Kronenhalle, Rämistrasse, Zürich

So I met with another heavyweight in the restaurant blogger scene, Patrick for dinner. I have fond memories of the Kronenhalle of our grandfather taking us here for lunch and I would always order the Bratwurst with Roeschti, since it was the only dish I thought was in a sensible price range at that time. I’m assuming that’s testament to the frugal and modest principles instilled in me by my dear mother. Lucky us we got a nice table in the main dining room to ourselves for our dinner.

The Kronenhalle has a very strong foundation in truly classic dishes, so I wasn’t going to stray from that line. First was a nice Matjes hering, arranged tableside with onions, creme fraiche, chives and apple. I would have like a bit more of the apple flavour to come through. Still a lovely combination, not sure if you’d find anything like this in another place in Zurich.

Upon consultation of the very sovereign waiter I decided for the calf liver instead of the Geschnetzeltes. The argument of the waiter was as simple as it was convincing, I already have a cream based sauce in the hering, so I can go for a different taste in my mains. The key to a good swiss restaurant is the Röschti and the Kronenhalle scores high marks, not only is it served in two helpings, it hits all the buttons in terms of butter & potato flavor as well as in salt balance & crunchiness. Also the liver was cut evenly, nicely seared but not overcooked.

After we settle our bill, the most touching thing was the feedback from the waiter. When I commended him that he took very good care of us this night, he smiled, shook our hand and said – “It’s always an echo of the guests behaviour”. Feeling moved at the gentlemen’s wisdom, class and unpretentioness (we were some of the few ones not wearing a suit), we leave the restaurant in an elated mood. Kronenhall is not just a classic institution, it’s also classy.

We head over to probably the swissest of all bars, the Aelpli bar were some live swiss folk music was playing. A great evening comes to an end and I’m happy to have dined with such a fine blogging colleague.