Antiquario da Marco, Freiestrasse, Zurich

Dumb luck sometimes leads me to great places. I literally stumbled into the Antiquario da Marco on a slow sunday evening. The outside dining area is nicely secluded from the road by means of some shrubs and the overarching blind give shelter if it ever where to drizzle. The atmosphere is classy, yet slightly dated and it clearly is a place catering to regulars and local patrons.

There are a half dozens of specials available and I struggle to not forget any of them. First dish are some gamberoni on top of a asparagus salad. I was pleasantly surprised not only was the herbs used to cook the seafood of a surprising variety including thyme and marjoram, but the pre-cooked asparagus salad still had a perfect texture. The claim to fame of this place are home-made triangoli where they carry about 20 varieties and always 3-4 to choose from on any day. I get a plate with dried tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant of the aforementioned pasta creations. The dough is silky, paper-thin and of exceptional quality. The tomato was clearly the most flavourful filling, while the triangoli were great, a bit more elegance on the sauce would elevate the dish further.

My main was a sliced beef filet on a bed of Cima di Rape with saffron risotto. Look at the picture, it tasted even better than it looked. The slightly bitter Cima di Rape, nicely seasoned with garlic and a sprinkle of chilli, created a great bite together with the fillet which was skillfully seared. Originally the dish was served with roasted potatoes which I swapped for the risotto. While the risotto was okay, in hindsight I should have stayed with the potatoes. I finished with a Tiramisu, which lacked the oversweet tackiness most renditions nowadays exhibit in an in-your-face style, setting a comforting contrast. The place isn’t exactly cheap, but value for money is there. I got some disgruntled feedback from my beloved readers for not being happy with this place, I’d recommend to try Antiquario.