My personal highlight: Choose by your own the piece of meat that comes on the charcoal grill and join Manager Dominik in the wine cellar to get the wine of your choice!

What if you get access to the kitchen and have the unique opportunity to taste the menu with the staff before it is officially available for the guests? I said yes and joined the team at Restaurant Coco Grill & Bar on a rainy Monday in Zurich close to Paradeplatz!
What makes this place special is the direct interaction between the staff and the Chef. You choose directly the wine and piece of meat you’d like to have prepared!

The menu changes ever week at Coco’s and is rich of fresh seasonal ingredients and stays a surprise until it is served on your plate!

The ambience at Coco’s reminds me of an ancient idyllic boat, decorated with lovely maritime items all over the restaurant.

Dominik the manager welcomes me to the restaurant with fresh homemade apple aperitivo and introduces me to the staff that is hungry waiting to taste the menu of the week. Chef Patrick Frischknecht (before at Eleven Madison Park, New York) explains to me the week’s menu consisting of 5 courses including a Swiss Fish (Belper Quellwasser) or juicy cuts of beef or veal, some seasonal vegetables such as for example beetroot or celery hand made “Schupfnudeln” and waffles as a dessert. Coco Grill is famous for its charcoal grill, so watch out for their meat or fish!

The garden outside invites you to have a gorgeous tasty plate and a glass of wine for example with homemade spreads such as hummus or grilled veggies and meat!

Say yes if Dominik invites you to discover their wine cellar!

Find different wines from Switzerland, Spain, Italy or France for example that pair well with your menu! Choose it by yourself in the cellar located in the sous-soul of the restaurant. The cellar can be rented for private small events! Get more here.

Visit Coco for your lunch break, business dinner or a friend’s night! The food is the Mediterranean with a personal touch from Chef Patrick!

Address: Coco Grill & Bar, Bleicherweg 1A, am Paradeplatz, 8001 Zürich, Telefon: +41 44 211 98 98

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 11.00 – 15.00 and 17.00 – 24.00 Uhr
Saturday 17.30 – 00.30

In the mood for more food inspiration? Get them on my food guide!

http://www.restaurant-coco.ch

My personal highlight: Welcome to the living room style tavolata where random people sit really close together and enjoy traditional Thai Food

As a food blogger I am always snooping around in town when it comes to new openings. I became aware of this little gem Kinkhao via Instagram.
It is located in the former Liquid at Zwinglistrasse 12.

Kinkhao means food in Thai explains Laor, Chrisoph’s wife and co-owner Laor. More than it describes everything that is experienced around food. The hospitality, the sharing and the feeling of good mood. All this takes place at Kinkhao sitting around several large tables. The ambience is cozy the Interieur simple decorated with attention to details as some typical local Thai decors.

About the menu

The motto is: One menu one a price. Enjoy a 4, 5 or 6 course menu with or without wine accompaniment. Prices start from 40 CHF for the 4 course menu without wine accompaniment. Absolutely try the menu including the wine, because the Spanish wine pairs super tasty with the spicy food!

We start eating!

Super tasty fish burger on a stick and a spicy sweet sauce. The sticks are a homage to the famous Thai streetfood Christoph explains to me and like all dishes this speciality comes from Laor’s homeland, the northeast of Thailand. The burgers are made from certified tilapita fish, kefir lime leaves, snake bean pieces and some egg really super tasty.
Next comes: a truly spicy thai salad next. I am kind of not used to eat so spicy, but very happy to have the super delicious red wine next to me!

The absolutely highlight for me is the next dish: A perch fillet nicely packed in a palm leaf, perfectly aromatized with coconut milk, Curry und Lime leafs. As a side we get sticky rice typical Thai style and some thin sliced shitake mushrooms, mint, lime juice and coriander with semolina that give the ideal touch and crunchiness to the dish. With all of that comes a Nam Phrik Oong, which is an intensely flavoured tomatoes with chili. Yes, spicy again!

After that we go for three different home made curries.
Hot & Spicy green curry with veggies, yellow curry with chicken and the red curry with pork. The green curry was absolutely to spicy but I did really love very much the pork curry, the meat was super tender and flavorful.

The lovely evening ended with a home made chocolate, coffee coconut cake made from Chrisoph’s son and an amaro Averna. Yes, accompanied by one of the songs Christoph and me like from the one and only Lucio Dalla.
Ciao ragazzi del Kinkhao! A prestissimo. Khup kun ka!

Opening hours: Monday – Saturday: as of 6 pm Opening & Apéro (included in the price), as of 7.30 pm dinner together – closing; between 11 and 12 pm

Address:  Kinkhao Restaurant, Zwinglistrasse 12, 8004 Zürich

www.kinkhao.ch

In the mood of other Asian restaurants in town? Here some suggestions!

My personal highlight: A firework of flavors on the top of Pizza Vesuvio Gold made from the Pizza Champion 2018 Capuozzo

Once you start looking for good food there is no way out. Gladly my friends support me in the research of new spots in town, that is how I came across this new Pizzeria & Restaurant called Na081 located at Konradstrasse 71 between Mainstation and Limmatplatz. If you never made it to Napoli, never mind, now you find a precious slice of this mediterranean pearl in Zurich.

A pizzeria where you feel the real Neapolitan food and life culture

Entering the door I followed the beautiful soul vibes from the unique Neapolitan Singer Pino Daniele. His words throw me back to my summer holidays in Italy. You need to check his songs! Pino has a high and soft voice unique of its kind and he plays wonderful guitar!

The smiling and singing staff with the authentic easygoing and hearty Italian way invites to take a seat and start the culinary experience!

My first question to the owner Paolo: what means NA081?
NA is the car registration no. for Napoli, 081 the phone prefix of Napoli.

The ambience at the restaurant is easy and relaxed. Find carefully selected, regional ingredients and selected premium products from Italian delicacy factories. Here you get original Bufala Mozzarella, warm and cold appetizers from the region, seafood and of course the traditional Napoli Pizza made by the Pizza World Champion named Capuozzo.

I suggest to also try the variety of dishes they offer for lunch. Following NA081 on facebook makes you super hungry every time you log in.

My culinary experience – signature dishes to recommend

We got to try starters typically from the Campania region as Polpette al Sugo as nonna used to make them. Millefoglie di Melanzana or Freselle Primavera with fresh ricotta cheese mousse and grilled vegetables. It’s hardly to find these appetizer somewhere else in town!

As mains: Cozze and Vongole with a perfectly prepared boiled Polipo on top, Purple Potato Gnocchi with eggplants and calamari also a delight for the eyes. The dishes came paired with delicious wines from the Vesuvio region.

Pizza Vesuvio Gold – Campione del mondo 2018

This Pizza lead Capuozzo to win the Pizza World Championship in the category “pizza classica” this year.

Vesuvio Gold comes with sweet sour yellow cherry tomatoes, ricotta di bufala, provala affumicata, grana padano, pancetta and some tarallo sbriciolato! If you prefer a classical pizza, go for the marinara pizza with only fresh tomato sauce that is prepared à la minute.

Sitting in the restaurant you can observe on a giant screen how the pizza is prepared live.

The prices are in super relation for what you get. Starters as of 9.50 CHF, Pizza as of 19.50 CHF

Opening hours: Monday – Friday: 11:00 – 14:00 / 18:00 – 00:00, Saturday: 18:00 – 00:00, Sunday: 18:00 – 00:00

Address:  NA081, Konradstrasse 71, CH-8005 Zürich

www.na081.ch