Dini Mütter

Dini Mütter is at one end of Zürich’s Langstrasse. They have a selection of cakes, snacks and good coffee. I should mention that all the places have alcohol. The Swiss alcohol laws are quite civilized. The ambience student chic. Old wooden tables and wallpaper a bit like what you might find on your mother’s wall… Or I guess that’s what they’re going for. Anyway, a good cafe and probably not my first time there. Name: Dini Mütter
Website
Map link:
Live Music:sometimes
Smoking: no
Wireless:yes.ask.

Eiscafe Acero

Acero is a lovely wee cafe nestled in a narrow old town street just back from the Rheinpromenade in ‘little’ Basel. At time of writing it has only been open a few months. It presents itself as an ice cream parlour and makes several very tempting flavours, but it also has great coffee and panini. There is a little courtyard at the back that is really charming in warmer weather. It has a homely feel and the staff are friendly. Definitely one of Basel’s better cafes. Name: Acero
Website: eiscafe-acero.ch
Address Rheingasse 13, Basel
Map link:
Live Music:no
Smoking: no, but outside seating
Toilets:yes, actually a little bit funky
Wireless:yes, ask for the password

Da Graziella

This place is more like a patisserie that’s expanded into something more like a café. Which of course means they have plenty of good cakes made on the premises, a strong plus point in my view. The decor is nothing special but the coffee’s good, the cakes are good and the prices not the most expensive in town. It’s the kind of place that isn’t trying to appeal to one particular kind of person so you’ll get old ladies having morning coffee next to accountants having out of office business meetings next to just woken up musicians discussing last night’s gig. Easily gets an entry on “ilovecafebars”!

Name: Da Graziella
Website: http://www.dagraziella.com
Map link:http://map.search.ch/basel/feldbergstr.74
Live Music:no
Smoking: no but some seats outside on warmer days
Toilets:yes and they’re fine
Wireless:not sure, I don’t think so

Bacio Bio Bistro

Don’t be put off by the concrete block that Bacio is in. It’s actually a pretty nice wee café and it doesn’t get too busy either. It’s real asset is in Summer: it has a nice terrace overlooking the river. I was here a couple of days ago in December purely by accident having checked the place out a few months before. It’s being run by new people. At the time I found it a little bit sterile, but the new management have subtly changed the decor and it feels much more homely. It’s a bit on the pricey side in my opinion. I feel coffee and cake (a small cake) at over ten francs is going into pain territory. But the quality was very good. They have a nice lunch menu which always has one vegan / ayurveda item on it. It seems Vegan is very in at the moment. I can easily recommend this place.

Website:http://www.bacio-basel.ch/
Map link:http://map.search.ch/basel/st.johanns-vorstadt-70
Live Music: very occasionally
Smoking:no, but they have a large terrace overlooking the Rhine where you can
Toilets:ok
Wireless:yes

Grand Café Huguenin

Website:http://www.cafe-huguenin.ch/
Map link:http://map.search.ch/basel/barfuesserplatz-6
Live Music: not that I know of
Smoking:outside
Toilets:yes suprisingly pokey for the size of the place, but fine
Wireless:I don’t think so

Mitte

Mitte is a large hall which must have been a bank (or something like that) at some point. The coffee is fine if a little on the pricey side. There isn’t too much in the way of cakes, which I find disappointing. It’s so big you’re always likely to get a seat but it can certainly get busy. A lot of students and professional types hang out here with their laptops on account of the free wifi. They generally have dark rimmed glasses and expensive macintosh computers. So, if you’ve something on the budget end you might feel their disdain from 20 paces. Of course this is actually the same business as Fumare / non Fumare, but there is no table service which makes it a bit quicker generally. Inspite of it’s faults I quite like it for it’s spacious feel and the fact they let me stick my gig posters up with no hassle.

Website:www.mitte.ch/
Map link:http://map.search.ch/basel/gerbergasse-30
Live Music: They have events, sometimes concerts, but mainly tango dancing and kids puppet shows as far as I can make out
Smoking:no
Toilets:yes, clean (mainly), big and functional
Wireless: yes – a definite reason a lot of people come here.

Fumare Non Fumare

Fumare Non Fumare is right in the heart of Basel. It’s a great people watching café, especially if you sit outside. Most people walking through town will pass it. It’s basically two rooms. One of which is non smoking and the other which is smoking – as the name suggests. The smoking side used to have a bar too but recent legislation in Basel means you can smoke in a bar if the room has no service and is seperate - so, they took the bar out of the smoking side. The rooms are nice and light and open. The coffee is decent and they have a good selection of drinks priced a bit on the high side. If you like cakes or main dishes this is not for you. It only has a few pasties and croissants. If you’re in a hurry make sure you pay when they bring the drinks or you’ll be waiting a good 20 minutes longer. The staff are friendly enough, just not the quickest.

Website:http://www.mitte.ch/
Map link:http://map.search.ch/basel/gerbergasse-30
Live Music: sometimes in the larger Mitte hall at the back which I’ll review later. Buskers pass by now and again out front.
Smoking: yes outside or in the fumare part of course.
Toilets:Yes upstairs and they’re ok.
Wireless: Yes.

Café Za Zaa

This is really somewhere between restaurant and café but you’ll feel very welcome whether you just have a cup of tea or a meal.  It’s Kurdish with a good doze of style. Za Zaa is a small place with maybe 15 to 20 seats inside and a few outside places for warmer weather. They have an interesting selection of teas and the turkish coffee is great. Try any of the desserts if you’re just looking for something sweet. The main dishes are delicious too and of decent value. The staff here are nice and friendly. They always do that little bit extra to make you feel special.  At night it’s lovely and intimate with little tea light candles on the tables and subdued lighting. Za Zaa is a cosy and tasteful place and easily gets my vote as one of Basel’s hidden jewels.

Website:http://www.zazaa.ch
Map link:http://map.search.ch/basel/oetlingerstr.63
Live Music: occasionally they have accoustic gigs. there is a piano and a guitar available… so I guess a spontaneous jam wouldn’t be out of the question
Smoking: not sure, I think not inside. Only outside, there are some outside seats.
Toilets:yes and it’s mirrored and suitably funky
Wireless: not sure, I don’t think so.

Rote Engel

The Rote Engel is in a delightful little courtyard just off the hustle and bustle of Basel’s centre. I say hustle and bustle, but actually most of the time Basel is really rather sedate. It has a rundown feel with old wooden chairs and tables. This is part of it’s charm. It’s cosy and definitely informal.

   

This a definite haunt of mine and rarely a week goes by where I don’t go here. It reminds me of the Café Zähringer in Zürich and that familiarity has won me over. It feels like the kind of place intellectuals might gather to debate the world’s problems… or might have done once upon a time.

The thing I really like here is that the coffee is sold in large cups. Ask for a “grosse schale” if you want this. Just as a side note, I notice that they have actually reduced the size of these cups recently, but still a fairly decent cup.

They have chess sets if you fancy some chess. Watch out for the slightly odd bearded fellow who often hangs out here. He may well ask you for a game if you’re on your own. He’ll probably win too. I speak from experience.

 

They have a limited menu which doesn’t change very much. But it’s tastey and in Swiss terms the prices aren’t the most extortionate. Of course relatively Swiss prices are all extortionate. They have a few cakes but nothing fancy. There’s a homemade feel to what’s on offer, which I like. Drinks are pretty limited but there’s some beer and wine. I’m not actually sure if they have spirits or not such is the high quality of my research.

On warmer days you can sit out in the courtyard which is really very charming. The staff aren’t all  that friendly I’m afraid but the service is functional. You order at the counter and pay straight away so it’s good for a fairly quick visit although it would be quite easy to while away a whole afternoon here.

Website: not available
Map link:http://map.search.ch/basel/andreasplatz-15
Live Music: no but occasional buskers in the lovely courtyard outside
Smoking: ok at the outside tables
Toilets: bit run down but clean and functional
Wireless: No. You can’t even get mobile phone reception inside here. That’s probably a good thing.