UPDATE: out of business end of 2021, reopened under different management in December 2023
Old school Italian dining in prime location:
If you are into traditional upscale Italian restaurants, then this is the place for you! Normally, I prefer to go to more contemporary restaurants, but my husband and I have family members who are regulars here. So we had the chance to have dinner at Orsini twice in the recent past, which was a good experience as they know how to prepare excellent Italian dishes!
Location
Restaurant Orsini is located just off the Paradeplatz respectively the famous shopping street of Bahnhofstrasse in the heart of the city in walking distance from the main station. It is part of the luxury Savoy Baur en Ville Hotel but housed in a different building. In case you should miss the proper entrance,
they are kind enough to lead you from the hotel reception or the bar through the restaurant kitchen to the dining room, a nice touch!
Ambiance
It is a wonderfully old-fashioned space complete with carpet and oil paintings theming poppy blossoms, white pillars and stucco ceiling, wood paneling and leather armchairs.
Servers are males only, dressed in white jackets and black bow ties. And the maître d’ wears full black tie. When you enter the dining room, you immediately feel you have stepped back in time.
Food concept
Classic Italian cuisine has been served here for more than 30 years. The menu is an image of Italian food traditions known from traditional restaurants in the Lombardy and Piedmont region. A wide choice of authentic pasta, meat and fish specialties is featured here.
Orsini’s cuisine was awarded 14 Gault Millau Points and is Michelin listed.
Sampled food
Just after having a seat, a plate with delicious tomato crostini was put on the table.
A good starter was the asparagus salad combined with chicken stripes with honey and sesame.
Orsini is a heaven for pasta lovers! The raviolis filled with beef and accompanied by a highly concentrated sauce with Amarone (a heavy, richly flavored red wine)
were a feast for the palate. The dough was thin, the filling delicate and the sauce bursted with flavor!
A perfect to way to end a sumptuous meal at this restaurant is to opt for the traditional coffee ice cream,
which was not only tasty but of a perfect consistency.
Service
All members of the service team under the confident leadership of Natale Morano are exclusively Italian. Service is “oldschoolish”, but in a lovable way. It is formal but without being arrogant. Once again you feel like being transported back in time, far away from nowadays urban Zurich.
Pricing
Dining at Restaurant Orsini comes with a hefty price tag. Expect to spend 60 to 70 SFR for a main course with fish or meat!
The level of quality is high here, but in my view, prices are inflated. A possibility to reduce costs here is by going for a pasta dish as main course as I did on my last visit.
Overall
If you fancy old school Italian fine dining in an elegant setting, then Orsini is the right choice for you. As one of the finest Italian restaurants in Zurich it offers immaculately prepared classics. Be warned though, you have to dig quite deep into your pockets for enjoying this experience!
Date of visit: February 2018
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