I would like to take my boyfriend out to a restaurant on his birthday, but as I am new in Zurich i really don't know where to. I would like if the restaurant would be somehow romantic and would have nice atmosphere. Any suggestions, ideas are welcome It can be also outside Zurich. Thanks in advance
i like the uto kulm on top of the uetliberg. you can walk up or down or take the train to get there and the food is very good. when i was there in january it was lit up very nicely with candles etc. http://www.utokulm.ch/
Restaurant Waid, be sure to ask for a window table, you can see the whole town glittering below you. Restaurant Florhof is pricy but in the middle of a very pretty garden in the University quarter. Or how about going out of town? Take the boat from Bürkliplatz down to Küsnacht to the Restaurant Sonne, the food is lovely and even if you do end up taking the train home, it means you can wine and dine at your will.
Uto Kulm is nice, as long as you both don't mind the 5-10 min walk up a forest track from the station - took a girl there once without knowing about that point and she was not exactly dressed for a short hike prior to eating (white linen trousers & high heels = complaints before we started eating )
Another nice place for a birthday treat (although not cheap) would be Restaurant Madrid just off Niederdorf, although if you're paying that money maybe head out to Horgen by train or boat and visit Restaurant Lo instead.
I second that. Great recommendations re Restaurant Die Waid and the Sonne. The view from Die Waid is amazing and a place on top of my list to bring out of town guests, be it for dinner or lunches. They have affordable and decent wines from the local Höngg area.
Restaurant Sonne is extremely accessible via SBahn if you dont want to take the boat route. I live very near it and its literally a 3 minutes walk once you get out from the Kusnacht train station. Trains back to Zürich city every 15 minutes till a little past midnight! Another restaurant down here in Küsnacht is the Petermanm's Kunststuben. I am not sure if they kept their michelin star for 2010 but they are highly rated and reservations way in advance are necessary. Its a little further to walk from the station but no more than 10 minutes.
Another restaurant with good atmosphere is the Kings Cave in the Central Plaza Hotel. Or if you fancy something on the other side of the lake, Restaurant Oberer Mönchhof in Kilchberg is charming. Rive Gauche in Hotel Bau Au Lac (near Burkliplatz) is a winner in my books too.
My wife took me last year to Caduff's Wine Loft -- I loved it; great food, great wine and the restaurant has a huge wine cellar with wines that the restaurant owner, Beat Caduff, has built up and collected over the past 20 or so years.
Don't get me wrong, I love Caduff's; I just wouldn't call it romantic! Very business chic the couple of times I have been there, but then I was always there with work contacts. The cellar is legend....
Sonnenberg is a nice restaurant and outside it's a beautiful setting, but it's VERY pricey and I thought the service was a bit "snooty" the only time I went there - they clearly thought we "didn't fit in" with their usual clientele...
Also Seerose in Wollishofen is tough to beat as a setting (lake, mountains, good weather) but the service there is probably the worst in the city - unless you turn up in your yacht club jacket and matching loafers...