Asuka N.
Yelp
After wandering around parts of the old city, my wife decided upon Birdie as the place where we should have our first bites in Geneva. When we got here just after noon on a Wednesday, there were plenty of folks sitting inside the main entrance as well as at a few tables set up outside alongside the cafe (the extra dining room remained empty until we were about to leave) - so it's a popular haunt for folks, particularly for visitors (we overheard a number of patrons speaking English). The vibe would probably be described as hipster and perfectly fitting into Brooklyn for this NYC resident, but it also had a bit of the old European charm that is hard to import over as well. The servers at the front were both friendly and spoke English pretty well; perhaps the only thing that I wish had been made clear was being able to pay sooner (you just need to go up to the bar and say you'll pay - the sitdown service is not really the full restaurant-style experience from a service standpoint).
If you haven't been to Switzerland before, be prepared for a little sticker shock! That said, even though it was nearly 6 francs, the fresh-squeezed OJ is better than many places I have been, with the density of the juice somehow being quite a bit thicker - but having a creamy, smooth texture as well. My wife's iced chocolate was pretty good, and I appreciated that they did not oversugar it and simply let the chocolate stand as it was. For our mains, my wife's 'Oui Monsieur' (a play on the traditional French sandwich) was excellent...it was basically a gruyere-based grilled cheese sandwich with a little bit of ham in it and was phenomenal without being overly buttered up. The 'Birdie Brekkie' is a mashup of avocado toast with smoked salmon from Norway, topped with a poached egg. I think even the avocados are potentially fresher / better here in Europe (my general take is fruits and veggies, on balance, or better in the EU), and the salmon was really good as well. The combination together worked perfectly, with nothing being drowned out despite having the toast having a lot on it. The side salads for both of our dishes had a light mustard-based dressing that was a nice, light complement to our heavier mains.
This was very enjoyable, and even if the food wasn't traditionally Swiss, this is a cafe that I would enjoy visiting anywhere in the world. Next time I am back in Geneva (whenever that ends up being), I will probably swing by here for another jetlagged brunch!