My personal highlight: I always find some new red Spanish Redwines. I absolutely love their soft and crispy croquetas

Spanish tapas

My favorite tapas bar is in Wiedikon close to Idaplatz at Ämtlerstrasse 86.

The tapas are just delicious.  The tapas I like most are crispy soft fried croquetas or an outstanding avocado tatar. Order some real good Spanish red wine. Or try some of their local Spanish craft beers. So no need traveling to Spain for celebrating a tapas night!
Book Tapas & Friends for a catering or attend one of their cooking classes.

www.tapasandfriends.ch

Eating quality food with a mini-budget (ca. 15 CHF) is possible in Zurich – This post will bring you closer 5 food places in town – vegetarians included

Living in Switzerland makes you creative when it comes to dining out and keeping your costs under control. Especially in Zurich! I took the mission to find places where to get quality food for a small budget (under 15 CHF). I love to go out for dinner or lunch and I don’t love to limit myself in my food selection. Of course, for a special occasion, it can be a more sophisticated restaurant but sometimes it’s perfect to get something small for a convenient price. That is why I came up with this blogpost. By the way, get inspired for suggestions on my Zurich restaurant guide, here.
These suggestions include warm and cold menus.

5 places to get quality food under 15 CHF

Put put Japanese takeaway

This small takeaway offers good quality and price. All menus are prepared fresh. My suggestion at putput is their Gyudon or their  Japanese veggie curry. It is located in Kreis 4,  Stauffacherstrasse 101 (side street of  Langstrasse). 

Costs: start with CHF 11.5o to CHF15.50

Opening hours: Monday: 11:30 – 14:00, Tuesday – Friday: 11:30- 14:30 / 17:30 – 21:00, Saturday: 14:00 – 21:00

Palestine Grill – Lebanese Sandwich

Palestine Grill is perfect for a late-night snack after or before heading to dance at Langstrasse or for lunch if you are walking around that area. It’s located in Kreis 4 at Langstrasse 92. My absolute favourite sandwich here is the Sabich. It’s vegetarian and comes with fried eggplants, egg, and hummus if wished with french fries! The pita bread is super fresh.

Costs: start with CHF 11.5o for a Sabich.

Opening hours: Monday & Tuesday: 11:30 – 19:00, Wednesday:11:30 – 21:45, Thursday – Saturday: 11:30 – 22:00, Sunday closed

Piadina Bar in the old town of Niederdorf

Obviously, an Italian Food Spot can’t miss on my list. Piadina Bar is located in the heart of the Niederdorf. It is my favourite dish when it comes to authentic Italian delicacies for a fast lunch. It is a type of traditional flatbread found in Italy/Emilia Romagna usually. The bread is a thin dough prepared fresh at the counter. You can select of different vegetarian and meat products to stuff it. My favourite one is with eggplants, rucola and stracchino cream cheese. Get more of the location here in my review.

Costs: start with CHF 10.50

Opening hours: Monday – Saturday: 11:30 – 23:00, Sunday: 15:00 – 19:00

Il Pentagramma – Classic Italian Panino with Mortadella or more!

If you are into the food you perfectly know the difference between a piadina and a panino. I love this place because the owner transmits many Italian vibes. All ingredients she offers for the panini remind me of my childhood holidays in Italy. The one I absolutely recommend is with grilled veggies and mortadella. The panino is huge, so be hungry! The Pentagramma is practically located in a side street close to the mains station in Zurich at Josefstrasse 28.

Costs: start with 10.50 CHF

Opening hours: Monday – Friday, 09:00 – 15:00

Bridge Zurich- Pizz al taglio, a salad, some fresh cheese and a baguette?

Bridge Zurich is a spot in Europaallee where to find many local handcrafted products! There are many products for the small budget, too. I love to go there for a fresh Siri baguette and some cheese from their counter, either ricotta or even a delicious ham! Find some fresh pizza from Flour & Water on the upper floor. Their pizza base is easy to digest and prepared in the traditional artisanal way using fresh, healthy local ingredients.  For a tasty dessert go for vegan ice cream or some here.

Costs: Products from Migros and many Swiss brands for every budget.

Opening hours: Monday – Saturday 09:00 to 22:00, Sunday closed

My personal highlight: Throwback to my roots and traditions from Calabria discovering a cozy place in Kreis 4, Zurich

The food discoveries in Zurich continue covering restaurants that offer Italian Cuisine from the south. After traditional food from Puglia in May it’s time to move more south towards the heel of the Italian boot. Calabria!

This is the region where I was born, here is where my heart gets emotional.

What food specialities is Calabria famous for?

Extra-virgin olive oil, wines, bergamot liqueurs, peperoncino and jams from Calabria are incomparable. One world famous delicacy is the red onion called Cipolla rossa di Tropea which is mild and a bit sweeter than other varieties. Another speciality is the Nduja. A paste consisting of noble pork meat, fresh cream of red hot chili pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

Chianalea is a place in Reggio Calabria. A pearl where the beaches are turquoise and small fisher houses make you feel remote from the world. Enrico is the owner of the Ristorante Chianalea in Kreis 4. He ist the perfect Calabrian host and cook when it comes to make your soul and belly happy. The ingredients are simple with a genuine taste. All is hand made, so the sweet sour peperoncino jam on the bruschetta or the eggplant pickles.

Experience food & entertainment at Chianalea. The music is on, the staff moves dynamic from table to table. Find a uncomplicated and homy ambience. The path of Enrico’s journey since he came to Zurich is displayed everywhere in the restaurant on beautiful pictures and articles. His love for food & Italy is obvious.

The only restaurant in Zurich where the owner shouts through the megaphone to tell you to lower the voice and enjoy the silence for a moment

Enrico doesn’t shy to remind you by shouting into his megaphone to slow down and relax. He loves to communicate with his guests. Making jokes is an easy way to remind that life is simple! I fall in love with the story he shared driving with his fiancé on a Vespa from Zurich to Sicily!

Signature dishes at Chianalea Restaurant

Enjoy a traditional antipasto plate to share. It’s the best way to get introduced to the culture of Calabria. As a second plate try their pasta with tomato sauce and pork salsiccia. The daily menu varies. Find fish or meat with side dishes as grilled seasonal vegetables. The wine selection is from Calabria, too. Absolutely to recommend is the fruity bit dry red wine called Scilla IGT rosso from criserà.

The pizza is worth trying, too! To end your dinner order a typical digestif called Vecchio amaro del Calabro. This is the moment when you finally should fee a bit Calabrese! It’s a must! Curious to experience it by yourself? Make a reservation here.

The prices are in super relation for what you get. Starters as of 8.50 CHF, main dishes with pasta as of 24 Chf.

Address: 

Chianalea, Brauerstrasse 87, 8004 Zürich

Opening hours: 

Monday – Friday: 11.30-14.00 & 18.00-24.00 Saturday: 18.00-24.00

www.chianalea.ch

My personal highlight: Traditional Neapolitan Pizza – I am happy I have found you crispy & wood fired

Living in Zurich is absolutely a privilege. The choice of international food is diverse, you don’t get annoyed so fast. Nevertheless, it took me a while to find a pizza place, that makes the pizza according to my desire and demand.

How a pizza should be if you ask my opinion

The pizza bottom thin and crispy, but slightly chewy on top, the tomato sauce fresh, ideally with San Marzano tomatoes grown in the rich volcanic soil. The cheese only premium Italian Quality Fior di Latte. It’s a second variant of mozzarella created using fresh cow’s milk. The alternative that can be used is Mozzarella di Bufala from the Campania region. This is made by using the fresh milk of water buffalos. Other cheeses do not belong on top of a pizza!

How to recognize the difference: the mozzarella melts and the Fior di Latte forms a string,

I have found a pizza following my requirements at Ristorante Più located at Kasernenstrasse 95 / Europaallee in the old Sihlpost. The restaurant belongs to the well-known family Bindella offering traditional Italian cuisine in several restaurant in Switzerland.

Talking to one of their Managers Davide Di Salvo made me immediately understand, that important ingredients are passion and care in the selection of every single ingredient. He shares with me the secret of the Fior di Latte used on their pizza. I prefer Fior di Latte on the pizza, since it is less fat than typical mozzarella and makes my stomach not fill full after the meal. The dough they prepare at Più gets enough time to rest, at least 48 hours, this makes the dough ideal to digest.

Did you know, that the art of Neapolitan pizza making has joined UNESCO’s list of “intangible heritage”?

The Pizzaiolo team is from South Italy of course, I feel home sharing stories about food and observing them creating the magic that comes in a approx. 400 degrees heated wood fired oven. After only 3 minutes the pizza is crispy and ready for me. The ambience at Più is typical Italian. The building is spacious, stylish and with true Italian vibes. I feel happy here!

Choose between two basic pizza and create your individual one!

In the mood to choose by yourself what comes on your pizza? Try this concept at Più: order between the Marinara pizza (tomato sauce, garlic, oregano) and the Margherita (tomato sauce, fior di latte, basil) as the base. Get toppings to share with your friends. Grilled vegetables, parmesan cheese slices, bresaola, fresh tuna or rucola for example.

Try their antipasto with the burrata and the pane carasau. It is a unique, very thin crispy bread you would only get 1000 Km far away on a Sardinian Island! An absolute must. The matching aperitivo is the Apertas, it has some Aperol, lime juice and a cortese cedrata made of a very special Italian Lemon sort.

Do you like to enjoy a quality pizza to go, try their area next to the main restaurant. The pizza is smaller of course, costs start as of 9 CHF (marinara). In the main restaurant Pizza start as of 22 CHF (Pizza dello Chef with ham and champignons)

Soon I will be exploring their other branch at Schiffbau that has been recommended to me to be a unique place for other true Italian dishes.

Address: Kasernenstrasse 95, 8004 Zürich

Opening hours: Monday – Thursday:  11.30–14.30 / 17.30–23.30 uhr , Friday: 11.30–14.30 / 17.30–24 .00,  Saturday: 11.30–24.00, Sunday: 11.30–23.00

In the mood of more restaurants in Zurich? Get inspiration on my food guide here.

www.piu-ristorante.ch

My personal highlight: The serving staff is there to make you feel home – don’t be surprised if Mamma Pina sits next to you for a chat after the meal

Welcome to Puglia in Zurich. Here is the place to enjoy fresh and handmade pasta, pesce, carne & dolci.

Caffè e Ristorante Mandarino is located at the train station Stadelhofen. Bindella created a temporary space for lovers of the Puglia Cuisine. A typical sort of pasta served are orecchiette (means little ears). This pasta comes best with veggies, either broccoli or cime di rapa. Find Meat and Fish made after traditional recipes, too. I had some delicious stuffed calamares with bread, red wine and black olives!

The interior of the restaurant is simple and arranged with much love. The porcelain used to serve the meals has been hand selected in a little village in Puglia from the Bindella Manager Davide and perfectly reflects the tradition of eating pasta with the family. A wonderful antique hand-painted portrait from the 1800 showing a madonna from Puglia gives a special touch to the living room ambience.

Where the mamma chats to you and food is served with passion

Don’t be surprised if the food is served directly from the pot into your plate, or if the Mama sits next to you for a lovely chat. The uncomplicated and very family like ambience here makes this place adorable and very unique.

Enjoy a lunch menu or dinner with best wines from Puglia. Maybe you prefer a piece of hand made cake with a coffee! Convince yourself! Make a reservation here.

Address: mandarino, Kreuzbühlstrasse 1, 8008 Zürich

Opening hours:
Caffè: Mo – Fr,  07.00 – 23.00 Uhr,  Sa – So   09.00 – 23.00 Uhr
Ristorante: Mo – So   11.30 – 14.00 Uhr / 18.00 – 23.00 Uhr

www.mandarino-zurigo.ch

My personal highlight: It’s as simple, a traditional easy Italian Streetfood from Emilia Romagna for vegetarian and meat lover

There are some days I don’t really feel a big hunger but I know I want something tasty, half warm, fresh and somehow healthy. The Piadina Bar located in the old part of Zurich in the Niederdorf is my choice. Here I come to have my Piadina. The atmosphere is cozy, you can stay for the snack or take it to go, the food is fresh prepared and of good quality. Who has ever visited Riccione or Rimini knows, that in that part of Italy Piadina is a much appreciated street food.

What is piadina?

A Piadina is a type of traditional flatbread found in Italy/Emilia Romagna. It is stuffed with every conceivable fillings. The Piadina bread contains lard, that it what makes the dough soft and tasty! Piadina bread is easy to make at home, too. Find a recipe here!

Get your Piadina with Bresaola, Prosciutto di Parma, Salame nostrano, Parmigiano, add some Rucola, grilled veggies as eggplants, peperoni, zucchetti or even olive or artichoke cream. Comes best also with cream cheese stracchino, pecorino or gorgonzola/mascarpone. You see, there are a lot of combinations possible. Try it, let me know if you enjoyed! You can find èiadina Bar also in Basel by the way!

Address: Piadina Bar, Niederdorfstrasse 2, 8001 Zürich, Kreis 2

Opening hours: Monday – Saturday 11.30 am – 11 pm, Sunday 3 pm – 7 pm

www.piadina-bar.ch

A guide to the best Swiss Streetfood Festivals

What happens when a Travel vlogger and Food blogger in Zurich decide to put their minds together for a few hours and stroll through a multi cultural food festival? Bye Bye Mimi a travel vlogger and myself Lovefoodish strolled through the 80 food trucks! We gave it all.

The result?

Afresh inspiring movie making your mouth watering and your mind traveling out to many continents.

For those who did not have the chance to experience the Streetfood Festival in Zurich in July 2017 here the tasty video that introduces you to the food trucks we explored!
Korea, Japan, Italy, Tibet, Switzerland, countries with amazing specialities!

My personal favorite were the Momo’s from the Zurich food truck Tenz !

The black chocolate ice cream with activated charcoal from the Swiss Chocolate manufacturer Taucherli conquered my heart, too!

Stay tuned for more Food Festivals and join our food travels on youtube!

A superb Food Event is coming up in September organized from Food Zurich. This is more than a Food Festival, it’s 10 days of Food experiences and sharing of knowledge and skills.

Food Zurich, 7.-17. September 2017

Find over 200 producers of food from Switzerland and the world that present their food knowledge to the public through workshops, special dinners or food related speeches.
10 Days of real food experiences spread all over the city wait for you! Get introduced to nose-to-tail at courses, a lecture about how to manage Food waste starting in your mind, or assist a Gin Chocolate tasting! The full program is available here.

More Street Food Festival in Switzerland

• Street Food Festival Bern, 4. & 5. August, 2017, Bern, Freigelände Expo Bern
• 1. Street Food Festival Aarau, 18. – 20. August 2017, Old town of Aarau
• Street Food Festival Basel, 1.-3. September 2017, Basel Exhibition Centre
• Street Food Village, 15. September, 2017 / Horse Park, Zürich-Dielsdorf
• Street Food Festival Thun, 29. September – 1. October, 2017, Thun Lachenweg
• VeggieWorld Zurich, 29. September – 1. October, 2017, Messe Zurich
• 4. Street Food Days, 3. – 5. November, 2017, Uster Landhalle

Want to know where to eat best Asian food in Zurich? Check my food guide here!

My personal highlights: 1. Watching Chef Andrea making Cantucci biscuits from scratch and loving the way he speaks this beautiful Fiorentino dialect 2. inhaling the perfume of fabulous aged Chianina Beef while opening the dry ager

Welcome to 4 Leoni Firenze, the hometown of meat. Christopher manages this place together with his wife Sybille and the staff since more than 1 year now. The restaurant is located close to Limmatplatz at Luisenstrasse 43, Zürich.

Tuscany’s world famous Chianina Beef

Meat lovers know, that the beef meat prepared here is one of the largest and oldest breed of cattle in the world. Chianina cattle have been raised in the Italian regions of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio for at least 2200 years. The Chianina was formerly principally a draught breed, now raised mainly for beef. It originates in the area of the Valdichiana, from which it takes its name. The most noticeable characteristic of the breed is the extensive and well-defined muscling. The shoulders, back and rear quarters are especially well formed.

3 things on your bucket list as a foodie visiting Florence:

• Bistecca Fiorentina
• Cantucci biscuits with vinsanto
• and of course all of their wonderful wine selections.

A piece of Tuscany in the heart of Zurich

The ambience at 4 Leoni throws you back to tuscany. The room is carefully decorated, you feel in a local trattoria up in a Chianti hill wine yard. An interior designer takes care of the theme decoration that changes seasonal.

Watch how Chef Andrea cuts the meat at the counter. Once you smell the dry meat you can’t wait to have it on your plate. The ambience is vibrant and full of Italian life.

The meat is grilled over lava stones. It is the signature dish of the restaurant. A Chianina can weight more than 1 kilo incl. the bones. Perfect to share with friends. All meat and ingredients used are imported from quality Tuscan suppliers that have been working or the family since years. You won’t find any better quality Chianina in town.

Best Italian olives

What can’t miss in an Italian restaurant are olives. Are you interested to get more insights into the different types of Italian Olives and understand more about their shape, color and origin? Get all info on the article created by sophisticated wonderer here!

The menu

Find dishes for lunch as the hand made Pappardelle pasta with Cinghiale (wild pig) ragù. Or get a tartar di Chianina just fresh and pure as it is. Coffee and water included.

For the evening choose the cassettina for a starter. Here yo get typical local Tuscan homemade salumi, crostini with a poultry terrine and cheese. The dip for the cheese is fabulous. A jam cooked with red wine and sugar.
For the main dish absolutely must try is either the Bistecca Fiorentina nostrana or the classical Chianina cut Porterhouse. This comes with oven potatoes or seasonal veggies.
The dessert is presented at the bar. Try the Sfogliatelle alla crema or a home made chocolate tarte. Close your dinner with a glass of vinsanto and the home made cantucci.
There is a nice Chianti 4 Leoni that I recommend paired with the menu.

The coffee is served with the typical Italian Mocca, black and strong.

Thank you for using the Lovefoodish food guide.

www.4leoni-firenze.ch

My personal highlight: observing my friend getting attacked by the feeling of pure delight while swallowing a piece of tender meat

As a foodie apparently my job is to search new places for a great food experience. This time we stopped by at Fork & Bottle. Andreas, a friend of mine, had the pleasure to join me. He finally understands why a foodie never touches the food before taking at least 5 pictures. All the dishes were looking amazing. The labels of all the craft beer bottles were exciting to shoot.

Our dishes obviously did not only look good, the taste of every bite was an unforgettable food experience. Every course came paired with a delicious craft beer. At F&B you find over 80 different craft beers sourced by the owner, Mike Goguen, some of them are local, too. What made me very happy was the attention we got from Rena (events and marketing manager) and the staff.

Being a food blogger is contagious, too. My friend Andreas started to describe his food experience after every single bite! This flatters me and gives me the chance to exchange my impressions, too. Thank you, Andreas!

Let’s get a bit into the courses served

The Starter

I recommend to share the starters, if you choose a menu with more courses.
The first starter is a Warm Winter Root Vegetable Salad. It comes with fresh salad greens topped with grilled Halloumi cheese, roasted root vegetables, mango & chilli salsa and a Balsamic Dressing. Fingerlick’n good and really fresh.

The craft beer paired with this course was Gamma Ray by Beavertown from London. A killer American Pale Ale rammed with juicy malts and huge tropical aromas.  The can is cool and exciting to boot! A great picture for your instagram account!

After the first starter the show went on with some Asian Wings battered in a medley of Asian flours and spices and deep fried in duck fat. Drizzled with sweet chili reduction and topped with sesame seeds and mango and chili salsa. The duck fat gives that amazing tasty flavor.

The craft beer paired was the local beer “Corporate Monkey Lager” by Bier Factory, Jona. It’s a lightly hopped lager beer.

The Mains

This a 10 hour House Smoked BBQ Pork Ribs accompanied by hand cut fries and a cute pot of smoked beans. The fries were outstanding. They get fried 3 times and are really fingerlick’n, too. The best fries found in Zurich so far. The pork ribs are so juicy that they melt on your tongue.

This main course was paired with Gin Inspired Gose, made in collaboration with Pohjala from Estonia and To 0L from Denmark. The taste is mildly sour has a gose with pink Himalayan rock salt, coriander, juniper berries, spruce tips, rosemary, ginger, and rose petals. It’s an explosion of flavors. It was bit too much of flavors for me but a good choice for a summer beer I think.

The F&B Classic Burger was waiting on the second plate for us. It’s a 200 gram Swiss Premium Beef with cheddar, house corn relish, tomato, gherkin and lettuce.

This course was paired with a Tipopils by Birrificio Italiano from Northern Italy. It’s my absolute favorite beer here. The taste is fresh. It’s a crisp hoppy pilsner with a hint of sweetness.

The dessert

As you can imagine our bellies felt quite satisfied after, but it’s a duty of a foodie to go through the dessert menu. Rena suggested a traditional desert of the house: the Chocolate Brownie Sundae. It’s a crumbled brownie with homemade Daim ice cream, chocolate ganache and a marshmallow fluff. The pistachio in the chocolate brownie was an exotic and excellent combination.

Rena and her staff spoiled us with super delicious food and drinks. The atmosphere at F&B is very cozy and invites you to stay for a few hours and forget home.

I like their farm to table concept that will be expanded in future to more local products. F&B works with local farmers. I like the idea of supporting local suppliers. And we will definitively hear more about this farm to table concept in Switzerland, too.

My personal highlight: Crêpe with pears, walnuts and roquefort. Simple tasty.

French Bistrot

If I would like to have a real good crêpe with some fancy ingredients the place I go is Chez Babette. My favorite crêpe is the one with Roquefort cheese, pears and walnuts, a real tasteful combination of flavors! The bistrot is located at Idaplatz, Bertastrasse 16.

www.beibabette.ch