I find that it is quite common for me to be attracted to a country, based almost solely on their cuisine. I’ve researched places to eat prior to traveling and am more than willing to wait in ridiculously long lines just to taste what I’ve read about.
This wasn’t exactly the case for Switzerland. Seeing as how Switzerland is famous for cheese and chocolate, two things that are readily available in all parts of the world, I seemed to have already made up my mind that this trip would be more about the scenery than the food. Sure, I knew that I would definitely have to try some local dishes such as fondue, raclette and cordon bleu, but these are things that I’ve eaten before and can find in many restaurants in Canada and perhaps this led me to be much less excited about the food or this trip.
Restaurant Neustadt
Address: Neustadtstrasse 21, 6003 Luzern, Switzerland
Phone: +41 41 210 23 71
My first day started off with a recommendation to a local restaurant in Lucerne. Restaurant Neustadt is located in a residential area close to the train station and although the patio tables were completely full, the inside of the restaurant was close to being empty on the Saturday night that I visited. I had heard that they serve a good Cordon Bleu and judging by the number of people that had ordered this dish, I knew it had to be true.
33CHF will get you a huge serving of Cordon Bleu with fries and a pop. It tasted exactly as I had imagined. Deep fried pork stuffed with cheese and ham – how could you go wrong?
Mill’Feuille
Address: Mühlenpl. 6, 6004 Luzern, Switzerland
Phone: +41 41 410 10 92
Lucerne was also where I tried Ofenei, a baked egg dish that wasn’t anything like what I expected. I ordered the vegetarian version which included an egg baked with eggplant, mushrooms and tomatoes. I saw this on breakfast menus throughout the week, so this must be quite a popular breakfast item.
Zunfthausrestaurant Pfistern
Address: Kornmarkt 4, 6004 Luzern, Switzerland
Phone: +41 41 410 36 50
On my last morning in Lucerne, I decided to have an early lunch at one of the restaurants right on Lake Lucerne. I chose Zunfthausrestaurant Pfistern simply because of the menu they had posted outside the restaurant. I had wanted to try Älpermagronen and they had it on their menu for a reasonable price.
I tried the macaroni on its own and it appeared to be significantly under seasoned. However, as soon as I added some apple sauce, it became much better. I guess this is why they eat those things together. It was a wonderful combination and although the portion size didn’t look very big, I actually had trouble finishing it. The price of 26.50CHF is slightly higher than what some other places would charge for this dish, but for the location and ambience, it seemed reasonable.
La Maison du Gruyère
Address: Place de la Gare 3, 1663 Pringy-Gruyères, Switzerland
Phone: +41 26 921 84 00
It was an overcast day in Switzerland, which made it perfect to visit a couple of factories. I ended up at La Maison du Gruyère just after the lunch rush and seeing as this is probably the most famous cheese factory in the country, thought it would be the perfect opportunity to sit down and try a traditional Gruyère Cheese Fondue.
Service was amazing here and the waitress patiently explained that each order of fondue came with 200g of cheese, bread and potatoes. I preferred having fondue with the potatoes, simply because I could use as much or as little cheese as I liked and the potatoes would still taste great. The bread on the other hand required more cheese to hide the stale taste (as fondue is traditionally eaten with older bread).
Bäckerei Konditorei Café Ringgenberg
Address: Dorfstrasse 123, 3818 Grindelwald, Switzerland
Phone: +41 33 853 10 59
After spending a leisurely morning at Jungfraujoch, I made my way down to Grindelwald for lunch. I came across Café Ringgenberg and decided to be somewhat healthy and order a sauage salad. Little did I know that a sausage salad in Switzerland comes with a side of fries, which actually looked bigger than the salad itself!
I knew that sausage salad was quite common in Switzerland and had even seen it in all of the supermarkets I visited. In the end, the fries actually added a nice balance to the meal, but so much for wanting something slightly healthier!
Zeughauskeller
Address: Bahnhofstrasse 28A, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
Phone: +41 44 220 15 15
On my first night in Zurich, I made my way to Zeughauskeller to try the Zürcher Geschnetzeltes. I arrived around 7:15pm on a Saturday night and the place was packed to the brim. After looking through the menu for a bit, the waiter came by and told me that I only had 30 minutes because I needed to clear the table before 8pm and said that the host should have told me about this when I was led to my table. Apparently they had a big group booked in for 8pm and normally, I wouldn’t mind this, but I didn’t particular appreciate the demeanor of the waiter. He basically just suggested I pick the veal sausage, which is the most popular menu item. I took his suggestion instead of searching for the Zürcher Geschnetzeltes and later realized that it was likely either a cultural or language miscommunication with the waiter. He turned out to be quite nice and helpful in the end. I enjoyed the veal sausage he recommended but secretly wished that I wasn’t rushed through the menu and could have ordered the Zürcher Geschnetzeltes instead. Especially because I caught a glimpse of another table’s Zürcher Geschnetzeltes and it looked much more appetizing. I also saw some very unique items served to other tables, so if I have the opportunity to visit Zurich again, I’ll definitely need to come back and try these items.
Swiss Chuchi
Address: Rosengasse 10, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
Phone: +41 44 266 96 66
At long last, I was finally able to try Zürcher Geschnetzeltes! Although Swiss Chuchi is perhaps more known for fondue and raclette, I had also heard that many people enjoy Zürcher Geschnetzeltes here.
For a restaurant that doesn’t even specialize in Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, I found it to be amazing. I should have eaten Zürcher Geschnetzeltes right from my first day in Switzerland, as that is how much I enjoyed it.
Service at the restaurant was great…when I could get the waiter’s attention. The poor waiter was scurrying around the restaurant at full speed. He barely had any time to take care of his tables, and it was a full 20 minutes from the time I sat down to the time I ordered my food. Then, after I finished my meal, it was another 20 minutes or so before he came to give me the bill. However, I can’t even complain because I saw him running around and saw how ridiculously busy he was. A lady at the next table even asked him why he was so busy all the time.
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