Metzg Grill, Langstrasse, Zurich

Metzg is located in the former Kebab and butchery near the Kanzleiareal. Pretty interior, yet simple, 4-5 tables and only one which you can reserve. Lene runs the shop and here mission statement is “we love meat and animals”, hence she’s picky on sourcing her ingredients. To get into the mood I order a small plate of assorted meats (charcuterie). A lovely selection (ideal for 1 person) and the waitress explained every cut of meat. This helped in making up my mind for the next dishes.

The white-tailed deer sausage (Rehwurst) is obviously homemade and full of lovely spices, certainly juniper and clove can be identified. In combination with the acidity from the Apples this is a simple, but well thought out and tasty appetizer. Mustard available upon request, since the apples are thought to be enough and probably this could be an argument which will take you well into dessert…

The main course was a fantastic hanger steak! It had a great sear and char on the outside, giving it tons of flavor, was still à point (medium-rare) in the center and the sea salt gave it that extra touch of love. It was a nicely grilled piece of meat, honest handiwork and good ingredients. Only little caveat were the Bratkartoffeln (roasted potatoes), there I would have liked a slightly crispier sear on the outside.

Anyone (outside the chains and established gastronomical operators) opening up a restaurant on their own deserves credit regardless of the outcome. But here the concept, the execution and the quality of the food is excellent. I’m tempted to say the Metzg is the Langstrasse version of AuGust or you could turn it around AuGust is the Rennweg version of Metzg. I’ll be back and I’m looking forward to trying the goat stew mit szechuan pepper, ginger, sake and fried mashed potatoes.