Sunday breakfast is an institution in many Swiss families. Zopf is one of the mainstays of Swiss breakfasts, a rich white bread baked in the shape of a braid, and is served with butter, jams, honey, cheeses or cold meats. Swiss bakeries bake a huge variety of breads - rye bread, maize bread or potato-and-walnut bread to name just a few - which add to the breakfast spread. Buttery croissants, called gipfeli in Swiss German, are also a favourite. For many train commuters breakfast is a gipfeli and a cup of coffee on the fly. Another breakfast dish with strong roots in Switzerland is müesli, made of oat flakes, grated apple, ground hazelnuts and yoghurt in the classic birchermüesli version. Many Swiss don’t consider breakfast complete without one of the many takes on the müesli-theme. Eggs in different variations, coffee, tea and juices are also standard.

In recent years, brunch has become very popular in Switzerland and in Zurich many restaurants and cafés now serve breakfast or brunch until noon or even later. The concepts vary - traditional, luxurious, exotic, English. Many places only do brunch on the weekends.

Find our favourite breakfast places below.