Café des Amis — Restaurant in Zurich

Cafe des Amis - Zürich

As almost always I chose this cafe, from their Google listing. Their reviews were mostly very positive but also many complaints usually around service. I wanted to see if I felt comfortable bringing my bike with me as well as how it was to work from.

I visit places as part of my #WorkFromAnywhere project. I almost always arrive by bike with a laptop. I want to see if I can get work done and feel my bike is safe. These reviews are more for those “working from home” who want a break or “bike tourists”. This is not food review.

Bike rack/#: No/- Bike safety: 3/5 Work Comfort: 4/5 Outdoor Seating: Yes Ports: None visible WiFi: Yes, ask for code Coffee: Yes, good Biking Clothes: Fine Water Bottle Refill: Yes* EC/Credit Cards: Yes Mobile NFC Pay: Not visible

Another #WorkFromAnywhere excursion and this time I took went to Zurich for a meeting. Along the way I looked for a place to get a coffee and get this review done. Typical for me I open Google Maps and click on the “cafe” option. I was arriving by train and didn’t want to go too far from the main station and Cafe des Amis was within range. It is a 20 minute walk to get here but what is nice is it seems off the tourist circuit. Parking around here is limited but there is public transportation all over the city.

I preface my review of eating and working from the cafe by saying I arrived at 3pm and there were very few patrons. The lunch crowd had gone and the apéro fans were not here yet. I spent over an hour in the cafe. My order was taken quickly after I sat near the large windows. The coffee, americano, with glass of water came soon after and the quiche loraine (it was big) within 15 minutes. The menu even says it can take up to 20 minutes. I dealt with 3 different waiters during my stay and all were attentive and polite. So no remarks on that from me.

I was not the only person working on their laptops so that made the #WfA part very positive. Bring your own power as you may want to sit outdoors under one of the many umbrellas. There is no power sockets available indoors as well. WiFi is locked and you will need to ask for the password. I could easily sit here for an hour or two and get work done. Only drawback is the hard wooden seats. Most of the seating has hard seats so just keep that in mind.

There are many bicycles in Zurich but parking for them is usually on the street. Most of the area for locking a bike around the cafe would be unseen from the cafe. There are a few spots next to the bus stop. It is a busy street so probably not a big deal but bring an extra lock to make sure all your parts are still there when you return. Water bottle you can refill in the restrooms.

The Café des Amis is more than a coffee shop, it is a bistro and bar as printed on the windows. The coffee was great, the food too.

As a #WorkFromAnywhere spot the Café des Amis gets 4 out of 5 since there is no power available and bike parking is not idea. During the day when there are fewer guests this is a great escape for those #homeoffice workers needing a change of scenery. Again, my criteria may not be yours. #youdoyou

The Café des Amis is a comfortable place to spend some time working even with a few...

The food was really good. I came here for a brunch with a friend. As the café’s name is French, I naturally thought they’d speak English (or French maybe). But when I called to book a table, I asked if they spoke English. The answer was “NO,” and then they hung up right away. That was very rude (and stupid, as I would have made the effort to speak some of my very bad German... if she hadn’t cut me off…). We went anyway because I really wanted my friend from the US to check it out, and at the restaurant, the staff insisted we speak only German, even during the service. Since my native language is French, I made sure to pronounce E.V.E.R.Y French dish name properly and... The waitress struggled to understand me 🤡 ich habe nur Spaß gemacht (und ein bisschen zum Provozieren...) But honestly, it doesn’t make sense to pressure customers to speak German when half the menu is in French, and then not understand them when they actually do speak French. That’s just illogical. The waitress and the rest of the team weren’t really unfriendly, just… a bit weird… and their attitude changed strangely over the meal. They suddenly started speaking English to us and became friendlier until the end of the meal. It was a pretty odd experience. My American friend, to whom I’d only said good things about the place, was shocked and didn’t get what was going on. Overall, the experience was mixed. The beginning was quite rough, but once the atmosphere relaxed, things got better. So, in the end, we didn’t leave with a terrible memory. Und wie gesagt, the food was really good. Just be warmer, more natural and understanding next time: we’re in Zürich at the Café des Amis, not in Appenzell… and it’s not like the place was called “Fründschafts-Café” or “Fründe-Café.” And please, stop hanging up on customers! That is...

my friends and i really enjoyed the visit. the waiters were super nice and friendly and the place was really cozy.

first i ordered a couple of menu items; a cappuccino¹, a croissant², a pain au chocolat³, a pumpkin-orange-chocolate muffin⁴ and a chocolate crêpe⁵. after we all finished with our food and drinks i ordered a lime soda⁶.

my friends ordered the two chocolate milks and specialized menu items you can see in the pictures. though i cannot judge the food and drinks my friends ordered personally, they really really seemed to enjoy it.

we all felt very welcome and everyone was super friendly. a truly wonderful experience.

1: the cappuccino looked very cute and unique and was pretty good.

2: i enjoyed the croissant by dipping it into my cappuccino, which always is a game-changer.

3: the pain au chocolat also tasted good, wasn't that unique though.

4: this muffin. order this muffin. i'm usually not a fannof the orange and chocolate combination. but this muffin was simply delicious. the pumpkin really tied together the flavours of the chocolate and the orange into a brilliant tasting food item. i think this menu item is my favourite out of the ones i ordered today. 10/10

5: the chocolate crêpe was good, nothing special, but still really great.

6: i ordered the unsweetened version of the lime soda. at first the bitter seemed super bitter, but it actually tasted super delicious. everyone at the table enjoyed the soda. i wouldn't reccomend it if you don't really like bitterness.

overall really great food, for a really fair price, tied together with a cute decor and cozy ambiente, while being served extremely...