A Delightful Culinary Experience in Basel, Switzerland!

Upon checking in to our hotel in Basel, we asked the young receptionist for a restaurant recommendation for good local food. I took it with a grain of salt figuring she may not have the best knowledge of the type of culinary experience I was looking for. So we meandered around in the rain walking street after street, perusing the selection of restaurants in the area. We passed her recommendation early on our stroll and decided to keep looking to see if anything else would strike our fancy. After getting a bit turned around and somewhat lost, we accidentally ended up back in front of the restaurant she chose for us and decided to give it a try. It was Restaurant Schlusselzunft. (Try to say that three times quickly…!)

We were quite surprised at the warm reception and the beautiful interior of the restaurant. Ok, maybe she did know what she was talking about? 

I will walk you through our meal which turned out to be one of the best dinners on our trip. We happened upon an unexpected treasure on our last night. What a treat!

Our meal began with an amuse bouche that was tasty, but was just a teaser for the ecstasy to come…

A dish of tomato served three ways. Each delicate and intense with flavor offering a diminutive taste of a sublime creation, leaving us wanting more. How ingenious that the creamy tomato soup shot was served with a straw. I’m definitely stealing that idea!

This soup was the culinary highlight of my trip! Rucola-Wasabi-Schaumsuppe kit Spargelglace. Cream of rocket soup flavored with wasabi and asparagus ice cream. A sautéed baby bella mushroom was the base for a scoop of wasabi/asparagus ice cream in this delectable pureed vegetable soup. (Rocket, I have since found out is actually arugula.) The soup was poured over the ice cream at the table and as the heat slightly melted it, it blended the flavors in the most wondrous taste my mouth has ever experienced! It was Fantastic!!

One of our two entrees was Sautiertes Zanderfilet Viennoise auf Peperonata, Madrassauce und Gnocchi or Sauteed pike perch filet “Viennoise” with bell pepper, madras-curry sauce and gnocchi. An artful presentation; moist filets with a crispy skin served with a side of creamy gnocchi, sauced and appointed magnificently. Ausgezeichnet!

I thought I would order something simple like their Papardelle mit Cherry-Tomaten, Carciofini und Buffel Mozzarella which was Papardelle with cherry tomatoes, young artichokes and buffalo mozzarella. As it turned out, it wasn’t simple – it was simply spectacular! 

In an effort to over indulge, we went on to select a dessert to finish our meal. Cream Catalana von Ziegenkase mit Aprikosen-Thymian-Sorbet or Goat cheese catalana (baked custard) with apricot-thyme sorbet. Like the rest of the meal, dessert was exquisite! And if that wasn’t enough, they served us this adorable tiered silver stand filled with accoutrements for our coffee with sweet delicacies on the top tier.

A perfectly fantastic meal fit for a king & queen! And a wonderful conclusion to our trip abroad. If you do find yourself in Basel, Switzerland, I highly suggest you treat yourself to a meal at this indescribably wonderful restaurant.