Zurichers love classic restaurants, where they go to see and be seen and to eat well-prepared Swiss comfort food. The most celebrated example of the genre is Kronenhalle, a glamorous meeting place since 1924. Recently, however, the city’s dining scene has become more cosmopolitan and adventurous, as demonstrated at the following establishments:
Chef Antonio Colaianni may have Italian roots, but he grew up in Bern, and his cooking offers a delicious synthesis of the styles he has mastered on both sides of the Alps. The vegetarian menu, which includes dishes such as ravioli with smoked vegetable jus, and potato dumplings with porcini mushrooms, is deservedly renowned, but Colaianni also displays a deft hand with veal.
Mesa Weinbergstrasse 75. Tel. (41) 43-321-7575.
In the heart of Old Town, this popular restaurant offers two options: a serious gastronomic restaurant upstairs, and a casual-dining wine bar downstairs that serves excellent traditional Swiss dishes. Just down the street from the Widder Hotel, it is a great place to try Swiss meat loaf with potato purée on a cold winter day. The more expensive gastronomic menu runs to dishes such as octopus cannelloni with vanilla and black garlic sauce, and a fine pork schnitzel.
Munsterhof Munsterhof 6. Tel. (41) 44-262-3300.
West Zurich, formerly an industrial neighborhood, is rapidly gentrifying and attracting a young, arty crowd. This Michelin-starred restaurant atop the Prime Tower offers great views and excellent contemporary cuisine, such as Mediterranean-style fish soup, and Oriental lamb stew with couscous.
Clouds Maagplatz 5. Tel. (41) 44-404-3000.
The restaurant of chefs Martin Surbeck and Patricia Lackner in the heart of town is known among Zurich’s more demanding gourmets for great creative cooking. The menu changes constantly, but runs to dishes such as herbed risotto with marinated duck’s liver, and regularly changing riffs on veal, a local favorite.
Sein Schutzengasse 5. Tel. (41) 44-221-1065.
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