Gertrudhof — Restaurant in Zurich

To remind everyone, ask if they have a lunch menu. I am still not sure about the situation… but let’s talk about the food first.

I arrived the restaurant early since I didn’t have any reservation. I managed to get one and the lady was really nice and friendly, noticing my language barrier and giving me the ENG a la carte. She was very patient and explaining everything all the time.

I ordered a mini size of the Cordon Bleu of the Month with Truffle fries. It was lit up when served and tasted very rich with the right portion. The fries were generous and freshly fried, however with CHF2.5 more than the regular fries, I expected more truffle paste or at least evenly tossed? Or served as a dip? I don’t really taste the truffle here.

During the lunch I was not sure if the table next to me was getting the lunch menu or ordered a salad, but they were getting the same thing for 4 of them so at that point I already had a guess. The bill was 38.5 + 9.5+ tax = 49.4 fr, I paid and left, and tried to find if there was lunch menu. Turned out it’s placed on the outdoor table in front of the entrance. They have a 29.5 fr set with salad/soup, a mini cordon bleu of choice with fries. Maybe I would have chose this to save 20fr if I had the chance… I just felt a bit sad after finding this out.

All in all the service is nice and a nice cordon bleu, but I feel like ordinary cordon bleu and sides would...

I don't understand why this place is so popular..the service is nice and friendly. The atmosphere is also good. But the prices do not correspond to the meal quality. I was here three times already. First time was the Cordon Bleu which was was ok (I would rate it 3 or 4 stars). The second time was lunch menu which was quite good with a nice soup, and lunch menu also has better price. The third time was Wienerschnitzel which is quite bad. Too thin, too burned, too much breading soaked in oil. Please Google restaurant "Palmenhaus" in Vienna to see how Wienerschnitzel looks like. This could be a really nice restaurant if they improved the quality of food and maybe added more healthy and fresh side dishes. At the moment the quality of Schnitzel is as a standard Schni-Po from a Ski cottage in the Alps. The french fries seem to be from the supermarket and not fresh made, quite oily. It could be still good option for lunch menu though. I will come again to try the cordon bleu, maybe with a salad instead...

It feels almost like a waste placing another review here as the overwhelmingly large amount of good review says it all:

This place is the best cordon-bleu place in Zurich and probably one of the best restaurants in Zurich overall!

You can choose from a big selection of Cordon-Bleus or just go for the monthly one which is always a big surprise. You can go for fries as sides but I challenge you to try the salads as they are always fresh and come with great dressings. During autumn you can taste some of the best Vermicelles in Zurich or just enjoy the warm chocolate cake on the desserts menu. The owners and personnel are extremely friendly and you can feel the passion they have for this business. Just make sure you book far in advance if you want a table as this is THE BEST cordon-bleu...