Old Inn — Restaurant in Zurich

Ambience: We stumbled upon this place from Google reviews and how highly it was rated. I would recommend getting a reservation, but we scored big time sitting right next to the kitchen at the bar. We were lucky enough not to have to wait.

Noise levels are pretty normal, you can hear your party, but not necessarily anyone around you -although it could have been because of our location, it didn't seem overly loud.

Service: Dan (owner? 😬🥺) seated us right away at the bar after we said we didn't have reservations and he offered the seating next to the kitchen, which was amazing to watch Tristan (head chef? 😵) work.

The wait staff was very friendly and attentive - between getting drinks when we were empty to clearing dishes and wiping counters, they were quick and came by often without feeling overbearing and stuffy. Everyone was so friendly and kind. (Apologies to the one girl that I couldn't understand her accent! She was trying to say berry and I'm just so bad with accents! Tell her sorry!)

We were given enough wait time between dishes to rest our bellies before the next round.

Food: I started off with the Asian Couture - a mezcal yuzu (a grapefruit/lemon like citrus) drink that came in a pretty, black bowl. (I looked at the bottom of the pottery to see where it was made, but didn't get any clues.) The yuzu yielded delicate notes paired with the smokiness of the mezcal. I would highly recommend it to any lover of the two.

We got the 98CHF tasting menu and added a whole beef short rib dinner because it looked so good! Dan asked if we were sure and I told my friend that we could always take it home if we couldn't finish anything (narrator: they ate all of it).

It started with a portion of grilled bread and brioche buns, which both were perfectly fluffy in the middle and the grilled bread was delightful. They paired it with a (beef? I missed it in my notes) butter, which spread on so lightly and smoothly. This portion came with an egg emulsion salmon tartare, which melts in your mouth with a delicate crunch on the outside as the egg seeps through the crevices of the bite. The salmon really comes out in this dish. Alongside came a pumpkin coconut soup with a surprise kimchee flavor burst at the bottom. The different flavors are a surprising combination, but match so well. The boldness of the pumpkin with hints of creamy coconut and kimchee are really worth trying.

Next we have the tarragon tzatziki chicken skewers over fire. The chicken was crisp without being over fried, and I loved the sauce on the bottom, but felt that the sauce on top was a bit overwhelming for my personal taste. Maybe a thinner sauce tip piping would have sufficed.

Caramelized scallops with hollandaise over cabbage - cooked to have the texture, then torched til sauce was bubbling, giving it a nice seared taste, while soft enough to easily cut with a fork.

Salmon cheek with citrus and carrot - some of the most delicate parts of a fish, this dish easily fell off the bones and cooked so that it wasn't dry, but you can still taste the salmon. The citrus and carrot mellowed out the overall dish, making it feel light.

Duck with celeriac apple puree and grilled fig - duck was juicy and tender with a crispy outer skin and paired with the puree, the duck was softened in flavor and the fig gave it the hint of sweetness to balance the dish, especially with the heavier sauce made of maraschino cherry, beef and duck bone, and butter.

Added short rib this dish looked so good, we had to add it to our meal. This meat easily fell off the bone and was so tender and juicy that none of it got stuck in my teeth. It sat atop a bed of carrot puree, which evened out the bold flavors of the rib.

Grape sumac sorbet - lightly sweet and really heavy on the grape flavor with hints of sumac - seriously one of the best sorbets I've had ever.

Red berry mousse with red berry crumble, white chocolate, and passion fruit drizzle. Light in flavor and a perfect ending to the meal.

Overall: worth it, try it, and get a...

Ah, the Old Inn in Zurich—recently spotlighted by TopJaw on TikTok and Instagram, so naturally, I had to see what all the fuss was about. Let me break the news: was I overwhelmed by my experience? Not exactly. But, hey, it did hit some high notes on the culinary and atmosphere scale, so there's that.

I showed up without a reservation - bold move, I know. The ever-so-friendly staff, bless their hearts, found me a spot at the bar because apparently, the place was booked solid. That's a good sign, right? I nestled myself next to the open kitchen, which I have to say was quite entertaining. It’s like sitting courtside at a food arena, watching the chefs whip up their magic.

To kick things off, I heeded the staff’s suggestion and tried the Kentucky Fried Buttermilk-Artichoke with Black Truffle Aioli. Now, I’ll admit, artichokes and I have never been that close. But these? These were different. They were the 'Fish Fingers' of the artichoke world - just, you know, gourmet. Crispy, tangy, rich - everything you want in a starter, really. However, Chef, if you're listening, a little housekeeping with the prep - or as the fancy people would say “mise en place” - wouldn’t hurt. Those woody bits clinging on for dear life? They didn’t quite add to the vibe.

For the main, I opted for the Beef Short Rib on carrot purée. And, yes, I could wax poetic about the tender Swiss beef, marinated to near perfection. Tender and just delicious. But, let's talk about the salad. Nice? Sure. Inspirational? Eh, not so much. The dressing was like that one friend who shows up to the party but never really contributes. Just kind of... there.

Now, the ambiance - it’s like they took a gastro pub straight out of Notting Hill and plopped it down in Zurich. A pleasant surprise, given how this city leans more toward "fine dining" than "cool, relaxed pub vibes." Kudos for filling that gap. I’ll be back, if only to see if their Scotch Eggs can hold a candle to those from Bull & Heart in London. And I am sure they will be delivered with a nice twist.

So, in summary: The Old Inn, a solid place to dine if you're craving that London-esque, upscale pub feel without hopping on a plane. Not life-changing, but certainly good enough to make me curious about the rest of the menu. Stay tuned for the Scotch...

I went to the Old Inn last week for dinner with a friend after hearing good things about it.

The interior was very cozy and the atmosphere was warm and relaxed. We were greeted at the door and shown to a lovely booth seat by the window. The waiting staff were very friendly and talked us through the menu, being both vegetarians we were delighted at all the options available to us.

We both opted for a ‘custom mocktail’ asking for something citrus toned with some bitters and were thrilled with our prompt arrival of lychee-based bitter highballs while we chose our dishes. We decided to share a few plates so ordered the Kentucky Fried Artichokes, Burrata dish, Confit Chickpeas, and Mushroom Toast.

As a vegetarian, sometimes you feel that dishes have been put on the menu for you as an after-thought in a restaurant that offers very opulent meat dishes however this certainly was not the case here.

Our meal was very well paced with one plate arriving at a time for us to enjoy. The starting dish of the artichokes blew us away, it was so incredibly delicious we were almost tempted to order a second portion (but resisted knowing we had much more to come). The burrata with homemade focaccia was so sumptuous and packed with a lot of flavour. The chickpeas again was one of my favourites, and we delighted with all the different textures and flavours in the dish! The mushrooms on toast was more for my friend than I as I don’t love mushrooms, but she truly enjoyed it.

By this point we were so full we could barely breathe, but it would have felt sinful not to enjoy some desert. We went for the death by chocolate and the Pina colada madeleines to share. Im glad we did! We magically managed to finish it all, the madeleines were so light and the accompanying rum ice cream made it our favourite of the two.

All in all, we really enjoyed our meal at the Old Inn and will definitely be back! Thank you for an...