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Since the mid-1990s, Zürich's restaurant trade has boomed. The new establishments, both Swiss and international, tend to favor lighter, leaner meals served in bright spaces that often open out to the street. The traditional cuisine, no longer ubiquitous but still easily found, is called nach Zürcher Art, meaning "cooked in the Zürich style." Think meat, mushrooms, potatoes, butter, cream—an extremely rich cuisine, perfectly suited to the leaded-glass and burnished-oak guildhalls.
In exploring Zürich's core, you will want to enter at least one of these famous medieval "union clubhouses" scattered along the riverfront neighborhoods; the best way is to dine in one, as all but the Zunfthaus zur Meisen, the Zunfthaus zur Saffran, and the Zunfthaus zur Schmide have restaurants open to the public. On your way to the restroom, sneak a peek into their other dining rooms—they are, for the most part, museum-perfect in their leaded-glass and Gothic-wood detail.
Zürich's signature dish, which you'll encounter throughout both French and German Switzerland, is Geschnetzeltes Kalbfleisch, or in French émincé de veau, bite-size slices of milky veal (and sometimes veal kidneys) sautéed in butter and swimming in a rich brown sauce thick with cream, white wine, shallots, and mushrooms. Its closest cousin is Geschnetzeltes Kalbsleber (calf's liver), served much the same way. You may also find Rösti, a kind of hash-brown potatoes, and Spätzle, egg noodles that are either pressed through a sieve or snipped, gnocchi-style, and served in butter.
Another culinary must is Zürich's favorite portable food, sausage and Bürli (a crunchy roll), eaten separately, two-fisted style. The best are to be had at Bellevue at the Sternen Grill; Kalbsbratwurst (veal) is mild, the smaller Cervelat (pork) saltier. Join the locals and munch away while waiting for a tram.
Zürichers also have a definite sweet tooth: refined cafés draw crowds for afternoon pastries, and chocolate shops vie for the unofficial honor of making the best chocolate truffles in town.
Restaurants in Zürich have been smoke-free by law since 2010. Some offer smokers' lounges; otherwise expect smoking at outdoor tables, where it is still allowed.
Zürich's iconic confectionery, this landmark chocolatier and café for wealthy Bahnhofstrasse habitués concocts excellent seasonal truffles and pastries, though it's most famed for its Luxemburgerli, small cream-filled macaroon-style cookies. Good, plain hot lunches, sandwiches, and salads are also served, as are hot chocolates and coffees. There are also branches at the Hauptbahnhof, on Löwenplatz, and at Zürich airport.
Elaborate ice-cream sundaes and cakes, to eat in or take out, are the specialty here.
Inhale tempting smells from around the world at this old-style, open-bin store where oak shelves are lined with coffee, dried fruits, nuts, and grains.
An old warehouse space in Zürich West has not so much been renovated as cleaned up and then highlighted with an eclectic mix of antiques and 1950s collectibles, all of which are for sale. Tapas and Mediterranean dishes, including their famous moules frites (mussels and fries) are available to order at the counter. In summer, snag a table on the multitier veranda out front.
This humble izakaya, owned and run by the Japanese-Swiss Oki family, is one of many excellent new Japanese restaurants in town. They serve Japanese soul food like curries, donburi bowls, agedaishi dofu, and crispy kaarage that complement the nice selection of Japanese beer, sake, and cocktails like pink sake spritzes. In 2021, they opened a second location in a modernist glass pavilion in Letzigrund, which also became the location for their Summer Garden Pavilion Party with Japanese knife sharpening and origami courses, and kiosks selling kakigōri (Japanese shaved ice), homemade miso and soy, and other Japanese crafts and goods.
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