Geneva is surrounded by scenic beauty, well placed for European road trips and French-speaking, all of which (in my view) make it more attractive than Switzerland’s other significant city. That said, one night up north is all it takes to realise that Zurich is much more hip.
While Geneva is crawling with stuffy bankers and 6ft hookers, Zurich is populated by sexy sophisticates and relaxed arty types mingling among the cool cafés and vintage shops. Even the taxi drivers are more cosmopolitan, driving like maniacs and shouting obscenities at cyclists.
My California-dwelling friend and I found a fresh and funky design hotel (http://www.greulich.ch), complete with renowned restaurant, rugs for when you get chilly outside, and a cigar room. Nevertheless, we fancied a flavour of the city, so took ourselves off to La Salle where we were thrilled to find high ceilings befitting a former factory and windows criss-crossed with chunky steel beams, all set within a cool complex in an up-and-coming part of town.
After hanging our coats on the self-service rack at the restaurant entrance (how nice not to faff around with cloakroom tokens) we were given a big table and presented with the menu in German, French and English.
We both started with octopus – which really should have been served as a simple carpaccio without the slimy savoury jelly – topped with tasty, tangy tomatoes. Despite the best efforts of the flirty front of house host to make us eat horse (I know it’s tasty but we both happen to like horses), my friend went for a delicious looking entrecôte of lamb while I ordered liver. The texture was perhaps a little too liver-like, bordering on the undercooked, but the deep red, umami-influenced sauce was delightful.
Our Mediterranean maître d’ then tried to foist upon us some fiendishly fattening fare for dessert, but we stayed strong and shared a deliciously smooth crema catalana.
We did, however, take his third piece of advice: we hotfooted it upstairs to the bar where we enjoyed an excellent evening of good conversation and Campari.
La Salle, Schiffbaustrasse 4, CH-8005 Zürich
+41 (0)44 258 7071; http://www.lasalle-restaurant.ch
While Geneva is crawling with stuffy bankers and 6ft hookers, Zurich is populated by sexy sophisticates and relaxed arty types mingling among the cool cafés and vintage shops. Even the taxi drivers are more cosmopolitan, driving like maniacs and shouting obscenities at cyclists.
After hanging our coats on the self-service rack at the restaurant entrance (how nice not to faff around with cloakroom tokens) we were given a big table and presented with the menu in German, French and English.
We both started with octopus – which really should have been served as a simple carpaccio without the slimy savoury jelly – topped with tasty, tangy tomatoes. Despite the best efforts of the flirty front of house host to make us eat horse (I know it’s tasty but we both happen to like horses), my friend went for a delicious looking entrecôte of lamb while I ordered liver. The texture was perhaps a little too liver-like, bordering on the undercooked, but the deep red, umami-influenced sauce was delightful.
Our Mediterranean maître d’ then tried to foist upon us some fiendishly fattening fare for dessert, but we stayed strong and shared a deliciously smooth crema catalana.
We did, however, take his third piece of advice: we hotfooted it upstairs to the bar where we enjoyed an excellent evening of good conversation and Campari.
La Salle, Schiffbaustrasse 4, CH-8005 Zürich
+41 (0)44 258 7071; http://www.lasalle-restaurant.ch
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment