Zurich
Zurich Airport is structurally what you'd expect from Switzerland: efficient, expensive, well-signposted, and slightly humourless. The drinking programme reflects the country. The Upperdeck Restaurant & Bar in the Airside Center has a respectable Swiss-wine programme by the glass — Chasselas, Pinot Noir from Graubünden, Merlot from Ticino — and the room overlooks the apron with floor-to-ceiling windows. The Marché restaurants across both terminals are competent rather than memorable but pour proper Swiss draught beer (Eichhof, Feldschlösschen) at proper Swiss prices.
Niederdorf · $$$
Ah Tang Bar draws a steady local crowd in Niederdorf. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Old Town · $$$$
Bar 1842 at Baur au Lac draws a steady local crowd in Old Town. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Industriequartier · $$$
Bar am Wasser draws a steady local crowd in Industriequartier. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Old Town · $$$
Bar Las Cuevas draws a steady local crowd in Old Town. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
The cheat code at ZRH is the Radisson Blu Hotel directly attached to the Airside Center by walkway — Filini, the hotel's Italian restaurant-bar, runs a proper Aperol Spritz programme and pours Northern Italian wines at non-airport prices. The walk takes four minutes. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, the Zurich S2 from the airport to Hauptbahnhof is 10 minutes; the Kronenhalle Bar is six minutes' walk from Hauptbahnhof and has been pouring drinks to writers and bankers since 1924.
Plays for Zurich Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
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Looking beyond Zurich? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.