Gandria, Rudolfstrasse, Zurich

Jakobsmuscheln auf Lauchgemüse

Wildfangcrevetten mit Zuchetti und Spaghetti an Zitronensauce

Sauerrahmgelato mit Aceto

The restaurant Gandria is tucked away from the Seefeldstrasse, close to the Höschgasse. Upon entering, the restaurant makes a small, lovely impression and is obviously owner run. A nice contrast to the “concept” places appearing in Zurich all over town. I had some time on my hands and was looking forward to an excellent lunch. The place sports 14 Gault Millau points, which is okay, but not stellar. I’m shown to a nice booth where I sit down, order a glass of wine and study the menu. My first dish is some scallops on leek. The scallops were accompanied by a tomato sauce with some chili. I wasn’t too fond of the dish, I would have preferred the scallops a tad more cooked. The chili added a nice spice to the sauce, but overpowered the scallops and cut through the sweeteness of the leeks. The main course smelled nicely and I eagerly tucked into the wild-caught shrimp with spaghetti and zuchini and dressed with a lemon sauce. I’m a big fan of pasta and zuchetti strips which was a nice combination, pairing nicely with the fresh lemon taste of the sauce. My favourite protein really is shrimp, but there was something a bit off with the ones served on top of my spaghetti. They were either overcooked or already a bit old. Shrimp cooked perfectly have slight resistance to your bite, but your teeth cut cleanly through the meat, like a sharp knife through a ripe tomato. These shrimp had a slight mealy consistency and was lacking in beauty. Dessert was very good, a sourcream gelato with 40 year old Balsamic vinegar. To be fair I wouldn’t have noticed if the vinegar was only 35 years old. The sweet and creamy ice cream held up nicely with the acid of the vinegar, a simple yet creative way to finish of the meal. Prices are somewhat steep, but not off the chart for a place like this. Looking at the ambition of the place, next time I’ll go for the meat, I’m sure It’ll be a tad better than the seafood.

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