Zum Königstuhl - Schweizer Restaurant in Zürich Niederdorf — Restaurant in Zurich

I really wanted to give this restaurant 5 stars but I’ve just had a rather odd experience here. Firstly, the truffle fondue was very good, a little on the pricey side because you have to pay for the pickles separately, and the potato serving is small but it is good. The truffle is subtle, the cheese is quite light (milkier/ creamier instead of cheesier/stringier like we’ve had during the rest of the time we’ve been in Switzerland).

The service however felt a bit odd from our main waitress. From the start, when I said “I’ve heard really good things about your local wine, which one is it?” I received a confused look. I then simplified the question and just said “which white wine would go well with the fondue?” And she pointed us to the wine on the menu - ok great, no biggie. We then ordered the truffle fondue and 2dls of the white wine each. We received 1dl each - ok, again, no biggie. We could just order more later. Then when we had finished our fondue, our plates were taken away without any question about whether we wanted dessert. She came back afterwards to ask us if we wanted dessert, and we replied “could we take a look at the menu please?” She brought us the menus and then a moment later she came back with the payment terminal machine in her hands (as if she was about to process payment). She came to the table without saying anything just looking at us. We were going to order a crème brûlée to share but confused by this gesture, I checked with my husband if he still wanted any dessert? He told me it was up to me, and then she said “you want to pay?” At that point, I felt less keen to continue with dessert so I said yes. The last straw was when she provided the terminal - all German, and it was on the tipping screen. Throughout all our time in Switzerland, whenever we were presented with this screen we have always been provided with translations and a reminder that tipping was not obligatory. I said out loud “oh I am not sure what these words mean” and then she watched on as we had to fumble with Google translate and pass a phone around with the translated photo of the terminal. We often choose to leave tips even when not required at restaurants but this felt forced and frankly, we were being asked to pay the bill before we were ready to leave. So all in all, even though the food was good, this didn’t leave us feeling good on the second last night of our honeymoon.

Other staff members did come by during the meal by the way and they were incredibly friendly and all smiles! The restaurant itself is also very nicely decorated and has a warm welcoming vibe.

Perhaps we were just a bit unlucky with...

Zurich was the final stop on my interrail and as an 18 year old student about to go to university I am strapped for cash. Nevertheless I really wanted to try fondue… We found this restaurant. Immediately as I arrived I was greeted by the head of house who was placed us on a table outside the front on the street. I queried whether we could sit inside instead and was shut down quicker than alt f4 on the computer. “NO YOU NEED RESERVATION!” Fair enough (although there were at least 15 tables inside unoccupied). Then I asked whether we (me and my cousin - who is also 18) could sit just away from this couple who were clearly on a romantic date and we felt slightly uncomfortable sitting next to - “THIS IS ONLY SEAT SIT DOWN OR LEAVE.” Ok I was just asking not demanding (this man at the front desk had already given off bad vibes). The waiter a young lady was very hospitable, though, and there was quicker service than Mbappe running down the wing BUT…. When the food arrived they mistakenly gave it to the couple next to us. 2 minutes later after the couple had filmed their Instagram reel (no I am not joking they literally filmed an instagram reel) they said oops there has been a mistake, just before the lady was about to but the potato covered in cheese into her mouth (she literally had lifted it up and open her mouth, I wish I was joking). They then proceeded to take the fondue with the potato in it which had been touched by the lady onto our table. This mistake was dismissed by ‘it was the other waiters first day’. Ok. But they did not ask us if we wanted a new one made for us and didn’t apologise to us. I felt like me being 18 meant I wasn’t taken seriously and was treated like a second class adult. To add insult to injury they, instead, apologised to the couple for the wrong dish arriving and NOT to us who had to eat the dish which had already been half touched. Not a good experience I would really like an apology and money back!

If you didn’t believe what I have written this is how the food arrived with the potato in it!

My cousin also said the fondue was drenched in white wine and didn’t find it at...

Overall a great dining experience with good food and great service.

We only made a reservation at around 6pm for dinner on the same day and could only get a table for 9pm. We arrived earlier at 830pm and the restaurant was still full, could only go back at 9pm. The guy at the reception was really nice, apologized for the situation and asked is to go to the bar next door while waiting for the table. Not sure if it is this crowded all the time, so better to make reservations before going.

The restaurant serves Swiss and Italian food. The service staff were all friendly and attentive. The incredible part was despite having a full house and being so busy, they still managed to put on their smiles and their dedication. The waitress who took our order was really amicable, smiley and still came back to check if everything was fine after. There were sufficient staff around and you could easily get their attention.

We ordered Cheese Fondue, Caesar Salad, Konigstuhl Rosti, Pouletbristfilet and panna cotta for dessert. Everything tasted great. We liked the cheese fondue a lot though, it was light and frothy. Service was fast, everything was served within 10 minutes from our order. Price was reasonable, the bill came up to CHF168.

As it was a full house, it was quite noisy but not complaining here. The lightings were a bit too dark though, maybe that was supposed to be the mood and ambience.

Oh another interesting snippet about the washroom. It was indicated on the doors as “ Damen” and “Herren”, we almost went to the wrong one. The former is ladies while latter is men 😂

A great dining experience, hardly experienced such good service in Zurich. Highly...