I don’t actually own a Hue bridge and have never used one in my setup, but have about a dozen Hue bulbs (and additional non-Hue bulbs when “budget” options would suffice). I have HA running in Docker on my NAS and Z2M running in Docker on a Pi4 (which also is running my Z-Wave container) placed in a more central location in my house, which has a Sonoff Zigbee. They communicate with each other via gigabit Ethernet. Altogether I have about 50 Zigbee devices on my network.

It did take a bit to get everything set up and communicating with each other, and I specifically chose Zigbee channels that don’t overlap with my WiFi (since they’re both 2.4ghz). But my light response is essentially instantaneous via my HA app or a bound smart switch, so it’s definitely doable without a bridge using existing tech.

I can second these. Have haf a very positive experience with some of their Blue 2-1 switches (and in a 3-way setup with Aux switch).