Visual feast: an ode to Zürich’s Kronenhalle restaurant

Celebrating the restaurant’s centenary

Published in the Financial Times Globetrotter column, 29 August 2024

https://on.ft.com/3XemP5I

"Le coucher du soleil" (1974) by  Marc Chagall in the Kronenhalle. Copyright Laura Hodgson

For Dr H, head of the Zürich Police, the Kronenhalle is a second home. He sits at his favourite table under a Miró painting, starts with the Leberknödelsuppe (liver dumpling soup), eats off the voiture (carving trolley), enjoys a bottle of Réserve du Patron, and is waited on by Emma. And while Dr H may be a fictional character in Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1958 novella Das Versprechen (The Pledge), the Kronenhalle lives on, complete with its Miró, Leberknödelsuppe, voiture, delicious wine, attentive service and – crucially – varied clientele.

This combination of art, food, service and people has made the Kronenhalle a Zürich home for many since it was bought by the charismatic Hulda Zumsteg 100 years ago. I first visited in 1984 as a schoolboy whose curiosity had been piqued by Das Versprechen. I have eaten there ever since; no visit to Zürich is complete without a meal at the Kronenhalle. The Kronenhalle is Zürich.

For many, the main draw is the art. From Rämistrasse, a street of galleries, you step into an extraordinary world of modern masters: Bonnard, Braque, Kandinsky and Picasso, alongside Swiss artists such as Amiet, the Giacomettis, Hodler and Klee. This is the personal collection of Hulda’s son, Gustav, and was placed in the restaurant when he took over in 1958, following a successful career as a silk merchant in Paris.

Joan Miró's "Les éclats du soleil blessant l'étoile tardive" (1951) in the Kronenhalle. Copyright Laura Hodgson

Gustav, an aesthete through and through, was a friend of the Maeght family of art dealers and his circle comprised many of the artists he collected, as well as designers such as Cristóbal Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent. The Kronenhalle – already a magnet for local and émigré artists, musicians and writers – would also host Gustav’s creative coterie. Some would dedicate works to the Zumstegs or add a postprandial sketch to the guest book.

In a world in which restaurant collections are casually sold off (remember Langham’s in London, The Four Seasons in New York, The Bauer in Venice), the permanence of the Kronenhalle’s art stands out. Following Gustav’s death in 2005, the restaurant and its art are now owned by a trust that dictates that his paintings must remain where he hung them.

The entrepreneur and FT columnist David Tang once recommended that the Kronenhalle should be “the Mecca for qualifying decorators”. Indeed, the beauty of the space – a collection of cosseting and engaging rooms – goes beyond its picture collection. The Brasserie is a grand dining room where regulars like Dr H and the CEOs of Swiss banks have their preferred tables. Andrew Grima, the legendary British jeweller (whose store was Bahnhofstrrasse 1), always preferred the intimacy of the “Swiss Gallery” upstairs, or to be seated close to the blue sunset in the Chagall room.

It is also a restaurant of many styles: a blissful blend of middle European gutbürgerlich, patrician Zürich and cosmopolitan chic. The quality of the materials is supremely comforting: red or green leather, polished brass, mahogany and teak, green baize and hectares of white linen, perfectly starched in the restaurant’s laundry upstairs, and sitting upon woven green undercloths, still based on a pattern chanced upon by Gustav at the Paris puces.

The Kronenhalle Bar. Copyright Laura Hodgson

Hulda Zumsteg was as much at ease serving beer and free meals to impoverished students (and James Joyce) as she was entertaining personalities such as Andy Warhol, Yves Saint Laurent, Bertold Brecht and Sophia Loren – and this sense of generous democracy continues to this day. The Kronenhalle is remarkably unpretentious and versatile; its style and menu make it suitable for practically any occasion. Some fond memories include attending a glamorous Bulgarian-Swiss wedding feast, overhearing the sale of a Stradivarius violin and celebrating a Swiss investment in the Caucasus.

For Zürich-based photography consultant Diana Poole, the Kronenhalle was where, early in her career, she first met Magnum photographer René Burri. She recalls: “René, dapperly dressed in his fedora and neck scarf, regaled me with stories of Che Guevara, Le Corbusier, Picasso, Giacometti.” Darker dramas have also played out among the tony banquettes: Marcel Ospel, former chairman of UBS, is said to have been booed out after the bank announced losses of CHF20bn in 2008. 

As for the menu, Gustav Zumsteg hated chichi food, and this is still reflected in the simple, well-executed dishes, using good Swiss ingredients. Its classics include Kalbsfilet geschnetzelt (strips of veal fillet in cream with rösti), Entrecôte Café de Paris, and Bündnerfleisch – Swiss air-dried beef. The portions are generous; the wine list excellent (I always enjoy the Chasse Spleen).

The Kronenhalle Bar with its lighting by Diego Giacometti. Copyright Laura Hodgson

You can just (or, ideally, also) visit the cocktail bar, which happens to be Zürich’s most glamorous. The dark and modernist world of leather, teak and marble was designed by Robert Hausmann in 1965 with lighting and furniture by Diego Giacometti. I recommend the Aurora, an elegantly scented mix of sake, gin, elderflower, lime, cucumber and orange blossom invented for Swiss author Martin Suter.

The final ingredient is the staff: thoughtful, friendly and professional. Many have been at the restaurant for over 20 years. Presided over by Dominique Godat, a veteran of historic hotels around the world (Kulm, St Moritz; Metropole, Moscow; Pierre, New York), the waiters are as much of a draw for many regulars as the art and the food.

Dr H ends his tale Das Versprechen with a salute to one of Hulda Zumsteg’s longest serving waitresses: “Emma, die Rechnung.” (“Bring me the bill, Emma.”) Today, when I visit, Marianne looks after me. “Uf Wiederluege, Marianne.” Till next time.