Restaurants in Zurich
Zurich restaurants feature a selection of both international and Swiss specialties. The local favorite is rösti (potatoes grated and fried). You should also try Züri-Gschnätzlets (shredded veal cooked with mushrooms in a cream sauce laced with white wine) and Kutteln nach Zürcherart (tripe with mushrooms, white wine, and caraway seed). Another classic dish is Leberspiesschen (liver cubes skewered with bacon and sage and served with potatoes and beans).
Among local wines, the white Riesling Sylvaner is outstanding and great with fish. The light Clevner wines, always chilled, are made from blue Burgundy grapes that grow around the lake. You should be able to order wine by the glass, even in first-class restaurants.
- Swiss
Adler's Swiss Chuchi
This simple, bright, chalet-style restaurant with traditional wood-clad walls transports its guests straight from the city to the Alps. It's an absolute must for all cheese fans. Alongside such popular local staples as Alpine macaroni (baked with lots of potatoes), meat…$$Niederdorf - French, Seafood
Austern- und Hummer Bar
Come here for old-fashioned, unpretentious fine dining with a Parisian influence, as well as exceptional seafood in the middle of landlocked Switzerland. Austern and Hummer are the German words for oysters and lobster, and they're both specialties here, as…$$$City - International
Blinde Kuh
When it opened, "Blind Man's Bluff" was the world's first "dark restaurant," where you're in darkness for the duration of your meal. We can't comment on the interior of the restaurant or the appearance of the food as we couldn't see any of it. Before you …$$$Mühlebach - Mediterranean
Caduff's Wine Loft
What's in season at the local market determines the menu of this trendy restaurant in a converted 19th-century warehouse. Its minimalist décor, lofty windows, and whitewashed walls form a sort of blank canvas for the bold dishes served here, which might include ricotta gnocchi with a…$$$Aussersihl - Café
Confiserie Sprüngli
The extravagant window displays here are good at luring customers into what's Switzerland's top confectionary and chocolate shop, at the hub of its most exclusive shopping boulevard. Less well-known to tourists, however, is the elegant café upstairs, where you can sip coffee…$City - Swiss
Crazy Cow
There's nothing refined about the Crazy Cow. From the kitschy wall paintings inspired by Swiss stereotypes (snowboarding cows, flying cuckoo clocks, trains, half-eaten Toblerone bars) to the virtually unintelligible menu, written in Swiss dialect, this lively…$Right Bank: Oberstrass - Vegetarian
Hiltl
When it opened way back in 1898, Hiltl was Europe's first vegetarian restaurant; over a hundred years later, it remains Zurich's top vegetarian option, with daily changing seasonal menus. Plan on eating early, or expect to wait in line for the impressive salad bar of…$$City - Swiss
Kronenhalle
Many say Kronenhalle is Zurich's top restaurant, but in fact this former beer hall is more than just a restaurant—it's a culinary landmark, the perfect blend of haute cuisine and fine art. Its intimate, old-world dining areas, with white linen tablecloths, soft candlelight,…$$$Hochschulen - European
LaSalle
This avant-garde restaurant is something of an architectural marvel—it's encased within a large glass cube that in turn inside the Schiffbau, a ramshackle industrial building from the 19th century that was once used for building ships and boats and that's now one of the city's…$$Züri-West - Asian
Lily's Stomach Supply
Off the tourist track in the trendy Züri-West district, this friendly locals' haunt draws art and design students and others on a budget. The setting is sleek and minimalist, with long, communal tables, tubs of chopsticks, and an open kitchen. Don't be put off by the eatery's…$Züri-West - Lebanese
Noon
This tiny, family-run restaurant in the Niederdorf district prides itself on good-value, uncomplicated food and relaxed, friendly service. The bold red walls serve to enhance the rich colors, flavors, tastes, and textures of the authentic Middle Eastern dishes, which…$$Niederdorf - International
Restaurant Reithalle
Once a military riding school and stable complex, this friendly and budget-friendly bar, restaurant, and arts center is squeezed onto a small island between the Schanzengraben creek and the Seil canal. It serves sizable international dishes that are an…$$Aussersihl - Italian
Restaurant Rosso
Restaurant Rosso is rated by many as the top pizza joint in town, and you might agree—if you can find it, that is (there was no sign outside the entrance when we were last there). Inside a converted warehouse next to the Hardbrücke railway station, with a shabby,…$$Züri West - International
Seerose
In summer months, many of the city's fashionable boating crowd head to this chic lakeside hotspot, right on the shores of Lake Zurich. Book well in advance to ensure a table on the attractive lakeside deck, where there are giant nautical-striped parasols.…$$$Wollishofen - International
Steinfels
At the heart of the hip Züri West district, beside the eye-catching landmark Prime Tower, Steinfels attracts a young, trendy, and budget-conscious crowd. You can tuck into pastas and pizzas, burgers, spareribs, salads, and seafood in the 70s-inspired dining area, with zingy…$Züri West - Asian Fusion
Tao's
Deep within the banking and business district, Tao’s seem a bit like an oasis, with elegant Asian-inspired dining rooms and lush candlelit patio gardens. The seductive menu merges East and West, adding imaginative twists to traditional dishes: try the Asian-style paella, with a filet…$$City - Swiss
Zeughauskeller
Zürich's top beer hall was used to store weapons in the 15th century; these days it's packed instead with wooden tables (and you might be asked to share one with other guests in true, sociable, beer-cellar fashion). Expect a lively atmosphere, old-fashioned Bavarian-style oom-pah…$$Main entrance In Gassen, around the corner from Bahnhofstrasse - Swiss
Zunfthaus zur Waag
The "Weavers’ Guildhall" is without doubt one of the most stylish restaurants in town. Inside a 17th-century hall near the river, its series of wood-paneled Biedermeier-style dining rooms make an intimate, candlelit spot for dining on top-notch local…$$$Altstadt
