Our flight to Zürich had us arriving in the early evening and we were going to be banished to a hotel near the airport. Ugh. Knowing that we'd be tired after a long flight but would also want to maximize our limited time in Zürich, I did a Yelp search for Swiss food by map location and found Borni's Baizli in Oerlikon.
I made a reservation using the online request form on their website and received a confirmation right away. When it became apparent that our flight would arrive late and that our dinner would be delayed by an hour, I again messaged the restaurant via their website. When we finally showed up, the friendly manager asked if I was the guy with the delayed flight. He seated us right away, no problem, in a nice windowside table.
The two of us ordered the fondue (28f) as well as a mixed salad (greens with small stacks of fresh and pickled carrots, cucumbers, beets, radishes) and the more straightforward (and terrific) green salad. The salads were very fresh - and also enormous, but we are rabbits who enjoy our veggies.
The fondue was tasty and you definitely could taste and feel the liquor on your tongue. It was so good and warm, accompanied by a big basket of cubed bread. The waiter was so committed to our enjoyment, he suggested that we not eat our salads first as he thought the fondue was at its best when it first hits the table. So, a little fondue, a little salad, a little more cheese...it was a lovely, leisurely meal. We didn't finish all of our fondue. It's just a lot more cheese than we're used to, though the manager/cook let us know that he made it a little larger than usual as he thought we'd be particularly hungry after our flight.
We seemed to be the only tourists in the place that evening as everyone else spoke German with the waiter. Anyway, he fared just fine in English and they've got a helpful English menu available as well. Also, almost everyone else in the restaurant ordered one of the cordon bleu plates. The chicken looked really terrific and was so crisp that I could hear the cutlets crunch when they were cut into. I can only imagine that the cheesy goodness on the inside was perfect. I wished we'd ordered one of those, too, but it would have just been way too much food for us.
An easy 15-minute ride by bus or S tram, Oerlikon (roll the r!) is a good-sized and diverse neighborhood that's midway between the city center and the airport. There were surely no tourists around here, which we just love. Borni's is not in a quaint historic building and has no view of a pretty rushing river. But prices for fondue and wine here are also a good 20-30% cheaper than the visitor-focused restaurants that we were also considering.
Borni's Baizli offers pleasant service, good food, a very fairly priced meal, and a chance to see where real people live in Zürich. I'd return for sure. And next time, I'd be ordering some of that crunchy chicken for myself! read more