game and the rest can gather around the large screen with beers and cheer.

Bar am Egge / Asylstrasse https://www.amegge.ch/

The golden days. This is what your prototypical world cup bar looks like. Patina, a longing feeling of the good olden days and decor that screams “no money, but lot’s of love”. Behind the bar the most iconic Panini pictures have been blown up and give a great ambiance (except that Georges Bregy is missing). If the weather is good a TV is setup outside and you can sit at a table and watch the game in the shade.

The best thing is, you can wager 5 bucks on the outcome of the game OR 4 bucks on how many corner kicks each team has. With the recent vote on blocking (!!!) the Swiss internet to protect the local casinos against foreign competition, this is the place where the politically interested football fan can really take a stand for their views: unregulated betting is an act of fighting for freedom! Or just drink 5 beers and be happy.

Enfant Terrible, Zurlindenstrasse http://enfant-terrible.org/

This is a bit of a weird place. The seating is ingenious, since it’s open on the side but under a roof, hence no matter what the weather you’ll always be fine. Dining option is a food truck serving different options, drinks are from the large menu (including beers form all over the world) at the Enfant Terrible.

The tv screen is too small, you need to get a seat up front to have a good view. Secondly, the games are shown on the German channels (ARD / ZDF), which is not everyone’s cup of tea, especially since they have this super weird habit of bringing news during half-time. Who cares about latest inner German political developments during say Croatia-Argentina? Also in a very German fashion – if you go to the toilet, you walk by an exhibition from Leipzig called “Strafraum Sachsen 2.0”  about “prejudices and discrimination in football while also highlighting the positive aspects of football”.

This is the place to visit if you’re a fan of the German team. You’ve now  even got plenty of time to for all the 21 charts of the exhibition…