Brasserie Ö, Sternen Oerlikon, Zurich

Oerlion is not exactly an area blessed with many culinary highlights, so any newcomer has a chance to leave a lasting mark. The Hotel Sternen Oerlikon has been remodelled and has renamed its restaurant Ö. The pictures on the website still look a bit shady, since they’re taken directly form the architect’s Photoshop simulation. The interior is a tad underwhelming, it’s supposed to give you a warm wooden feeling, but it comes off as the cheap IKEA panelling.

But then again the food is the main concern. The menu comes off as Swiss with a Brasserie touch. The appetizer, which is the biggest eye-catcher, is the cold mosaique of the Bernerplatte(assorted meat platter). Two slices of the mosaique (lots of meat, right amount of vegetables) wrapped with a bit of leek, where served on top of a barley salad and some bacon espuma. The espuma wasn’t worth mentioning but the mosaique was not just a great idea, it was lovely to look at, it gave you the Berner Platte feeling and with the nicely balanced acidity from the barley salad, this dish was pretty damn good. Taking a strong classic and elevating it this much makes you a strong contender for points in any culinary guide.

The Tatare was nice, just what you would expect from a Brasserie. The Pommes Allumettes (Streichholzkartoffeln) were nicely cooked, but were sprinkled with some kind of spice mix, which failed to impress – then again, I was still dreaming of the appetizer and barely noticed. What’s the conclusion of the Ö ? It seems like a chef with great ideas and good foundational skills is standing in the kitchen. Our simple theory is that the hotel owner has asked for a somewhat traditional menu & the chef has to smuggle his creative gems onto it. Let him unleash his inner wild beast and this could become a culinary hotspot for all of Zurich, it certainly is already for Oerlikon.