Cinchona Bar sits on the ground floor of the 25hours Hotel Langstrasse at Langstrasse 150 in Zurich's Langstrasse district, a short walk from the main railway station. The bar runs on highballs, the two-part serve of a spirit lengthened with a quality non-alcoholic mixer, and the city tourism board files it among Zurich's notable cocktail rooms. By day it works as a laptop-friendly lobby cafe before it turns into a drinks room at sunset.
Published March 16, 2026 · By Marcus Webb
The room
The room reads as an open-plan space with tropical, colourful accents, set on the hotel's ground floor rather than tucked away behind a hidden door. The city tourism site zuerich.com describes it as a sunny lobby cafe through the day that shifts gears to a highball bar in the evening. The single space carries both moods rather than splitting them across rooms.
Langstrasse, the surrounding district, runs through Zurich's old nightlife quarter, now one of the city's busiest after-dark strips. Cinchona holds a corner of it next to the Hauptbahnhof, a few minutes from the platforms. That position keeps a steady mix of hotel guests, commuters and locals moving through across the day.
What to order
The list is built around highballs, small two-part drinks of a spirit and a top-quality mixer, which the bar treats as the house style rather than one option among many. The 25hours Hotels site names the Forester Highball, paired with lime and pink grapefruit, and the Riddler, a Martini Vibrante lengthened with tonic and orange, as signatures. Each highball is also offered in a zero-proof build, so the format carries straight across to non-drinkers.
The format is a clean, refreshing serve rather than a stirred, spirit-heavy classic, so the order usually runs to a highball or two across an evening. The non-alcoholic versions are an unusual part of the offer, since the bar treats them as equals on the same list. A Forester Highball, then a Riddler, is the way the room is set up to be used.
Who it is for
Cinchona Bar fits a drinker after a light, refreshing highball, a hotel guest or commuter near the station, and anyone who rates a clean two-part serve over a heavy cocktail. It also suits a non-drinker, given the zero-proof builds run the length of the list. Skip it for a dark, hidden speakeasy mood, since this is a bright, open ground-floor room. It rewards guests who come for the highball format rather than a long classic-cocktail menu.
Best time to go
The bar runs Monday to Friday from 8am to midnight and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to midnight, so it covers everything from a morning coffee to a late drink. The daytime lobby-cafe window suits work or a quiet coffee, while the room fills fast after sunset once the highball list takes over. An early-evening visit catches the shift between the two.
A weekday afternoon is the calm way in, before the after-work and hotel crowd arrives. Weekend evenings are the busiest, when the Langstrasse strip draws a night-out crowd. For the highball room at its best, the hours after sunset are the window.
The detail worth knowing
The highball-first concept is the detail that sets it apart, since the bar builds its whole list around the two-part serve rather than offering it as a sideline. The 25hours Hotels site puts the highball at the centre of the room, with the same drinks available with or without alcohol. That equal treatment of zero-proof builds is uncommon for a hotel cocktail bar.
Sitting inside the 25hours Hotel Langstrasse gives the bar a design-led setting and a steady flow of guests next to the station. The day-to-night swing, from lobby cafe to highball bar, keeps the single room busy across the clock. For a clean, refreshing drink near Zurich's Hauptbahnhof, it is a distinct call.
The bottom line
Cinchona Bar is the ground-floor highball room of the 25hours Hotel Langstrasse at Langstrasse 150, a bright space that works as a lobby cafe by day and a drinks bar after sunset. Come for a Forester Highball or a Riddler, take the hours after sunset for the room at its busiest, and treat the zero-proof builds as equal members of the list. It is a clean, highball-led bar rather than a classic-cocktail den, and the two-part serve is the reason to go.
Keep exploring with our best cocktail bars in Zurich guide, the full Zurich bar guide, and our edit of cocktail bars worldwide. Pair Cinchona Bar with Tales Bar, Raygrodski, and Old Crow.
