Tag: Switzerland

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Mata Hari Bar Zürich is Great but Not for Everyone

One part tiki bar, one part rock and roll club, Mata Hari Bar marches to their own drummer in Gewerbeschule. We walked over and arrived right at opening on a Thursday, with deep cut Ramones, Calvin Russell, and the Stones darker themed “Paint it Black” and “Sympathy for the Devil” playing. The lounge has cushy seating with plenty of tikis and bamboo, plus some edgier elements such burlesque event posters and the skull-shaped toilets.

So, it’s a pretty good tiki bar, but only if you can hang with the music – we found it to be immersive enough and lacking classic rock or top 40 which would have truly broken the illusion.

Our bartender Mario came over to take our order and steered Mrs Mai Tai to the flaming Zombie which was a little different but still pretty good. Even better was the “Donn Beach Style” Mai Tai that I thought was great – a really chewy rum blend and balanced sweet and sour elements, and not too spicy like some Don the Beachcomber drinks can be.

On our second round, we went with a Missionary’s Downfall that had a good peach flavor but could have used a bit more mint. The namesake Mata Hari cocktail leans lighter thanks to soda and is effectively a very tasty mango-forward rum highball.

I know that tiki bars that don’t play exotica or Hawaiian music can be a turn-off for some folks, but I totally loved the vibe of Mata Hari. As long as the music is cohesive and stuff you haven’t heard a million times before, it’s okay with me as long as the other elements are in place. Those other things are done so very well at Mata Hari judging by our experience and the recommendations of so many people we heard from. Check it out in Zürich.

Zombie, Mai Tai, Missionary’s Downfall, Mata Hari
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Kon-Tiki Zürich

Kon-Tiki bar and coffeeshop was less than ten minutes from our hotel, on the eastern half of old town in Zürich in an area known as Niederdorf. The place started in the 1950s, with an opening under current management in 2017. While there are some tikis and other traditional elements, this venue has dive leanings and a rougher reputation due to raucous live music and DJ sets on some nights. We were welcomed on our visit for a couple cocktails in the late afternoon and explored the first floor, avoiding the second floor where there’s smoking/purchase of various things which we don’t cover on the blog. It’s that kind of coffeeshop.

The Mai Tai here is fairly good, a bit tart for our taste, yet still with a nice rum finish. Mrs Mai Tai tried an original cocktail called Tiki Tea that featured Skipper Rum, falernum, orgeat, and CBD iced tea. It tasted pretty nice to me though she didn’t really care for it.

Tiki Tea and Mai Tai

The nods to the famous Kon-Tiki voyage are available throughout the venue and we liked all the various event posters plastering the walls. Tiki bars come in all kinds of styles and Kon-Tiki presents as an unpretentious and grungy type.

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Waina Tiki Bar

Waiana tiki bar is located in Zürich’s old town, though seems to be on hiatus for the time being. We happened across it on our first day in town while exploring the Medieval streets and were bummed to have missed it.

The owners are doing occasional pop-ups so keep an eye out on social media for updates. We wish them the best and hope for a reopening.

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Great Mai Tai and Swiss Rum in Zermatt

We were looking for another bar/lounge after finding Hexenbar too full, and soon found ourselves in the lounge at Resort Hotel Alex. This large resort had an eye-catching logotype font on the exterior but even better was the design inside with several fireplaces, cushy chairs, and vintage photos of Zermatt. The interior was so relaxing and we ended up at the bar complete with chairs featuring carved wild goats and cowhide cushions.

I noticed there was a non-pineapple Mai Tai on the menu and asked what kind of rums they used. Our bartender Niklaus said it was Goslings and Havana Club 3, but since I was in the mood for a more traditional version I asked if he could make it just with Myers’s. He said yes, but the concept of using both a dark and white rum was so ingrained he didn’t just use Myers’s but split the base. Thankfully, Niklaus made an excellent choice and used Kingston 62 Jamaica rum for the white rum, and this turned out really great. A very flavorful Mai Tai in perfect balance, one of the best of 2025.

I scanned the rum list and saw Rum 1823 from Switzerland and since I’d never had Swiss rum before I gave it a shot. It’s made in Switerland from Jamaican molasses and then aged for 7 years in Bourbon barrels. Though the still type isn’t listed it seems light enough to be from a column still, though this was by no means a dud even at 40% ABV. 1823 was very nice to sip on, and I’m glad I tried it.

Mrs. Mai Tai’s cocktails were similarly of high quality. The relaxing atmosphere of the lounge at Hotel Alex was an amazing find for us and the kind of place you’d love to return to.

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Hexenbar Mai Tai

We had a nice visit to Hexenbar in Zermatt Switzerland, a witch-themed pub with a pretty nice selection of cocktails and spirits. Mrs. Mai Tai went with the Espresso Martini that was really great, and we enjoyed the witches displayed throughout the cozy venue.

The menu is provided as a book of spells, which means that the spell could be good or it could be bad. I saw they had a Mai Tai on the menu: “3 Rumsorten, Cointreau, Amaretto, Maraschino, Orangen- und Ananassaft”. 3 rums? Several liqueurs? Sounds great.

Now this is really where I should have busted out a translate app because I recognized a lot of stuff and incorrectly assumed “Orangen” was a liqueur – which actually didn’t make any sense given Cointreau already being listed. Instead these last two items were orange and pineapple juice.

So, it was one of those kind of Mai Tais. Actually not too bad in this format and the juice did taste fresh. But not the spell I was looking for.

We tried to return to Hexenbar a second night but found it to be so packed that we decided to find a different place for drinks. Nonetheless, Hexenbar was really nice and is recommended if you’re ever in Zermatt.