Magoosh, Stampfenbachstrasse, Zurich

Have you ever wondered about having dinner with Messi, Ronaldo or Zidane ? I had this exact moment. Not a superstar from the world of football, but from the much more exclusive circle of Java programmers – I had dinner with a real Java Champion, all thanks to what I was doing in a previous life. This leaves me with just one question – after having dominated Zurich’s elusive online english written food critic scene and having dined with Heinz – where do I go from here ? 😉

But I trust my beloved readers are not keen in learning about my inner turnmoil. Magoosh sounds like an upscale indian restaurant, but it isn’t – I’d classify it as an upscale restaurant going after  visitors and business crowds with an italian/asian/grill theme to the menu. I’m never very pleased when I see Dim Sum and Antipasti on the same page, on the other hand ravioli were invented by the Chinese, so there is a clear line of heritage between the two.

The antipasti platter was actually very good. Wether it was the nicely cooked artichokes, the high quality of the individual ingredients (cheese, ham) or the almost tempura like batter on the vegetable sticks – it was a nice little platter, fresh, with good elements and nothing to complain about. Since the Magoosh claims to use a special flame grill to give their meat an extra special taste, meat it was for our main course. While the Rib Eye was tasty, we weren’t sure what the effect of the flame grill actually was, otherwise it was perfectly executed, accompanied by tasty fries and a selection of sauces. The only small gripe was with the Chimichurri sauce – which had some (albeit nicely diced) carrots and wasn’t like anything I had before.

The Magoosh surprised me in a positive way – the food was much better then I thought it would be. The menu combines Dim Sum, Tataki, Borscht, Maccheroncini and Steaks – but what I tasted was cooked nicely, tasty and of good quality. Nevertheless the restaurant seems unmemorable, a more distinct style and focus on a narrower offering would do the quality of the cooking more justice. Prices are Zurich downtown standard.