I’ve been a big fan of the movie Alien for years, so when I went to Switzerland, visiting the H R Giger Bar for a coffee in the town of Gruyères was at the top of my list.
H R Giger was the famous Swiss artist whose distinctive designs helped shape the visual world of Alien. He designed the Xenomorph, the egg, the Facehugger, and many of the film’s eerie spaceship interiors.
Walking into the café is crazy. You leave the lovely Swiss streets behind and suddenly it feels like you’ve been swallowed whole by a giant alien creature.
The entire ceiling is covered in huge, bone coloured arches that look like giant ribs stretching overhead.
The bar stools and chairs are shaped like human backbones, the lights hanging from above look like weird, fossilised organs, and even the floor plates beneath your feet have cool biomechanical patterns carved into them. There’s even a wall covered in sculptures of eerie baby faces.
We grabbed a seat in the corner. Behind me were those eerie baby heads. Besides coffee, they also have a drinks menu with clever, quirky names that any Alien fan will appreciate. The menu includes themed options such as the Facehugger, Chestbuster, Space Jockey, Alien Blood, Nostromo and Xenomorph.
I opted for an H R Giger cappuccino. I could have had it with alcohol, but it was too early in the day for me!
It was served on a wooden tray in a shiny metal cup, along with a small glass of thick double cream, coffee creamer and three sweet meringue treats. I finally found my perfect cup of coffee while on holiday. It was good and strong.
My friend ended up trying one of their special orange fruit juice drinks, which came served with a black straw in a stemmed glass. Sipping an Alien inspired drink while surrounded by giant bone arches made the whole experience even cooler.
Even though it was Alien themed, the strange atmosphere reminded me of the scene in Star Wars where Han Solo and Chewbacca first meet Obi Wan Kenobi in the Mos Eisley Cantina. Weird and wonderful.
The café is also dog friendly, so the pooch got to chill right under the glass topped table with his own water bowl while I took everything in. I did wonder what the pooch made of it all ...
If you love Alien, movie history, or just really unique places, stopping here for a drink is something you’ll never forget.
