Veal in Cream Sauce at Zeughauskeller – ZH

Swiss people love their dairy. I probably ate more cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and cream in two weeks in Switzerland than I did my entire life. (Thank god lactose and I are friends!) So it goes without saying, the regional dish of Zurich, geschnetzeltes, involves dairy. Geschnetzeltes is sliced veal in a cream sauce with mushrooms and wine. My first taste of the dish was at Zeughauskeller, a former armory (supposedly William Tell’s crossbow was issued here) now turned popular beer hall. Swiss history and food! It seemed a good of a place as any to try the local specialty.

Geschnetzeltes — or to be specific, Kalbsgeschnetzeltes nach Zürcher Art (veal geschnetzeltes Zurich-style; CHF 34.50 / USD $36.50) — at Zeughauskeller was much better than I expected. Yes, it reminded me of something that would have been served in the Midwest circa 1950 (beef stroganoff, anyone?), but it was hearty and comforting in a way meals such as those are, even if the veal could have been more tender or the mushrooms less rubbery. It was all about the sauce anyway; smooth and creamy with a little zip from the wine.

A choice of rösti, fries, noodles, or vegetables is offered with the geschnetzeltes. It seemed only proper I order the rösti, and I was glad I did. The shredded potato cake was expertly fried so each side was golden and crunchy.

The BF also ordered the Lamb’s lettuce salad with chopped egg (CHF 9.50 / USD $10.05) which we thought would include lamb, but we later learned that lamb’s lettuce is just another name for mâche, a nutty green. Nothing much to report back on this dish. It was just a simple mâche salad with chopped eggs and a light dressing of olive oil and vinegar.

To drink, I decided on a glass of the house white wine (Epesses, La République, AOC; CHF 5.80 / USD $6.14) since it was Swiss, and although it was a nice, light wine, it was too light when eating something so heavy. Beer would have been a wiser choice. Although I’d probably skip their famous flaming beer. If you must have theatrics, Zeughauskeller also serves sausages and steaks on swords. Everyone else, the geschnetzeltes and rösti is definitely worth trying once.

Restaurant Zeughauskeller
Bahnhofstrasse 28a (in Paradeplatz; map)
8001 Zurich, Switzerland
+41 44 220 15 15