Café de l’Hôtel de Ville, a small unpretentious café-restaurant, has long been a Lausanne favorite. Since 1996, it was run by Marie and Vanessa, who served generous vegetarian dishes in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere where it was easy to feel at home among garden gnomes and expressive paintings.
When they closed shop in 2025, many of us wondered what would become of this beloved city gem.
Enter EPIQ.
The local duo behind the project, Nil Iyidogan and Pierre von Arx, are already well known on the Lausanne food scene. Until recently, they ran a small shop on Escaliers du Marché specializing in beer — with an impressive selection — alongside snacks and other gourmet treats.
When the City of Lausanne launched a call for proposals to temporarily run the iconic Café de l’Hôtel de Ville, they decided — almost on a whim — to apply. They didn’t expect much from it and were genuinely surprised when they were selected. One successful crowdfunding campaign later, the new Café de l’Hôtel de Ville opened its doors, with chef Ludo Burnier in the kitchen (formerly of Celeste in Vevey).
The menu is simple, fresh, and changes weekly (the menu can be found on the website), built around local, artisanal and seasonal ingredients. Soups, salads, and a couple of daily specials make for a perfect lunch. The food isn’t fussy, but it’s thoughtfully composed: preserved lemon curd brightens a lentil salad, fermented vegetables and caramelized grains generously accompany the dishes (and the pistachio cheesecake is one of the best we’ve had in a long time)
The cuisine leans strongly plant-based — meaning meat is rare — but it isn’t strictly vegetarian. Most dishes can be made either vegetarian or vegan.
The garden gnomes are gone, replaced by a wall of what seems like random pictures, of random people and animals, in random sizes and random frames. It is not random. The photos belong to the people who contributed to the crowdfunding campaign and now have their portrait on the wall — a friendly crowd of supporters smiling down on this new-but-not-so-new café. On the opposite side, a gallery wall showcases a rotating selection of local artists. When we visited, it featured a series of photographs of Lausanne.
Nil, originally from Belgium, brings a wonderfully warm presence to the dining room. She’s happy to chat, answer questions (lots of them in our case), and make guests feel welcome. She’s been working in food for a long time — first in Brussels, and then in Lausanne for the past couple of decades, and her experience shows in the little gestures.
Nil and Pierre have now closed their shop and fully moved their project to the café. At lunchtime it operates as a restaurant, then transitions into a bar in the evening, serving an astonishing range of beers alongside planchettes, dips, and small plates to share.
A neighborhood classic — reimagined, but still very much itself.
Café de l’Hôtel de Ville in Lausanne - EPIQ
Tuesday - Friday: 12:00 to 14:00
Saturdays: 12:00 to 15:00
(Reservations highly recommended)
The space can also be privatized for evening events upon request.
