Country Grotto in the Big City

Kaferberg is a hill covered in trees with many trails throughout, right in Zurich. We came from the northeast side from Oerlikon and walked around, checking in with Google maps, until we came to a place in the road where there should have been a trail.

We saw one faintly underneath overgrown grass and walked through some forested area until we came to our next path on the other side, which was a nice open field with some country cottages.

After walking a bit more we came to Tessin Grotto. “Tessin” means “Ticino” in German so it’s supposed to be traditional Swiss-Italian style. The weather was nice so we opted to sit outside.

I ordered the small size of the polenta ($24) and it was incredible. Perfect sized, creamy, well-seasoned, everything was great. Would definitely get it again.

Sev got the Schweinbratwurst ($24), the waitress advised him that the dish came only with the sausage, nothing else, and that he should order a side. He got the gnocchi for $11 more.

The sausage was pretty big so it’s likely the gnocchi would not have been necessary, although it might have looked weird alone on the plate.

Sev really liked his and I snacked some of it too—it was fantastic. I probably would have stuck with the polenta still, but he preferred the sausage, so everyone was happy.

I snuck a look inside the restaurant and it was so cute and cozy! It feels like a little rustic alcove far away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Right next to the restaurant is an interesting-looking playground/obstacle course where you can burn off the extra calories from the food.

When we were finished we walked to the ETH Honggerberg campus and took the bus back home. Sev says he would give the location 5 snacks, but the food 3 because of how he had to pay separately for his sausage and gnocchi.

I agree, we give it 3.5 snacks, but still say it’s worth a look if you want to escape the city without leaving.