Welcome to the Tribeca of Zurich, an area reclaimed from factories and warehouses, and called Zuriwest in the local dialect. Old breweries have been transformed into hip restaurants, warehouses into shops, and even an old ship-building hangar now sports a couple of restaurants and a fine theater. I recently took a walk through to visit Zuppamundial, one of the newest restaurants in the neighborhood. The brainchild of Swiss TV star Kurt Aeschbacher (someone once described him as the Jay Leno of Switzerland, but he’s a lot more like a spry combo of David Frost and Dick Cavett), the restaurant is deservedly popular. It’s a casual setting, decorated with interesting Asian artifacts collected throughout a lifetime of travel by the owner, and serves some of the best and most up to date food in Switzerland. Aeschbacher explained over dinner that when he built his new TV studio in an abandoned laboratory several years ago, he wanted to incorporate a place where show guests and the audience could have refreshments.
Since it was impossible to incorporate a kitchen of any kind in the studio building, the restaurant came into being a couple of years later.
As the name indicates, there are soups from all over the world. During the winter the menu sports an international selection of soups, both light and substantial, and stews. In summer, the menu shifts a little, and there are still plenty of soups, but on the lighter side. I had a trio of interesting choices as a first course: a sweet and creamy puree of carrots, a rich beef and red pepper soup, and a light wheat berry broth with fresh herbs. My host enjoyed a Thai lemongrass and coconut soup. As a main course, I had a tabbouleh salad with warm grilled shrimp and parsley-milt oil, while my host enjoyed a perfect Champagne risotto scented with lemon and grilled radicchio. We tasted a few of the desserts, among them a panna cotta with a compote of tart apples, a strawberry mousse with mint and balsamic vinegar, and a moist, single-layer chocolate cake with wonderful whipped cream. The menu runs the gamut from vitello tonnato through some pasta dishes mixed in with the soups, to veal in broth with vegetables and green sauce. There is a good selection of wines including some great Swiss ones as well as offerings from all over Europe. I was impressed by the selection of ten different teas, black, green, and herbal combinations.
Zuppamundial is open for both lunch and dinner and a two course lunch menu with salad, substantial soup and a mineral water is only about $15. Open only on weekdays from 11am to midnight, Zuppamundial also offers takeout service.
Zuppamundial
Giessereistrasse 18
CH-8005 Zurich
Phone from the US: 011 4143 818 2391
Fax from the US: 011 4143 818 2392
Website: www.zuppamundial.ch
Email: info@zuppamundial.ch