Silex - Restaurant mit Wein-Fokus — Restaurant in Zurich

I recently had dinner here with girlfriends. Arrived with relatively high expectations (based on media coverage and previous reviews), but came away disappointed on many fronts.

What I liked: The service was very good. Super friendly, responsive to all our wishes, and highly knowledgeable. I found their wine list to be well thought through and the sommelier made a great suggestion. Finally, the sourdough bread was delicious. Two stars well-deserved. Also, if I remember they offer unlimited water for x CHF per person, which is excellent.

Unfortunately, the rest was just ok to "meh": The menu looked interesting and imaginative and some of our dishes were nicely presented, but overall nothing I tasted wowed me. As starter I had char with black Spanish radish, and as main a plate of agnolotti with chestnuts and hazelnuts. Our table ordered every dessert on offer that night, and weren't convinced by anything. Finally, despite each having one slice of bread followed by a first, a main AND a dessert -- our whole table left the restaurant a bit hungry.

Other reasons why I will not be recommending this place: Our table. We were seated at a round table in the middle of the restaurant, which felt quite awkward. I wouldn’t mind this table if I was a hungry/desperate walk-in, but don’t think this should be considered an option if you reserve well in advance. Acoustics were absolutely abysmal (despite padding below our seats) and since our misplaced table was quite close to the open kitchen the smell of oil permeated the air. All of the above are issues unbecoming to a place of this caliber.

Long story short: I will be interested to see if this place survives the...

I haven’t eaten this well in Zurich in a long time - and standards in Zurich are generally high, but there are many restaurants out there serving good food and being unmemorable. This is not the case for Silex, a fine dining restaurant offering French classics with Italian and Korean touches. Ingredients are top quality and staff is exceptionally trained. We were welcomed and advised by a sommelier, and after that we opted for a la carte menu. Bread and cultured butter were really good, but to me the amazing dishes were the pate and the oyster mushrooms. I haven’t eaten veggies this flavourful in a long time (and usually, for the price, I generally avoid vegan fine dining in Zurich or try to at least put some meat). Their pappardelle came in a generous portion with enough Parmesan and meat. I need to say, as an Italian, that was the first time I found chicken liver in a pasta. Chicken liver is a childhood memory, and their pasta, although not like Italian pappardelle, made me think of the precious childhood memories with my grandma - so thank you for that. The meat was also perfectly executed, a very classic plate with a fine dining presentation. Desserts were very original: the chocolate sorbet with liquor was very interesting and full of cocoa flavour, and the rhubarb one was also so decadent and elegantly presented. We ate well, staff was efficient and this was very good value for money that we can only recommend for your special occasions or a guaranteed...

AVOID THIS PLACE! We had an unfortunate encounter with one of the founders, Jean-Denis Roger. After finishing our dinner and requesting the bill, he scolded us for not ordering any main courses. Frankly, I find this in poor taste and lacking foresight. Such feedback should be given when placing the order, not after asking the bill...

To make matters worse, he spent a considerable amount of time arguing that he had already asked at the beginning if we intended to order from the 'a la carte' menu because, otherwise, we were supposed to sit downstairs. At that moment, we didn’t know exactly what we would order, but it was clear we'd be selecting items from the 'a la carte' menu. Jean-Denis has a very special understanding of what ordering from the menu means, which is getting appetizers, first courses, and main courses, which isn't a common or logical expectation in most restaurants.

For the record, we visited the restaurant at around 21h (when most Swiss are already finishing), and ordered what we felt like eating at the moment, which happened to be 2 appetizers and 2 first courses to share, and our bill came to CHF 105.-.

What is clear is that, considering all the restaurant options Zh has to offer, especially in the same area, we won't be returning, and we will advise everyone we know to...