The first time I ate in Zurich I did the thing everyone does. I sat down at a pretty restaurant near the river, ordered the veal in cream sauce, and paid about the same as a night in a hostel. It was good. It was also the least interesting meal I had all week, because two days later a friend who lives in Kreis 4 walked me past a queue of construction workers, students and men in suits all waiting for the same sausage, and I understood that Zurich has two food scenes running in parallel. One has menus in six languages. The other has a paper napkin and a spicy mustard that will clear your sinuses.
This guide covers both, because you want the classics and you also want to eat well on the days you are not celebrating anything.
Quick Guide: Eating in Zurich
- Primary recommendation: Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, the city's own dish. Sliced veal in a white wine and cream sauce with mushrooms, served with rösti.
- Top choice for cheap eats: Sternen Grill at Bellevue. A St. Galler bratwurst with a Gold Bürli roll and their house mustard costs CHF 8.50 at the takeaway window.
- Top choice for cheese: Chäsalp, up on the Zürichberg.
- Value pick: Haus Hiltl on Sihlstrasse, the world's oldest vegetarian restaurant, where the buffet is priced by weight. Good for anyone travelling with vegetarians, big appetites, or a tight budget.
- The best way to eat your way through the city: Take a private, personalised walking experience with Lokafy in Zurich and discover the neighbourhood spots with a Local who eats there every week.
What Food Is Zurich Known For
Ask for "Swiss food" and you will be handed fondue. Fondue is delicious, and it is not from Zurich. It belongs to the French-speaking west and the Alps, and in most Swiss households it is a cold-weather dish that nobody would dream of eating in August.
Zurich's own contribution is Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, known locally as Züri-Gschnätzlets. Thin strips of veal cooked fast, then finished in a sauce of white wine, cream and stock, usually with mushrooms and sometimes with veal kidney if the kitchen is being traditional. It arrives with rösti, the grated potato cake pressed flat and fried until the edges shatter. The dish is younger than most people assume. It first turned up in a cookbook in 1947, which makes it roughly the same age as the Swiss franc's reputation for being expensive.
The other thing Zurich does properly is sausage. A grilled bratwurst with a crusty Bürli roll and a smear of mustard is the city's default lunch, its late-night snack, and its great social leveller.
Then there is the sweet side. Luxemburgerli are Confiserie Sprüngli's featherweight macarons, sold by the box on Bahnhofstrasse and best eaten the day you buy them.
The Sausage Counter Everyone Queues For
Sternen Grill, Theaterstrasse 22, at Bellevue
Run by the Rosenberger family since the 1960s, this is the sausage that every Zurich resident has an opinion about. The St. Galler bratwurst comes with a Gold Bürli and a mustard so sharp that first-timers make a face. Ask for it anyway. Ketchup is available and using it marks you out immediately.
The takeaway window runs until midnight most nights, which makes it the most useful address in the city after 10pm. There is a proper restaurant upstairs with a view over the square if you want to sit down, and the prices reflect it.
Two doors along at the same square you will find the seasonal outdoor grill counters that fill up the moment the sun appears. Follow the queue that has the most people in work boots.
Old Town Classics That Earn Their Reputation
The Niederdorf and the streets around Bahnhofstrasse are tourist territory. That does not make the food bad, it makes it busy, so book.
Zeughauskeller (Bahnhofstrasse 28A) occupies a 15th-century armoury, and yes, there are halberds on the walls. Locals still bring visiting relatives here because the portions are honest and the potato salad has a small cult following. Open daily from 11:30am. Go early or reserve.
Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten (Limmatquai 40) is one of the old guild houses on the river. The terrace over the Limmat is the reason to come in summer, and the kitchen holds up.
Kronenhalle (Rämistrasse 4) is the grand old dining room where original modern paintings hang above the tables and the waiters have worked there longer than you have been travelling. It is a splurge, it is worth doing once, and note that it is closed on Saturdays.
Where to Eat Fondue and Raclette
Zurich serves melted cheese all year because visitors ask for it. If you are here in August, nobody will judge you, though you will be eating it while the locals are swimming.
Chäsalp (Tobelhofstrasse 236) is the one Zurich residents name first. It sits up on the Zürichberg, a bus ride out of the centre, and the menu runs through fondue variations including chilli and mushroom. The garden has rabbits. Weekday service starts at 5:30pm, weekends from 11:30am, and booking is essential.
Le Dézaley (Römergasse 9) brings the Vaudois approach into the old town, with a garden and a wine list from the terraces above Lake Geneva. Closed Sundays, and lunch service stops at 2pm.
Swiss Chuchi (Rosengasse 10) in the Niederdorf is the most tourist-facing of the three and also the easiest to walk into without a reservation. Fondue and raclette are on year-round, and the rösti is solid.
Eating Well Without Spending Your Whole Budget
Zurich is expensive. It is also full of people on normal salaries who eat out, and they have systems.
Order the lunch menu. Most kitchens run a Mittagsmenü on weekdays that costs a fraction of the same food at dinner. Alpenrose, Le Dézaley and dozens of neighbourhood restaurants all do this. Lunch is the single biggest saving available to you in this city.
Haus Hiltl (Sihlstrasse 28) opened in 1898 and holds the Guinness record as the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world. The ground-floor buffet holds around 100 dishes and is priced by weight, so a light plate stays cheap and a mountain does not. It opens at 7am on weekdays, which makes it a good breakfast option too.
mit&ohne (Badenerstrasse 248, at Lochergut) bakes its pita fresh and has the longest kebab queue in Zurich. Expect a wait at peak times. Open daily until late.
Markthalle im Viadukt sits under the railway arches in Kreis 5, a row of food counters and producers with shared tables in the middle. Closed Sundays.
Bürkliplatz market runs Tuesday and Friday mornings by the lake and packs up around 11am. Cheese, bread, fruit and cured meat make a picnic that costs a third of a restaurant lunch, and the lake is right there.
Drink the water. Zurich has more than 1,200 public fountains and the water in nearly all of them is drinking water. Carry a bottle. Unless a fountain is marked "Kein Trinkwasser", fill up.
Kreis 4 and Kreis 5: Where Younger Zurich Eats
Cross the tracks from the old town and the prices soften while the cooking gets more interesting.
Alpenrose (Fabrikstrasse 12) has been doing regional Swiss cooking with named producers and an all-Swiss wine list since long before that was fashionable. Closed Mondays.
Bebek (Badenerstrasse 171) does mezze and one of the better Turkish breakfasts in the city, served from 9am daily and running long into the evening.
Ah-Hua (Ankerstrasse 110) is the Thai kitchen locals have been going to for decades. Closed Monday and Tuesday, busy the rest of the week.
Frau Gerolds Garten (Geroldstrasse 23) is the outdoor spot under the viaduct, built from shipping containers and picnic tables. Come for a drink and the atmosphere more than the menu.
MAME Josef (Josefstrasse 160) is where to go for serious coffee, with a rotating selection of espresso and filter. Open daily.
John Baker bakes some of the best bread in the city. The Helvetiaplatz branch (Molkenstrasse 15) opens at weekends, while the Stadelhofen branch closes Saturday and Sunday, which catches people out.
Summer Eating by the Water
From June to September the city relocates to the lake and the river, and the food follows.
Seebad Enge (Mythenquai 9) is a wooden swimming platform on the lake with a bar and kitchen attached. Swim, eat, repeat. It stays open late.
Rimini Bar (Badweg 10) tucks in beside the river baths and opens in the evenings. Sand underfoot, drinks in hand, the Limmat going past.
Fischer's Fritz (Seestrasse 557) sits on the lake at Zurich's campsite and serves fish from the water in front of it. Reserve for groups.
Bauschänzli (Stadthausquai 2) is a beer garden on a small island in the Limmat, open in the warm months. Chestnut trees, long benches, big glasses.
Muggenbühl (Muggenbühlstrasse 15) is the garden restaurant locals take their parents to, with Swiss classics and enough shade to sit out an afternoon.
Sweet Things and Chocolate
Confiserie Sprüngli (Bahnhofstrasse 21) at Paradeplatz is the institution. Buy Luxemburgerli by the box, eat them the same day, and stay for a hot chocolate if there is a free table. Closed Sundays, though the Hauptbahnhof branch keeps longer hours.
Vollenweider Chocolatier Confiseur (Theaterstrasse 1) is smaller, handmade and open Sunday afternoons, which makes it the better bet at the weekend.
Babu's (Löwenstrasse 1) is the brunch spot near the station, known for cinnamon rolls and eggs. Weekends bring a queue, so book or go early.
One Perfect Eating Day in Zurich
- 8:30am. Coffee and a pastry at John Baker Helvetiaplatz, standing at the counter with everyone on their way to work.
- 10:00am. Walk to Bürkliplatz market if it is a Tuesday or Friday. Buy cheese, bread and fruit for later.
- 12:30pm. Lunch menu at a neighbourhood restaurant in Kreis 4. This is where your money goes furthest.
- 3:00pm. Luxemburgerli at Sprüngli, then walk down to the lake and swim at Seebad Enge.
- 6:00pm. Aperitif at Frau Gerolds Garten or Rimini Bar.
- 8:00pm. Zürcher Geschnetzeltes with rösti at Zeughauskeller, or fondue up at Chäsalp if you have booked.
- 11:30pm. A bratwurst at the Sternen Grill window on your way home. This step is not optional.
Practical Things Worth Knowing Before You Eat
- Reserve. Zurich books out, particularly Thursday to Saturday. A phone call the same morning is often enough.
- Sunday is quiet. Shops close, restaurants open. The shops inside the Hauptbahnhof trade seven days a week and will save you if you need groceries.
- Service is included. Rounding up the bill is normal and appreciated. There is no percentage you are expected to hit.
- Lunch beats dinner for value everywhere in the city.
- Cards work almost everywhere, though smaller kiosks and market stalls still prefer cash.
- Portions are large. Two people sharing a rösti as a side is standard practice.
Eat Zurich With Someone Who Lives There
Restaurant lists get you to the door. A local gets you to the counter their neighbour runs, the market stall with the best Alpine cheese, and the lunch menu that is not written in English.
Take a private, personalised walking experience with Lokafy in Zurich and discover the food side of the city with a Local. Your Lokafyer builds the walk around what you want to eat, so a group that wants sausage counters and market stalls gets a different afternoon from one that wants old guild houses and chocolate. It is a few hours with someone who eats here, not a script.
Frequently Asked Questions
What food is Zurich known for? Zurich is known for Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, sliced veal in a white wine and cream sauce with mushrooms, served with rösti. The dish first appeared in a cookbook in 1947. The city is also known for grilled bratwurst served in a crusty Bürli roll, and for Luxemburgerli, the small macarons made by Confiserie Sprüngli.
Where do locals eat in Zurich? Locals eat lunch menus in neighbourhood restaurants in Kreis 4 and Kreis 5, queue at Sternen Grill at Bellevue for sausages, take the bus up to Chäsalp for fondue, and shop at the Bürkliplatz market on Tuesday and Friday mornings. The old town restaurants are busier with visitors, though places like Zeughauskeller still draw locals bringing family.
How much does a meal cost in Zurich? A takeaway bratwurst with a roll costs around CHF 8.50. A weekday lunch menu in a neighbourhood restaurant typically runs CHF 20 to CHF 30. A main course at dinner in a mid-range restaurant usually lands between CHF 30 and CHF 45, and fine dining set menus start above CHF 100.
Is Zeughauskeller a tourist trap? Zeughauskeller is heavily visited but not a trap. It serves large portions of traditional Swiss food at mid-range prices in a 15th-century armoury, and Zurich residents still bring visiting family there. Reserve or arrive early, since it fills up from midday.
Where can I eat cheaply in Zurich? The cheapest reliable options are the takeaway window at Sternen Grill, the pay-by-weight buffet at Haus Hiltl, kebabs at mit&ohne on Badenerstrasse, food counters at Markthalle im Viadukt, and picnic supplies from the Bürkliplatz market. Weekday lunch menus in any neighbourhood restaurant cost far less than the same kitchen at dinner.
Can you eat fondue in Zurich in summer? Yes. Swiss Chuchi, Le Dézaley and Chäsalp all serve fondue and raclette year-round. Locals treat melted cheese as a cold-weather dish, so in August you will mostly be sharing the room with other visitors.
Do I need a reservation to eat in Zurich? For dinner from Thursday to Saturday, yes, particularly in the old town and at popular fondue restaurants. Casual counters like Sternen Grill, mit&ohne and the Hiltl buffet take walk-ins, though you may queue at peak hours.
Is the tap water safe to drink in Zurich? Yes. Zurich has more than 1,200 public fountains supplying drinking water free of charge, and tap water throughout the city is safe. Only fountains marked "Kein Trinkwasser" are not for drinking. Carrying a refillable bottle is the easiest saving you will make here.
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