Zeughauskeller – Zurich, Switzerland

We decided to hit up the Zeughauskeller for beers and dinner for our first night in Zurich. Yes, it’s a tourist attraction, but we were tourists. So there.

I’d heard Switzerland was expensive before we went there, and you know what? TRUE. Fortunately, a Swiss Franc is only worth something like $1.15 right now (whereas Euros are worth $1.40), but still… Switzerland is a beautiful place and those assholes let you know they know it. The single most expensive meal we had on this three week vacation was here at the Zeughauskeller. Three beers between us, bread (turns out you have to pay for the bread on the table if you eat it…), two salads and two entrees came to around 110 Swiss Francs. With the conversion to the dollar, that’s nearly $130.oo Ridiculous! I had freaking wienerschnitzel and my wife had some forgettable chicken cordon bleu. Get off your high horse Switzerland.

I did some checking after we got back and it looks like I’m not the only one to dislike this place, though I guess our service could have been worse based on the reviews. It was probably OK because we got hungry and went to dinner early that day.

Anyway, I will say their beer was delicious. I had a couple pints of bock (on the right). It was probably unfiltered or unfined, as it was the most opaque of all the bocks I ended up trying on the trip. Very smooth, likely because it was served close to cellar temperature (I’ll give them points there). I can’t recall what my wife ordered. Wasn’t taking notes just yet. Looks like probably their standard lager.

Our sticker shock was so great from that first meal, the next night in Zurich we decided to get a bottle of wine and take-out food and just have dinner at the little marina in town. That certainly offset the expensive, lackluster food from the night before. Quite beautiful there, as well.