Brasserie Les Trois Rois

Les Trois Rois is the oldest operating hotel in Europe — opened in 1681, rebuilt in 1841, rebranded and reopened as a five-star property in 2006 — and its ground-floor brasserie is the city's social room. Napoleon slept here; so did Picasso, Rothko and the Rolling Stones. The brasserie runs from 07:00 breakfast through to midnight small plates, with lunch and dinner services in between.

The kitchen is classical French brasserie: oysters from Cancale, a steak tartare prepared table-side, Loire-valley sandre with beurre blanc, a Swiss veal piccata in lemon and capers, and a dessert trolley (properly: a trolley) that circles the room twice each service. The wine list runs long on French classics and Swiss varietals you will not see elsewhere — Petite Arvine, Humagne Rouge — curated with knowledge unusual in a hotel brasserie.

The Rhine-facing terrace is the city's prize location. Ten two-top tables directly on the riverside promenade, under white awnings, with the Rhine crossing boats slipping past at eye level. It is where Art Basel lunches, where the city's bankers close deals, and where the most elegant ninety minutes in Basel can be arranged on five days' notice.

For a First Date: Les Trois Rois' brasserie terrace is the romantic gesture without the three-star weight. The Rhine directly at your shoulder, the boat traffic, the slightly theatrical service of a classical brasserie (table-side tartare, the dessert trolley, the silver domes), and a wine list deep enough to open something memorable without a commitment to a tasting menu. Book the outer terrace edge.