7. November 2014: Restaurant Widder

So far I have only been at the Widder with the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and I haven’t regretted going one single time. The menu started with a “crab meat mousse with champagne and caviar velouté” served with spaghetti. While it looked rather ordinary at first, it was actually a great dish – persuading in its simplicity and refinement at the same time.

The “duck broth with oriental aroma” looked incredibly dull – but was mind-blowingly rich in taste. The intensity of the duck in its purest form was overwhelming and wanted to make you slurp the cup just like that. On top of that, it went perfect with the “Bujard Corniche Dézaley, Bujard Vins, Lavaux, Switzerland, 2013” (CHF 75.00).

My personal favourite of the evening was the main course though, “veal saddle in paper bark with hazelnut, cauliflower and white truffle”. Not only it looked absolutely appealing when it was served …

… but also because it was soft, tender, aromatic, rich at the same time …

… and they even served “supplement”. Something not every restaurant does, especially not when it comes to a main course like this one. Unfortunately – for the restaurant – once I had asked for more, the whole table suddendly wanted more. The “Piedra Lagar Tinto Crianza Roble, Birkenmaier & Co, Ribera del Duero, Spain, 2011/2012” (CHF 62.00) was a perfect match to the dish as it was intense but not overwhelmingly strong so you were still able to taste the soft and subtle aromas of the main course.

Doesn’t it look great? Not being a big fan of sweets, I slowly start to reconsider my opinion about chocolate. The “coffee chocolate dessert with pistazio and amaretto” (and a tiny bit of leaf gold on top of it) was actually great. It was a bit tricky to crack the hard chocolate shell without getting everythign all over your shirt but it was worth the wrestling – lovely taste, intense but not overwhelming. The leaf gold though is pointless – it looks nice but that’s really it.

To finalize the evening, coffee and friandises were served – I only got to try one but that one was a fair closing of the dinner. With regards to the atmosphere, the room we were seated in was absolutely lovely.

The Widder definitely does its best to live its corporate identity. Even the bread is served with a small Widder logo which is definitely something you do not find in a lot of restaurants these days as it needs quite some effort to design all your breads like this. The only thing which was not flawless this evening was the service – while absolutely professional and friendly it just took her sometimes way too long to refill our water and wine glasses – a no go in my eyes.

Considering you get all of this for a mere CHF 90.00 is just breath-taking (the wine comes on top). In my personal opinion, the Restaurant Widder is a great place for good food for fair prices – and the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is definitely the right place to get to try these places for an even more reasonable amount of money (in great company).

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Widder

Widdergasse 6

8001 Zürich (CH)

Tel.: +41 44 224 24 12

Homepage: http://www.widderhotel.ch

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.