Goodman Steakhouse, Brandschenkestrasse, Zurich

Brot und Butter

Caesar salad

Striploin steak, Bohnen, Pommes Frites und Sauce Bernaise

Damn – I need more money. I have a couple of restaurants in my head which I know would do great in Zurich, one of them was a decent steakhouse. So your favorite food critic was a tad dismayed to see that a place called Goodman has opened. The restaurant is somewhat challenging to find, since it’s hidden behind some scaffolding. The vibe is clearly inspired by classic american steakhouses, dark wood, leathery seats and decorated windows. Now I’m neithed an expert in carpentry nor in upholstery, but I wasn’t convinced that it was natural leather and wooden tables, it felt a bit too perfect and new. The menu is small and cuts right to the chase, meat in all kind of varities plus some appetizers. What I was missing was a great shrimp cocktail and maybe some more seafood options. The most expensive thing you could order was a porterhouse steak (2.2 lbs / 1.1 kg) for a whopping 200 CHF (200 USD). Now I’m not the saving-for-when-I-get-old-type, but even I find 200 bucks for a kilogram of meat vulgar. There was a striploin steak on the menu. I asked the waiter if that differs from sirloin and he told me no, it was just british english for sirloin… Now if you’re bragging you’re doing steak, you should train your staff to know that difference and avoid spreading false information. Also being able to understand the french cooking grades of meat (bleu, saignant, à point, bien cuit) and not having to guess helps. My appetizer was a Caesar salad, nicely done with romaine lettuce and a decent sauce. I wasn’t quite sure if it contained raw eggs and a sardine, but it was certainly a decent version. I need to call out the bread, it was some kind of ready-bake stuff and just not up to standards and disappointing. The striploin steak (a different cut than a sirloin) had a nice dry aged taste and was cooked they way I ordered it. What needs to be called out especially are the frothy and tarragony sauce Bernaise as well as the hand cut french fries which were excellent. The place is going to very popular with expense account holders, inner city businessmen and middle aged drunks (the four gentlemen causing a racaus vis-a-vis my table account to that). Value wise it just doesn’t cut it -70 swiss francs for a piece of meat isn’t worth it, if the surroundings arent’t perfect. The Eisenhof fillet is the better option if you’re looking for meat, Beef Club for the meat cart, the Goodman’s is recommendable if you’re conducting business or need to impress a German. Finances:

Rechnung