Restaurant Rosi, Sihlfeldstrasse, Zürich

I’ve always dreamed of going to Oktoberfest (the real thing in Munich). Not for the drinking, but for the all the bavarian dining delicacies. What has kept me from actually going was all the tv shows showing funny Australians, charming Italians and not-so-shy-anymore Swiss all passing out in a heap on a grassy hill. The other thing I feared was that since everyone’s drunk, the food actually isn’t going to be cooked with that much care. Naturally I was thrilled to hear that a restaurant with bavarian roots was opening near Lochergut. Rosi was also thrilling to a lot of other people, so getting a table was a challenge, but it paid off with a great meal.

Bread and Brezen with Schmand, Kartoffelkaas, Wurstsalat and and Kässespätzle where our first course. We had ordered the Spätzle to go with mains and we didn’t order the Wurstsalat. But I didn’t pipe up. Why? My significant other told me I coulnd’t order more than three dishes and I had relinquished the Wurstsalat. So I was pretty pleased that the server read my mind and coulnd’t believe my luck that it arrived nevertheless.

The food is great. The Wurstsalat had a lovely sauce of vinegar and a nutty oil, heaped on thin slices of sausage. Käsespätzle had the tang you’d expect from a nice cheese. Highlight here was the Kartoffelkaas a sort of a mix of mashed potatoes and salad. Dense, but not heavy covered with roe and leek shavings on top this was something I had never had before.

Main course was a Backhendl: a small golden, brown chicken with a veal stuffing. Breading was phenomenal and the meat juicy and succulent. Dessert was a bit on the weird side: barley ice cream with buckthorn sauce. Especially the buckthorn was too sour and might have worked as a drizzle, but not as a sauce. Still – Rosi will remain a popular place as long as they keep the quality of the food as high as it is. Book early, you’ll find it challenging to get a table.