Restaurant of the Month January 2014

Restaurant Metropol, Fraumunsterstrasse 12, 8001 Zurich

http://www.metropol-restaurant.ch/metropol/en/start.html

ZIWA's Dining Around the World group enjoyed their first event of 2014 with a congenial lunch at one of Zurich's chicest restaurants. The Metropol 'combines refined taste and a feeling of style and atmosphere', according to their website, and this was also our experience. The Business Lunch features a daily menu of two starters and a meat, fish and vegetarian option, combined with the choice of a Japanese Bento box consisting of a sushi and sashimi starter with soup and a choice of three main courses. We could also have opted for the Daily Classic or the Seasonal Special. Most of the ladies in our group opted for the Bento box, and the sushi menu is one of the Metropol's best lunch choices.  Expect to pay around CHF 35-40 for a two course lunch, plus drinks.

The service was impeccable, as the maitre d'  took our coats and the waitress brought us water. Orders were swiftly taken and we sat back to enjoy  the conversation with a sociable group of older and newer members from at least six countries.

The Metropol is very conveniently located close to the Bahnhofstrasse and the Lake of Zurich, and in summer also offers an outdoor terrace as well as an indoor bar area with its own bar snacks menu. The lobster soup is always a winner here. And the a la carte menu offers a great selection of international dishes.

For a chic and stylish meeting place for two people or a group, or for a solitary business lunch in one of Zurich's neo-Baroque houses, the Metropol is hard to beat.

Restaurant of the Month - August 2013

Restaurant Seerose, Seestrasse 493, 8038 Zurich-Wollishofen

http://www.seerose.dinning.ch/kontakt/

While the summer weather is still warm and sunny, it's wonderful to eat lunch beside the beautiful lake of Zurich. At the end of the month, it was rather cool to sit outside, but the Seerose has an open indoor dining area very close to the water's edge. Our waitress was friendly and helpful, and we perused the menus for special lunch options and the a la carte choices. One of the quirks of this upmarket place is the handwritten day's specials, which are rather challenging to read. But we could choose from two starter and two main course options at a reasonable price of CHF 31.50: spicy cauliflower soup or beef tartare bruschetta, followed by prawns with potatoes and morels or lamb escalopes with tagliatelli and a delicious sauce. Someone in our friendly ZIWA Dining Around the World group also opted for the 'anti-ageing menu' of salmon and summer vegetables which looked delicious as well as healthy.

For wine enthusiasts it was possible to try out a choice of two whites - a Gruner Veltliner and a Pinot Grigio - before opting for one, in this case the Italian wine. A red Rioja complemented the lamb nicely, and there was also a choice of beers. The waitress replenished our water carafes frequently, and almost forgot to divide the cost between us when the time came to pay. CHF33 between ten people did seem rather pricey for a couple of glasses of sparkling water each. But the service and food were excellent.

The Seerose is twinned with the Restaurant Chez Fritz in Kilchberg, and both of them are beautiful places to dine right beside the lake on a special occasion. The international dinner options will cost you CHF 50-60 so you may prefer to try the daily lunch specials first, before making your reservation for a special occasion. Italian, French and Asian dishes are featured on the menu. Wine is available by the glass at around CHF 10-11 or you could splash out on a bottle. Why not?

For a delicious and rather special meal right beside the Zurichsee, take the 161 or 165 bus from Burkliplatz to Seerose, or try your luck with the restaurant parking or the spaces along the Seestrasse. It's definitely worth the effort!