We spent Friday night in Neuchatel and found it near impossible to find a restaurant that we liked that wasnt obsessed with Panini's,I was amazed how quiet the town was,ok the weather was pretty poor but there did seem to be a serious lack of decent restaurants.
We finally settled for a chinese meal in a cafe by La Maladerie shopping centre, very good authentic chinese dishes and nice staff. Cafe Kirin it was called and I can highly recommend it.
Shame you couldn't find anything to your liking - the Place des Halles has a good Chinese, and a good list above. For a good pizza go to La Fleur de Lys, right in the centre but on first floor. La Désobéissance on the bend going up to station is very good too, informal atmosphere, great food and good service. Neuch is normally really pleasant at the week-end, but as you say, the weather was dire and cold - and after being out during the recent heat wave, the Neuchatelois decided to stay in!
Ahh thank you! I think we would give Neuchatel another chance at some point,the one thing I really loved is the underground funicular railway, so useful to get us about. And I loved the shopping centre under the Xamax stadium, really nice.
A very good selection there but most of them are not in the town centre so unless the OP knows the area or does research before coming then she's unlikely to find them. You're obviously very well acquainted with Neuchatel and the surrounding areas.
Not easy to get a table at Bocalino either unless the visit is planned well in advance but worth a visit if you want to really splash out.(or so I've been told.)
It was better when it was the Café du Theatre IMO.
From the original post I'm guessing that the OP was mostly in the Maladière area and used the funiculaire up and down to the station which is really not the best area for restaurants.
There are lots of decent restaurants in the town centre including the ones mentioned by Odile and Kamarate in their posts above. We also like the Cafe/Restaurant des Halles (place des Halles)and the Auberge du Jura near Place Pury on the road where Payot is.
The best restaurant I've been to in Neuchâtel is Famiglia Leccese (Rue de l'Ecluse 49), which looks like a bit of dive but serves authentic Italian food. On Fridays and Saturdays you have to make a reservation. In my opinion, Chinese restaurants in Neuchâtel are invariably bad to very bad, and I say that having spent six years in China and being a great fan of Chinese food.
There is a new mexican place next to the main post office called Desperados that is quite tasty and a nice change...I've only eatern there once but had good service, and there were some less expensive options (around 16CHF).
...x2 more from me: Bach & Buch - yummy crepes + range of teas, very cheap and cosy atmosphere Thai restaurant close to parking de seyon (next to the indian grocery shop) - bit expensive
it has a little Thai restaurant a bit below - looks like a dive, but Take Away from 15CHF a pop, and a great menu. Something like Assiana? Can't remember the name for sure. Many friends recommend it - at the top end of Rue des Chavannes.
Has anyone mentioned Robinson in Colombier? I love the food!
I also vote for Poisson @ Auvernier, a bit on the pricey side but the food is really yummy
And last bu tnot least, the bockenrijder @ Colombier, right in front of the tram stop, funny opening hours but the best burgers ever...or so I've heard
I must confess, I was disappointed with the food at Desperados. However, I had a margarita there once and it was nice.
Le Sud is a nice crêperie. About the same price as any other normal crêperie in Switzerland (apparently there's a cheap one on Avenue du 1er mars - don't know the name, though) but it's quite charming. Nice selection of sirops and a cute little gelateria part in the summer (guess you're not really interested in gelato at the moment...).
We had a great meal right in town centre recently- in the restaurant above the tram ticket office at Place Pury, right in centre of town. Just can't remember the name right now- great food and great service. I had no idea it existed despite growing up here.
You should try Le Cardinal which is always a sure choice.
They do a fantastic hand-cut steak tartare and their midday menus are great value for money (a good place to have lunch after the Saturday market shop).