Best restaurants in my home town of Olten, Switzerland
Olten as a gourmet Mecca between Zurich, Basel and Bern:
Old town and bridge of Olten |
- Felsenburg 15 points
- Salmen 13 points
- Traube 17 points (in Trimbach, 1 km away from Olten)
- Kreuz 14 points (in Obergoesgen, 5 km away from Olten)
- Lampart’s 17 points (in Haegendorf, 6 km away from Olten)
- Hotel Storchen 13 points (in Schoenenwerd, 8 km away from Olten)
- Sonne 14 points (in Gunzgen, 8 km away from Olten)
- Bruecke 15 points (in Niedergoesgen, 9 km away from Olten)
- Gasthof Kreuz 15 points (in Egerkingen, 9 km away from Olten)
- Felsenburg #1
- Terminus #2
- National #3
- Salmen #5
- Schlosserei Genussfabrik #9
As you can see, “Felsenburg” and Salmen” are listed in both guides. The Gault-Millau restaurants in the neighbourhood of Olten top the TripAdvisor rankings in the respective villages (if listed at all).
Top restaurants
Innovative restaurants with contemporary cuisine
- Bruecke, Niedergoesgen
- Terminus
- National
- Schlosserei Genussfabrik
Restaurant Terminus |
I will make individual reviews of most of these restaurants later on, but let me say a few words about them at this moment. Bruecke is a well-run restaurant offering innovative and traditional dishes equally. Terminus is at the moment my favorite restaurant in town offering only an a la carte menu with some really inventive dishes (not exclusively, you also will find classics). The chef of National is the former one of “Terminus” and has a rather minimalist approach, he does not have a menu, only a blackboard indicating today’s offerings (some innovative, other traditional). The chef of Schlosserei Genussfabrik has changed not a long time ago, I have not yet tried the cuisine of the new one; you normally choose dishes there from the varied a la carte menu.
Classic restaurants with modern touches
- Felsenburg
- Salmen
- Kreuz, Obergoesgen
- Hotel Storchen, Schoenenwerd
- Sonne, Gunzgen
- Gasthof Kreuz, Egerkingen
Restaurant Felsenburg |
Individual reviews of most of these restaurants will follow at a later point of time. Here only a few short remarks to them. Felsenburg is my all time favorite restaurant in my region over time. As I mentioned above, I am a huge fan of Terminus at the moment, but it still has to be confirmed over time. I cannot imagine that my enthusiasm for Felsenburg will decrease, I have been a regular at this great restaurant for over 30 years! On the a la carte menu (no separate menu) you find haute Italian dishes, sometimes with influences from the French cuisine. More to it later!
All the other restaurants of this category (Salmen, Kreuz in Obergoesgen, Hotel Storchen in Schoenenwerd, Sonne in Gunzgen, Gasthof Kreuz in Egerkingen) are known for a refined cuisine that is more on the traditional side, but always with an innovative twist, and this mostly at reasonable prices. All of them have menus and a la carte menus. The most creative chef is probably the one at Sonne in Gunzgen, the highest prices under this category you find at Kreuz in Egerkingen (5 courses for CFR 125).
You see, Olten as a town may not have that many merits, but the culinary scene there and in its surroundings is thriving!
Planned next posts
Forthcoming posts will cover – as mentioned above – restaurant reviews for Olten. Then I have to work off hotel reviews concerning my trips in 2014 and 2015; this concerns Bali, Valencia, New England, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapur/Borneo and Mauritius/Dubai. Finally, my trips to Lisbon and to NYC/New Orleans/Florida Panhandle/Saint Augustine/Miami are coming up. Quite a lot to do for me! Come back and have a look. In case you have questions or comments, I am happy to answer resp. to hear them.
You won't find a better hamburger in all of Switzerland than Restaurant Rathskeller!
Also had wonderful meals at Hotel Taverne zum Kreuz while vacationing last year!
Thank you for pointing that out. You are right, the hamburgers in the "Rathskeller" are really great and the restaurant "Taverne zum Kreuz" offers good, but rather traditional fare. I miss a certain modern touch with both restaurants.