Brasserie Lipp sits at Uraniastrasse 9 in Zurich's Old Town, just off Bahnhofstrasse near the Urania observatory. The French brasserie opened in 1990, modelled on the Paris original founded by Leonhard Lipp in 1880, with an Art Nouveau room full of mirrors. Switzerland Tourism files it among the city's notable French dining rooms, with a wine and seafood bar at its centre.
Published October 2, 2025 · By Tom Callahan
The room
The room is an Art Nouveau brasserie, mirror-lined and pitched as a slice of Paris in central Zurich, with a long bar and a summer terrace. Zuerich.com calls it one of the most attractive venues near Bahnhofstrasse, a polished setting for a glass of wine or a plate of oysters at the bar. A lift from inside the brasserie reaches the Jules Verne panorama bar in the observatory tower above.
The Old Town setting, steps from Bahnhofstrasse and the Limmat, keeps the crowd a mix of shoppers, office workers and visitors. Brasserie Lipp holds a corner of it on Uraniastrasse. That central position makes it an easy stop for a wine and a dozen oysters rather than a destination set apart.
What to order
The bar leans on wine and seafood, with what zuerich.com describes as the largest oyster selection in the city, alongside French classics such as onion soup, choucroute and bouillabaisse. A glass from the wine list with a plate of oysters is the natural order at the bar. The cuisine bourgeoise francaise menu backs it for a full meal.
The format is a wine and a seafood plate at the bar, or a sit-down brasserie dinner, rather than a cocktail programme. For a nightcap with a view, the lift to the Jules Verne bar upstairs is the move. A glass of white and a dozen oysters is the order the bar is built around.
Who it is for
Brasserie Lipp fits a wine drinker after oysters and French classics in a handsome room, a shopper off Bahnhofstrasse wanting a polished stop, and anyone heading up to the Jules Verne bar afterward. Skip it for a cheap, casual round, since this is an upmarket brasserie with prices to match the address. It rewards guests who treat the bar as a wine-and-seafood stop or the start of a meal.
Best time to go
The long daily hours from the morning suit a wine and oysters at the bar across the afternoon, before the dinner service fills the room. Evenings are busiest, when the brasserie runs as a full dining room. A weekday visit is the calmer way into the bar.
For a nightcap with a view, an evening that ends with the lift to the Jules Verne panorama bar is the move. Weekends draw the Bahnhofstrasse crowd, so a quieter weekday afternoon gives more room at the bar. The summer terrace is best in the warmer months.
The detail worth knowing
The Paris lineage is the detail worth knowing, since the Zurich brasserie was built in 1990 on the model of the original Brasserie Lipp opened by Leonhard Lipp in 1880. The Art Nouveau room and the city's largest oyster selection set it apart from a standard wine bar. Its link to the Jules Verne panorama bar upstairs, reached by the brasserie's own lift, is the second draw.
Few Zurich rooms carry this combination of a French brasserie, a serious wine and oyster bar and a tower cocktail bar above. The Uraniastrasse address keeps it central and busy. For a glass of wine and oysters off Bahnhofstrasse, it is a steady call.
The bottom line
Brasserie Lipp is a French brasserie off Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, opened in 1990 on the model of the 1880 Paris original, with an Art Nouveau room, the city's largest oyster selection and the Jules Verne panorama bar upstairs. Come for a glass of wine and oysters at the bar, then take the lift for a nightcap with a view. The wine, the seafood and the room are the draw.
Keep exploring with our best wine bars in Zurich guide, the full Zurich bar guide, and our edit of wine bars worldwide. Pair Brasserie Lipp with Conti, Le Vin, and Familiebetrieb.
