One of the most interesting cafés to open in Zürich in the last 6 month is 169West. It is putting Kreis 3 on the coffee map again, as one of the best areas to visit for a great coffee experience. Mastermind behind this cool little café and wine bar is Kai Keong Ng of Bear Brothers & Cow fame. Specialty coffee is his passion, along with providing coffee lovers with the opportunity to relax, kick back and enjoy all that makes coffee and wine great – quality, a comfortable environment and friendly service.
Kai, along with Barista Kyle and the 169West team, have spent the first few months fine tuning their menu and service delivery in line with the overall concept for the café. Congratulations to the team! This is what coffee lovers crave to experience.
Atmosphere: Chillaxed
This cute little corner café gives you the feeling of being in the Sydney coffee hub of Surry Hills or even Shoreditch, London. It has that cool, chilled vibe of a café and the comfort and warmth of a wine bar. With its fence like bar and wooden tables, it is the perfect place for a catchup with friends or date night (check out the pink sofas at the back). Serving local and guest roasted coffee which is rotated regularly keeps it interesting for lovers of coffee. Having the Flatwhite on the menu keeps this Aussie very happy as well. If you are a brunch lover, put this down on your places to visit. If you are a wine lovers, the same goes for you. Great service from friendly coffee, food and wine loving staff. 169West offer coffee lovers everything you need to keep you happy and smiling.
Espresso rating
The coffee menu here caters for all coffee types of coffee lovers, in particular specialty (or speciality) coffee lovers. For the espresso lover, the espresso served was the Banko Ethiopia, natural processed, native heirloom from April Coffee Roasters, Copenhagen. The perfect extraction via the La Marzocco resulted in a espresso which was corto, creamy, with elements of fruitless which is expected of an Ethiopian coffee.
I also indulged in the Flatwhite – as you do. Lovely and creamy, with some sweet chocolate notes. We all love a good milk story, and I am happy to report that the milk here is from a demeter farmer near Zürich. It is unhomogenised with grass fed cows, who still have all their horns and where baby cows live together with their mothers. Very cool although as Kai reports, the milk is hard to steam.
For filter coffee lovers, there are two on offer at the moment. The Tim Wendleboe, which is a washed Kenya, S128/S134 from the Nieri region and Kafischmitte Urubuto which is from an experimental natural lot in Rwanda. You can be sure that all your coffee questions will be answered by either Kai or Kyle when you visit.
Price: Espresso 5.80CHF , Flatwhite 6.80CHF
WiFi : Yes
Free water : Yes
Kid friendly : Yes
Lactose Free Milk : No
Great coffee which is purchased direct from roasters and delivered with a smile. Wine that is carefully selected and served to perfection, including bubbles. Products which are sourced locally and recycled as much as possible. Food which is home made and delicious. What is there not to love about this place? Well done to the 169West team!
Until the next cup..
Maria