We walked to Restaurant Schipfe 16 from our hotel in Zurich, about a 5 minute walk. They're right…read moreon the river - it was a cool night so we sat inside, which is a very cozy dining room with seating for perhaps 24 to 30 diners. There's a larger outside dining area if the weather is warmer.
The service was very friendly- the waiter did speak English, but not fluently. It wasn't a problem, just took some rephrasing to get the info we were asking about.
They do have English language menus, so ordering was easy for us (I did have one semester of German, but that was more than 40 years ago so it did us no good). The menu consists of 4 appetizers, 4 entrees, and a few desserts. There's also a healthy wine & beer list.
While the choices are somewhat limited, everything we tried was perfectly cooked & seasoned. I started with the Vegetarian ravioli; wonderful cream sauce! I had a local Amboss blonde lager, and my wife had a glass of Pinot Noir Rosé, also local (I didn't get the vintner) and both were excellent.
I had the beer-battered Perch, and my wife had the Thai red curry. Both were magnificent - the Thai curry was full of flavor but not at all "hot" like in USA.
For dessert, I had a light-as-air coffee mousse, served on vanilla ice cream with pitted cherries. Delicious! My wife had the Vegan chocolate ice cream, which is packaged- but excellent. The coffee and espresso with dessert topped off the meal wonderfully.
Cost is moderate; even with wine, beer, appetizer, and dessert only about CHF 120 (about USD 144 right now). I've paid far more for much worse food and service.
Schipfe 16 is a gem; well worth a visit.
