The best Italian restaurants in Zurich (2024)

Trattoria 4 Leoni is pure 'bella Toscana' and is family owned for decades. The restaurant specialises in delicious meat dishes. Under a green sky amidst vines you can dine wonderfully. The service is extremely hospitable. The bistecca is carved at the table. The pasta in red wine sauce is first-class. Under no circ*mstances should one go without the dessert at the end.

My tip: La Bistecca Chianina and homemade cake for dessert together with a typical Italian espresso

🙌 Italian-inspired sourdough pizzeria that questions the original Italian principles and rethinks them with a variety of other influences and nationalities.

"Allowed" are 😳 Pizza Hawaii 🍍, sourdough pizza mit🇨🇭Schweizer mozzarella - and then in creations like Lahmacun and with Wiedikerli sausages (Vanilla Sky 🤩).

👩👨 Co-founders Meagan & Simon believe that traditions and processes must be respected, but culture must also move with the times.

Working sustainably with products from small producers, if possible from the local area, is close to the team's heart. Imports are only made where necessary, e.g. the tomatoes and olive oil come from southern Italy.

👨‍🍳👨‍🍳 The two pizzaiolo Gennaro and Carmine, who have Italian roots, know their craft and are constantly coming up with new pizza creations.

My tip: Pizza Vanilla Sky (Hawaii is unfortunately not yet permanently on the menu ;-)) and the buffalo milk soft ice cream for dessert (definitely try it!).

• Menu

Italienisches Restaurant Zürich

Do you know the moment when you have just taken your seat for the evening in the restaurant and then are greeted so surprisingly warmly that you just know "bull's eye". This is exactly what happens to me when Maria Ventola introduces herself that evening with her pleasant Swabian accent with rolling R 😉 (due to her Italian roots); recommends us the homemade aperitif and then lets us take a look at the menu. We feel completely comfortable and decide, in addition to the 4-course menu, also for a wine accompaniment, which we share and, by the way, is highly recommended. After a fine greeting from the kitchen with pickled salmon, radish and blood sorrel follow two, in my opinion, absolute highlights of chef Stefano Corrado. The probably most tender Pulpo with Peperoni and homemade Focaccia and the Tortelli di vitello with Marsala sauce, refined with fresh marjoram. As I write these lines, I have only one thought - "this screams for a repeat". ❤️

Between courses, Maria keeps telling us little anecdotes from previous months when asked. Last year, just in time for Lockdown 🙈the couple had decided to take over the restaurant Anna near Milchbuck. Of course, not an easy start, but with the support of good colleagues and former supervisor of Stefano, the couple copes with the situation with flying colors. Stefano, by the way, learned and honed his craft at Clouds, Mesa and Gustav before starting his own restaurant. The Anna also offers an event room for larger events, including various seating options outside.

My tip: Pulpo. Pepperoni. Focaccia - Tortelli di vitello. Marsala. Parmiggiano. Marjoram

• Menu & Wine

The Antiquario da Marco is a family business of the second generation and conjures up Italian cuisine par excellence. The specialities include first-class meat, fresh fish and seafood, as well as homemade pasta such as the stuffed "Triangoli". Of these ravioli fatti in casa, several of the 25 fresh varieties are prepared daily. You can enjoy them on the cozy terrace, which turns into a heated lounge in winter, or in the stylishly furnished restaurant. A large selection of wines and grappas from Italy and Spain leave nothing to be desired in any price segment.

My tip: "Triangoli" Ravioli fatti in casa

• Menu

Bianchi is known for its excellent fish and seafood specialities. The elegant restaurant on Zurich's Limmatquai creates an inviting and cosy atmosphere with very attentive service. Fish lovers will get their money's worth here, but there are also a few vegetarian alternatives. Classics are the lukewarm seafood salad and fish prepared in a salt crust. If the weather is nice, you can also sit outside.

My tip: mango tartar with grilled scallops as an appetizer, sole with venere rice

We spent a super nice evening at the Brasserie Freilager.🥰 Taking my son Sian was no problem at all.
The whole area is full of families, children jump around and are warmly greeted with crayons and Junior booklet. 😍 The food was also super fine (we had special weeks with a focus on fish and seafood), the service is set up and the location with Mediterranean flair. 😋👏

Friday and Saturday nights there is the family table. Parents and their offspring are cordially invited to indulge themselves from 5:15 pm to 7:00 pm. Clinical highlights for young and old.

Our menu:

• CHAMPIGNONS CEVICHE: shiitake, mushrooms, oyster mushroom with red onions, seaweed and herb broth.
• 2 starters of the day: Pulpo & potatoes, lobster & strawberries
  
• ENTRECÔTE CAFÉ DE PARIS: Coupe Dame 160 gr. | Coupe Monsieur 220 gr. I Beef entrecôte Café de Paris with spring vegetables and pommes allumettes
• LOUP DE MER: Sea bass fillet with black venere rice, salicorn and saffron foam
• Moules-frites
  
• MACARON DE LA BRASSERIE: Macaron filled with strawberry mousse served with tarragon dust
• GÂTEAU AU CHOCOLAT: Chocolate chichichli with berry compote and sour cream ice cream

My tip:Sea bass and entrecôte

Brasserie Seefeld has been celebrating Italian gourmet cuisine with Sardinian influence for many years. Over lunchtime, the restaurant is well attended by businessmen. There is a lunch menu with several dishes to which salad and soup are served as an appetizer. It is also possible to eat à la carte. Both meat and fish dishes taste excellent. The courteous service is happy to recommend the right wine.

My tip: Fish, e.g. sea bass with seafood and rice or beef tagliata

Restaurant concept Brenso

Lorenzo Dal Bo is the founder of Benso and also the chef of the restaurant. I spoke to him at length about the topic of zero waste and sustainability and I have rarely seen it approached so holistically. Kitchen waste is stored and processed further, e.g. into sauces, drinks, etc. Lorenzo is constantly tinkering with new creations and experimenting with waste products.

There is a variety of home-made and preserved products in the cellar. It is also important to Lorenzo to know his producers personally and he wants the topic of sustainability to receive more attention. The chef tries to avoid cellophane film and other single-use plastic completely.

Kitchen at Brenso

Lorenzo is originally from Italyand has already cooked at many top addresses around the world, from the Faroe Islands to Noma in Copenhagen and Central in Lima. He has not only learnt a lot in the process, but has also developed the concept for his own restaurant and written down the values he wants to live by in a manifesto. Closing the food cycle and reusing as much as possible is particularly important to him.

My recommendation at Brenso

A surprise menu with meat and veggies to share. You can also mention that you would like to try the homemade stuffed pasta. I particularly enjoyed it ;-)

• Manifesto

Casa Ferlin has been an institution for Italian cuisine in Zurich since 1907 and is known for its homemade pasta. As soon as you enter the restaurant, you think time has stopped. Dark wooden furniture, heavy curtains and red grandmother table lamps together with the paneled green ceiling create a very special fifties ambience. The service is very professional and dressed in uniform red jackets with bow tie. In any case, you should take enough change with you. One portion of my favourite raviolis costs a whopping CHF 46, and the restaurant is also known for its meat dishes such as flambéed chateaubriand or veal fillet with lemon sauce.

My tip:Ravioli alla Meno (green ravioli filled with veal and cream sauce - taste even better than ravioli with butter) and the creamy chocolate mousse with liquid cream

© Cinque

© Cinque

© Cinque

The Italian family business Cinque spoils its guests with daily freshly produced pasta and ravioli and changing fish and meat specialities. The interior is unique, almost kitschy, the service very cordial, the seating quite narrow and the atmosphere rather loud. Typically Italian.

My tip: as an appetizer homemade tortellone, followed by tuna with lemon risotto or fillet of beef on truffle jus, as a dessert tortino al cioccolato caldo

• Lunch menu
• Menu

'Da Angela' has been conjuring up Italian-Mediterranean cuisine for many years with fresh, carefully selected products. The well-kept restaurant offers first-class service. The menu includes seasonal specialities as well as "Angela classics". The wine selection is very varied.

My tip: seafood, especially the giant prawns... yum.

• Menu
• Wine list
• Seasonal dishes

Restaurant

Pizza Napoletana, one of the best in Zurich. The San Gennaro on Wipkingerplatz has moved and the Pizzeria Da Pone has reopened with a surprising number of familiar faces ;-) A large part of the San Gennaro team, including pizzaiolo Francesco Pone, are (newly) at work here.

Kitchen

Francesco Pone trained in Naples with one of the world's best pizzaiolos, who also created the recipe for the Margherinara, which has already won awards. The flour for the pizza dough is a proprietary mixture and is ground in the Swissmill opposite. The pizza dough is left to rise for 48 hours and the pizza is baked quickly and very hot at 500 degrees with an airy crust and high-quality ingredients such as selected San Marzano tomatoes.

Ambience / Details

The restaurant has 170 seats and has different rooms; the conservatory is a little noisy. Guests who are more sensitive to noise are better off sitting in the other area. In summer, you can sit outside with a view of the Limmat.
I think the pizza and the ambience are even better than before. :)

My impressions on Instagram (video)

😋 The recommendations:

- Tris di Montanara classica - three small deep-fried pizzas with various sauces
- Pizza Margherinara & Pizza Funghi e Coppa
- Straccetti da Pone - a kind of churros made from pizza dough with chocolate and pistachio cream

The Italian restaurant Gandria enjoys its home in the beautiful Seefeld. The chef Adriano Peroncini comes from Apulia and knows his craft, including confectionery, inside out. The Italian pampers his guests with antipasti, homemade pasta, fish and meat dishes. For his modern Italian cuisine he uses products of excellent quality and refines the specialities with aromatic oils and marinades. 15 Gault Millau points.

My Tip: Pasta, lukewarm beef carpaccio and octopus with citrus pesto

© Italia

Osteria Italia offers cucina della mamma: real, close to the people and reduced to the essentials. The beautiful garden invites you to linger in summer. The heart of the restaurant is the Salumeria, a showcase with sausage and cheese specialities from Italy and the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Perfect for the next aperitif. Of course, the card is traditionally written in Italian, but the operation helps with the translation.

My tip:Lunch. Optionally soup or salad are included. The pasta dishes are a dream.

• Dinner menu
• Lunch menu

The noble Italian in Seefeld with Sicilian roots has taken my heart by storm. The Antipasto misto dello chef in La Zagra is best enjoyed in a family atmosphere with a good glass of red wine. If the weather is fine, there are a few tables on the terrace.

My Tip: Fish or seafood and if available as primi piatti homemade pasta with truffles.

• Menu

Marcellino Pane e Vino is one of the lesser known bijous of Italian gourmet cuisine in Zurich. The restaurant is small and fine, the service is very pleasant and in summer you can sit outside. The owner deliberately refrains from having his own website. Probably the restaurant should be spared from large tourist masses.

My tip:In Marcellino everything tastes fine, but I prefer seafood or fish with black Venere rice.

The Miracle convinces in Seefeld with its wafer-thin pizzas with crispy base and fresh topping. Also a must are the homemade pasta, the veal cordon bleu and as a crowning conclusion the homemade ice cream. At noon there are different lunch menus to choose from. The ambience is down-to-earth and cosy, in summer there are a few tables outside.

My Tip: Pizza

• Menu

© Pergola

The Pergola is half Italian, half Spanish and at home in District 4. Besides homemade pasta, various fish and meat dishes are served on the plate. The restaurant is mainly visited by its regular guests and is known for its rabbit in white wine with polenta. In summer there are some tables to sit outside. At noon 3 different menus are offered.

My tip: Rabbits, homemade gnocchi and the heavenly tree nut tiramisu

Restaurant D'Aurora

Aurora, the owner, is a full-blooded Italian and a passionate hostess. The restaurant has been open for over 10 years. The service is very warm, so you quickly feel at home. Good wine selection.

Food Restaurant D'Aurora

D'Aurora, or Uncle Tom's Hut (former name), conjures up Italian and Mediterranean dishes with seasonal specialities in Kreis 4. With the new head chef Francesco Ingletti, the standard has risen even further. The lunch dishes, with special starters (not the "typical soup/salad"), are also beautifully presented and are full of flavour. Fresh preparation with seasonal ingredients takes centre stage in the restaurant. For lunch, you can choose between various starters and main courses and put together a two-course menu (between 30 and 40 francs). You can also eat à la carte at lunchtime. The dishes tend to favour meat and fish. Vegetarians will definitely find what they are looking for on the evening menu ;-)

My tip at D'Aurora

Pasta and seafood

• Menu

It took quite a while until I became aware of the tavern da Angelo. There's fantastic pizza here. The restaurant is a bit inconspicuous from the outside, but due to its great popularity a reservation is recommended. With a neighbourhood stain feeling, friendly service and green olives to get you in the right mood, you feel welcome right away. Besides the deliciously crispy pizza, the risotto and the fennel, orange salad is highly recommended.

My Tip: Pizza Verdure

• Lunch menu
• Menu

The 'Weisses Rössli' has everything a great restaurant needs - flair, a secluded garden, lots of cordiality and tasty Mediterranean dishes by Ivan Capo with that certain something. In the evening, you can choose between 2 and 5 courses and then put together your own starter, entrée, main course, cheese and dessert from the menu. At lunchtime, there is a two-course lunch menu as well as selected dishes from the evening menu. The passion of the kitchen and the attentive service is visibly noticeable to the guests - attention is paid to every detail and the dishes are a true delight in taste as well as visually.

For events with a maximum of 32 people, there is a special room in the cellar. A former bowling alley, it is decorated in a modern style and lit only by candlelight. Tavolata with various dishes (by arrangement) is served for dinner.

My tip: 5-course menu in the evening :)