Something quite close to an authentic Mexican food experience: Restaurant El Alebrije (10. August 2022)
It’s more than two years ago since I’ve last been to El Alebrije, but I still have good memories, so I decided to give this place another try. I went for an “agua de horchata (rice-based drink with vanilla and cinnamon)” (CHF 8.00) and a “Sin Nombre (Mezcal (Enmascarado), Gin (Hendricks), Raventos Rosse, fresh cucumbers, cucumber syrup (Monin), cucumber liquor (Bols), lime juice)” (CHF 21.00) to start. The agua de horchata is perfect to kill your thirst – and the Sin Nombre is a perfectly light apéro drink.
As an amuse bouche you get a little toasted bread with frijoles, queso, and tomates. Which is somewhat nice to get your palate started, but since it’s Tilsiter instead of queso Oaxaca or the like, it’s a bit more Swiss in its flavour profile than I would have wished for.
The concept is relatively simple – you can pick between a 2- to 5-course menu and select – for each course – from a range of dishes. I went for the “3-course menu” (CHF 87.00) and started with the “tacos al pastor (home-made blue corn tortilla, pork, chile guajillo, onions, coriander, pineapple, home-made sauces)” which were quite delicious. Frankly, not sure why you needed the pineapple in there, but other than that – and with some proper spicy sauce – they were absolutely great.
As a second, I went for the “sopesitos (sopesitos with beans, chicken, nopales, crème fraiche, mesclum salad)” which were nice – a bit overloaded, and I’m still not the biggest fan of nopales, but all in all, a sound bite.
Finally, I went for the “carnitas de pato (confit duck, nopales salad, shallots, served with coriander, onions, tortillas)”. The meat was easily taken off the bone and was then perfect to roll your little tortillas and create some delicious bites. What was a bit surprising was that they only brought six tortillas for two people – I mean, we had to reorder which is fine, and they were served relatively quickly, but six tortillas with a diameter of 9-10 cm aren’t even remotely enough to wrap your duck meat and put it in those tortillas.
The place itself is nice and appealing – despite the fact that you’re seated at a very busy street, which can be quite noisy at times. But they manage to create a little hide-away despite the street proximity, and the service really adds to the nice experience. They are super friendly, attentive, and making sure you have everything you want and need. On top of that, they really care about their customers, making sure they leave happy. Overall, I like the El Alebrije a lot – lovely place with tasty dishes! Definitely worth trying! Just make sure you book in advance!
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Contact Details:
Restaurant El Alebrije
Weinbergstrasse 107
8006 Zürich (CH)
Tel.: +41 44 370 33 44
Cell: +41 76 544 31 16
Homepage: http://www.elalebrije.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. 
