The Land of Fondue
In today’s blog post, I (Emma) wanted to take you on a little food tour of Switzerland. Why? Well, I was just there last weekend! Our dad currently lives in Switzerland, and as I’m only a short flight away in the UK, I thought it was about time I took a little weekend trip to visit him. Luckily, he loves food just as much as we do, so he planned a weekend full of delicious meals and a few touristy bits as well. Sofie actually visited him this past spring, so she’s tried a lot of the same restaurants too! Thankfully, none of us have been subjected to trying Swiss fondue on our trips. I kid of course – I’m sure it’s delicious but it would be wasted on us, as we don’t particularly like any strong cheese! Anyway, enjoy the highlights below – these restaurants were all amazing.
Hotel Storchen in Zürich
It was a chilly late October weekend, so we definitely had to stop for a coffee while we were out walking around the city. Me being me, I couldn’t resist also getting a sweet treat, so I opted for a scoop of vanilla ice cream with whipped cream on top. And it was delicious! You just know when you see specks of vanilla in the ice cream that it’s good quality. The venue wasn’t too bad either, as we were right on the Limmat River and got to look out on the beautiful water while we had our coffee break. This was just a spot we came across on our walk, but it was great!
Churrasco Steak & Nikkei Cuisine in Zürich
Our first full day ended with a huge meal, one that my dad kept saying “must be a carnivore’s dream.” The restaurant was an interesting Japanese fusion steakhouse, although we didn’t end up trying any of the Japanese fusion dishes. I did see quite a few wagyu bao buns going out from the kitchen though, and they looked unreal! Anyway, we went in with a plan to order a steak platter to share, as my dad had been there a few times and said it was super delicious. It came with three different cuts of beef and we got to choose four sides: truffle fries, mushrooms, spinach, and mixed vegetables. Despite being someone who eats meat but typically not much red meat, I really enjoyed it! The steak was incredibly tender and the sides were the perfect accompaniment, as they were reasonably light but still tasty.
Kronenhalle in Zürich
The next day, we were still pretty full from the steak and took it easy in the morning. We had a reservation around 1pm for a big lunch at a classic Swiss restaurant called Kronenhalle. It was a beautiful restaurant, very clean and fancy-looking. The walls were also covered in beautiful artwork (which you aren’t allowed to photograph) but it really set the scene! And it was certainly an experience I couldn’t have in the UK or the US. I ordered a beetroot, apple, and horseradish salad for my starter, then a beef goulash stroganoff with spätzle, which are these yummy little noodles, for my main entree. I was full but couldn’t say no to dessert (as always) and order the best crème brûlée I have ever had. My boyfriend ordered an equally delicious but far more stunning raspberry and pistachio mousse dessert, so I had to document it.
Bar Ristorante Olimpia in Lugano
On our third and final day, we got up early to take the train to Lugano, which is about 3 hours away from Zürich (usually it’s only 2 but they’re doing lots of construction on the Gotthard tunnel). Lugano is near Italy so, unsurprisingly, it’s in the Italian part of Switzerland. It was so interesting coming from Zürich, the more German part, because it truly felt like a different country. The signs were in Italian and everyone was speaking Italian, which I hadn’t expected for some reason. We explored the small city a bit, although it was unfortunately rainy, and then had a big lunch before we had to get the train back. Being in the Italian part, we had to have pasta! A yummy lunch of tagliatelle bolognese and a dessert of pannacotta (again, when in Rome!) later, and our short visit to Lugano was over.
The End
I barely even had time to take in all the sights and new experiences before it was time to jump on a plane back to the UK. Switzerland is truly beautiful and I find it so impressive that there is such a breadth and wealth of cultures and languages across such a small country! There is so much to explore and 3 days was truly not enough, so hopefully I’ll have a chance to go back at some point. But a small warning – if you’re visiting from practically anywhere else, don’t go shopping! Checking the price tag can be a bit shocking 😂
I hope you enjoyed today’s blog post. Have you ever been to Switzerland? What was your impression? Leave us a comment down below!
