Hi everyone ,

I'm moving to Zurich in a few months and I'm trying to find some cheaper Student venues to go to :P.- cafes/bars etc.

I'm moving there with my bf (who's currently in Germany) and we both love going out for coffee at night and just sitting in cafes- but as I might not have a job straight away and he'll be studying so we won't have much money and might not be able to afford the same lifestyle we had in Germany.

Any hint/tips would be great

Moderator could you please move this to Entertainment/Dining? Thanks

There are quite a few along Niederdorf, for instance ZicZac.

Niederdorf IS an area where there are quite a few charming cafés and restaurants for tourists. But they are NOT cheap.
I have been living here for 4 years and as far as I know, there are no 'student/cheap' cafés in the whole of Zurich. You are moving to the wrong city if you expect to live on a shoestring yet still be able to dine out.

Let me correct myself - each uni or place of study has it's own caféteria where students can eat with a 10-15% discount, upon presentation of a student ID.

You can get an overnight bus to Prague for 100 francs round trip, soak in the culture and drink for pennies, and sleep off your hangover on the ride back (well, if coffee's your thing then you can knock out a couple of Kafka novels)! At least, that's what I would do if I was a poor young non-parent looking for cafe life in Zurich .

I always wanted to do this. Just need to convince my friends to tag along

BQM at the University zentrum. 6CHF pints and a not bad selection. Plus its not hard on the eye if you know what i mean

Also we went to berta bar on Bertastrasse (tram stop Lochergut) and they also had 6CHF pints and it was a cool little bar. That area has some nice places actually that arent so expensive

Granted. Any tips on eating out cheaply?

Rhienfelden bierhalle in Niederdorf
Metzgerhalle in Oerlikon

Try "da Antoniettta" on hallwylstr. You can google it and I think there are some review as well. Basically it's not expensive (8chf for a large) and very tasty. THere is a large selection of hams, cheeses, toppings, sauces, etc. When I go there with my friends our panini's all taste differrent. I hope you try it!

There is always the scottish restraunt for cheap food ...even so this is quite exspensive when compared with other countries. Or coop sometimes have good snacks, in zurich cont on min 100chf for a meal for two people in a restraunt.

Restaurant Bahnhof Wiedikon (right across the street from Wiedikon train station) offers excellent value for money IMHO.

well go to the two places i mentioned and you can expect to pay 50CHF max *high5*

You haven't been looking very hard then - unless you're defining a Zurich shoestring as the same thing as an American shoestring.

There are plenty of cheap places to eat here. Try a Coop Restaurant - you can eat pretty well for 10-15 CHF.

Niederdorf does have some relatively cheap places by Zurich standards.

I didn't mean "cheap" by UK standards but rather places at the lower end the price range, e.g. 40chf for nice meal as apposed to 50chf.

I am fully aware that Zurich isn't a cheap place to live and that I will have to considerably change my lifestyle .

The beauty of Zurich will, however, hopefully make up for this :P.

McDonald's new McCafe sections offer decent coffee at a decent price, and the ambience is not all that "oily" as that of the restaurant. There's one in Niederdorf close to the Library.

There are some cheaper restaurants:

Movie at the Main Station is one,
Au Gratin also at the Main Station

If you like Italian, try
Commihalle near Central

you could also go to
Papa Joes near Bellevue,
or
Tibits by Hilton in Stadelhofen

There are places where one can eat decently for 40-50 CHF's

And there are smaller restaurants / bars in Niederdorf where you can expect not to spend that much either, check out the cards they have outside....

Zic Zac lunch menu: CHF16.50 to 23.00