Full disclosure: This has been one of my favourite restaurants in Switzerland for almost a year…read more It's also my favourite restaurant in Zurich. Of all the Michelin-starred restaurants in Zurich (Spice, Dolder, Mesa and Sein), the Rigiblick Hotel's Spice gourmet restaurant offers the best value for money in Zurich. Christian Nickel's cuisine is incredibly varied and is being constantly refined and developed. It's sophisticated, but not ethereal and pretentious like the Dolder's cuisine. The food's style and taste is fascinating, but the precision of the kitchen brigade's work is stunning. I've never had such good truffle ravioli in my life the filling and pasta were so light, so juicy! Much moaning and dreamy-eyed gazing ensued upon consumption of their infamous ravioli not an isolated experience, I assure you! Jana Bussert is a young, ambitious, very talented head pastry chef, one to watch. She has a great career ahead of her. You just have to see (and eat) her desserts they're the best in Zurich. Constantly surprising, always tasty and technically precise. The chocolate variation is the most sophisticated dessert of its kind in Switzerland. And her friandises are spectacular, including a selection of home-made pralines (using Valrhona couverture) that surpass almost every praline or truffe that you'll eat at a confiserie anywhere. Highly recommended, but beware: Once you've visited the restaurant, you'll want to come back soon! For a detailed German photo report, including an interview with head chef Christian Nickel and head pastry chef Jana Bussert, please visit: http://dessertblog.ch/2011/02/restaurant-spice-in-zurich/

I love this place! The restaurant is one of those gourmet establishments where they provide small…read morelittle ''tasters'' before each course, each dish is thought out n terms of combination of flavour and ingredients as well as being artfully arranged and an extensive wine list. It was the second time we have been here and once again the experience was wonderful. The menu is somewhat limited and you can choose from 4 courses to 8 courses (which is basically everything on the menu). The waiting staff was friend, spoke English with me and very accommodating. Let me explain the ways! We sat down and promptly someone brought over a lightly warmed hand towel to refresh our hands and be clean. We ordered two glasses of champagne and these were brought over in good time with our water. We were given some time to enjoy our drink and chat a bit before they brought over a little set of amuse bouche which tasted divine! Then came the menu and I picked 4 courses; the lobster, the veal liver which was served with a slice of the veal tongue too (delicious btw!) as starters and the guinea fowl as main. The guinea fowl was really tender and tasted almost like a fake chicken?! The texture was very spongey but tasteful, with some chorizo. I'm not such a fan of poultry therefore I would have chosen the Black Cod on the menu, except I didn't realise there was Black Cod on there since the german menu said otherwise. Just before the main course, they had brought out a jelly like substance which was made of elderflowers, peppermint and something else along the lines of Hugo, the drink. Its purpose was to refresh our palette and ready for the man course. It tasted so good and reminded me of a jelly sweet from Hong Kong that I had for another one! And the lady serving was so nice to comply! Before the dessert, there was another amuse bouche served on a plate of rocks and a large oyster shell - it was a frozen apple sort of candy, bite sized but sharp in flavour and helped t cleanse the palette for the dessert! I chose a dark chocolate flakes with vanilla ice cream served with beetroot slices and sauce. Not a fan of beetroot but it went so well with the dark chocolate! The coffee was served with real milk and not these terrible packaged creamers that the Swiss are so fond of in restaurants...... It was an expensive meal and not one to do everyday but well worth it as a once-in-a-while treat for yourself and loved ones. Gourmet dining is exactly about how different flavours are compatible with each other and what combination brings out the best on the palette. Each dish in the restaurant was so well thought out and brought together, it was an awesome experience.