Usually, I make it a rule not to write a Yelp review until I've been to a place at least twice - however, since I probably won't be going back here, I figured I'd make an exception :) Casa Aurelio is a Spanish restaurant with good (and expensive) food, over-the-top ambience, and mediocre service.
My husband, I, and two of our friends met here for dinner on a Friday night (reservations are probably a must, at least for a Friday or Saturday night). When my husband and I walked up to the restaurant, we saw lots of fancy cars - Porsches, Maseratis, Aston Martins, etc. Turns out Casa Aurelio offers valet service - that's right, this restaurant that's behind the McDonald's on Langstrasse! Still, nice touch.
We were seated in the main dining room in the middle of the action - there is another dining room that is a "cigar" room, if you're so inclined. Our friends were late, so I ordered some Cava and water while we waited and checked out the wine menu. Our waiter dropped of a few tapas - bruschetta and some Spanish omelette. The bruschetta was good, the omelette rubbery.
The first page of the wine menu is ridiculous - 800-1200 CHF bottles. Turn the page to find what you might really want to choose - even then, it's still on the higher side of wine I've seen in Zurich. Our friend chose a bottle and the waiter steered him to something else that was actually cheaper instead, which was nice.
Our waiter tried to get us to order an appetizer sampler, which I've read from other review sites was a bit of a rip-off (a few shrimp, slices of meat, bread for ~26 CHF/person), so I picked the shrimp and jamon appetizers. Both were delicious.
For mains, we were all pretty happy with our food - my shrimp were delicious and fresh, the lamp chops tender and tasty, and the salt-covered bass well-flavored (they bring the bass to each of the two people who order it in two separate servings, since it's so big). Note that the salt-covered bass is "by weight", so you might want to ask how much it is before you order it if you're concerned - it cost us ~160 CHF total.
After we finished our meal, we watched the owner (?) wander around greeting people (and drinking their wine), listened to the three piece band that made rounds around the room, and checked out the very different types of people that make their way here on a Friday night. We also sat for about 20 minutes with our dirty plates in front of us, while our waiter took care of all the other tables around us. We didn't bother staying for dessert. While the food was good, it was a little too much going on for me, and too expensive for the service. read more