Cocktail Bars in Zurich
Zurich's cocktail bars run from the Langstrasse nightlife district to classic rooms by the lake. The best cocktail bars in Zurich include Late Bloomers on Dienerstrasse, No. 44 in the 2026 edition of Europe's 50 Best Bars and that list's Best Bar in Switzerland, and Kronenhalle Bar, a classic American bar since 1965 with Giacometti lights and no music. Bar am Wasser looks onto the lake from the Stadthausquai, Old Crow in the Old Town stocks more than 1,700 spirits, the Widder Bar holds over 650 whiskies, and Tales Bar pours tiki and low-alcohol chapters until 3am. Bar am Wasser, Old Crow and the Widder Bar take no reservations. These are the eight we would start with.
EUROPE'S 50 BESTCocktail BarLate Bloomers
Late Bloomers is a contemporary cocktail bar on Dienerstrasse in Kreis 4, off the Langstrasse, opened in November 2022 by Aineias Chilas, Stylianos Kalemis and Vangelis Dimitris, three bartenders from Greece. It aims to be a second or third home, a safe and welcoming room for open-minded, international guests, and serves modern cocktails and high-quality coffee. The drinks lean Mediterranean; the Papara mixes retsina, tequila and mezcal with tomato, cucumber and feta. Local DJs play funk, soul and new disco on weekends, and the team offers private events, bar catering and bartender training. It holds No. 44 on Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026 and The Best Bar in Switzerland title.
Dienerstrasse 20, 8004 ZürichTue–Thu 18:00–00:00, Fri–Sat 18:00–02:00Full profile- Bar am WasserPINNACLECocktail Bar
Bar am Wasser
Bar am Wasser sits on the Stadthausquai in central Zurich, overlooking the Limmat near the lake. Host and co-owner Dirk Hany opened it in 2018 around the idea of fine drinking: every guest is seated, there is no standing room, and the evening opens with an amuse cocktail before a three-course tasting menu of starter, main and dessert drinks, in High, Low or No volume. Single cocktails are there too, and the menus change every season. Behind the bar sits a 25-square-meter lab with rotary evaporators and centrifuges. It holds one Pin in The Pinnacle Guide and was named Switzerland's Bar of the Year at the Mixology Bar Awards 2023. It is walk-in only.
Stadthausquai 1, 8001 ZürichTue–Wed 16:00–00:00, Thu 16:00–00:30, Fri–Sat 16:00–01:30Full profile 
Cocktail BarTales Bar
Tales Bar calls itself Das Cocktail-Wohnzimmer, Zurich's cocktail living room: a late-night bar on the Selnaustrasse run by hosts Michel, Mark, Adam and Wolfgang, now in its second decade. The menu reads like a book in five chapters: Classics à la Tales; low-alcohol drinks built only from ingredients of 20% ABV or less; tiki under Welcome to Paradise; zero-proof cocktails; and Our Holy Cows, house favorites such as the Coppersmith Negroni and Lee Loo that have stayed on the list for years. Several signatures are sold bottled to take home, reservations are taken by phone, and the team runs a bar catering service, Rolling Tales.
Selnaustrasse 29, 8001 ZürichThu–Sat 20:00–03:00Full profile- Bar 63Cocktail Bar
Bar 63
Bar 63 is a rum bar on the Rolandstrasse in Zurich's Kreis 4, behind the Langstrasse, on the Zinistrasse corner where the room once traded as Chez Sylvia. The back bar holds more than 70 rums, and the house pours its own rum at 63% ABV, the base of the signature Punch 63. The cocktail menu changes with the seasons, and past editions have been built around tiki, mezcal and the 1980s. The same team runs J.B. Labat, a spirits shop a short walk away. Bar 63 takes no reservations.
Rolandstrasse 19, 8004 ZurichFull profile - Dr. ZhivagoCocktail Bar
Dr. Zhivago
Dr. Zhivago is a cocktail lounge on the Bärengasse, off the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich's financial district, built around its own Swiss spirits label, Dr. Zhivago Spirits. The house range runs from vodka, yuzu vodka, gin and rum to breadwine and cherry, pear and raspberry spirits, and the signature cocktails start from them, such as the clarified Velvet Curtain with breadwine, blackberry, poppyseed and Szechuan pepper, or the Tokyo Sidecar with yuzu vodka and sake. The bar admits guests aged 21 and over and asks them to keep their phones away.
Bärengasse 29, 8001 ZurichFull profile - Kronenhalle BarCocktail Bar
Kronenhalle Bar
A legendary classic opened in 1965 next to the storied Kronenhalle restaurant, designed by Robert Haussmann with green morocco leather, a mahogany-panelled ceiling and lighting by Diego Giacometti, surrounded by original works by Miró, Picasso and Klee. Head bartender Christian Heiss keeps a decades-long archive of regulars' cocktail preferences, and drinks are served with no music under the house motto Sans pareil.
Rämistrasse 4, 8001 ZürichOpen dailyFull profile - Old CrowCocktail Bar
Old Crow
Old Crow is a spirits bar on the Schwanengasse in Zurich's old town, run by Markus Blattner, with more than 1,700 bottles on its shelves and a particular focus on whiskey. Its motto is to offer not something for every guest but a great deal for a few, and service is tailored to each one. The cocktail list is arranged by base spirit, from aperitifs and Champagne drinks to sake, pairing classics such as the Martinez and Corpse Reviver No. 2 with rare and forgotten recipes and house creations like the Nachtvogel with Islay whisky, port and Champagne. The bar keeps exclusive bottlings, among them a 2007 Caol Ila from a PX sherry cask. It takes no reservations.
Schwanengasse 4, 8001 ZürichTue–Sat 17:00–00:30Full profile - Widder BarHotel Bar
Widder Bar
Widder Bar is the bar of the five-star Widder Hotel on the Rennweg in Zurich's old town, nine medieval townhouses that architect Tilla Theus joined into one hotel in 1995. The bar has its own street entrance and sits among ancient wooden beams, red leather seats and a lapis lazuli wall. It holds more than 650 whiskies among some 1,200 spirits, poured as rare drams or in custom-crafted cocktails, and live piano carries on a long jazz tradition; reservations are not accepted. The hotel says the bar ranks No. 1 in the DACH region on the Top 500 Bars list. It won Best Hotel Bar (2022) and Best Longseller Bar (2023) at the Swiss Bar Awards and is a 2026 Best Hotel Bar finalist.
Widder Hotel, Rennweg 7, 8001 ZürichMon–Thu 12:00–01:00, Fri–Sat 12:00–02:00, Sun 12:00–00:00Full profile
More of Zurich
These are the cocktail bars specifically. The full Zurich guide ranks the best bars of every style, and the directory lists all 16 with a map and filters.
