Luckily for me, eating well in Basel is a straightforward matter. Eating well and cheaply is another story all together. But affordable options can be found. Here’s the scoop on two “surprise” dinners I had while in Basel: one a rather upscale affair, the other decidedly low brow and mercifully low priced. I’ve also listed a few other quality venues for food and drink that I came across during my Basel city break.
Restaurant Rubino
My first evening in Basel presented an opportunity to enjoy one of the more refined dining experiences of an especially delicious year at the lovely Restaurant Rubino, where diners are invited to leave any irksome decision making with Chef Manuela Buser and go with her Menü Surprise. So I did and was indeed glad to have done so. Basically, I was asked if I preferred vegetarian, meat or fish and if I was up for two, three, four or five courses. I requested a three course mix of meat and fish.
Soon enough a fantastic Trentino white wine (Muri-Gries Sudtirol Terlaner Weissburgunder 2012) was brought to my table along with a “pizza Margherita divided” amuse bouche – both of which were so perfectly pleasing to my palate that they left me wondering if somebody actually had been studying my blog in anticipation of my visit. A starter course of tuna tartare with gremolata followed by a magnificent main of veal in a lemon sauce served with roasted baby potatoes and seasonal vegetables and paired with a glass of Syrah from Cyprus (was actually good) kept the taste buds popping. A finale course of Jaipur curry crème brûlée intrigued and delighted in equal measure.
Service was gracious and friendly. The dining room: airy, clean, and filled with natural light. Plan to spend at least 75CHF (about £50) for a couple of courses with wine. Making a reservation would be wise. Restaurant Rubino is located at Luftgässlein 1, CH-4051 near the city’s main cathedral (Basler Muenster).
Visit the restaurant online at rubino-basel.ch.
Restaurant Eintracht
My second surprise dining experience came the next evening at Restaurant Eintracht, a quaint and family run dinner located across the Rhein in the traditionally working class neighbourhood of Kleinbasel. Eintracht is famous (among Baslers anyway) for its “mega” Cordon Bleu. But based on a local’s recommendation (cheers Lea!), I opted for the “menu mir isch glich” which at 9.90CHF (roughly £6.50) was a veritable bargain. “Mir isch glich” translates to something along the lines of “whatever you’ve got, I’ll eat it.”
During my din-din the kitchen had fleischkäse (something along the lines of mortadello) at hand. Plenty of it as well. I got two steak-sized cuts of fleischkäse preceded by a cup of veggie soup and served with a heap of rosemary seasoned fries. It all went down a charm with a glass of Swiss lager Feldschossen.
Service was personable and appreciative. The vibe was homey. Restaurant Eintracht is located at Oetlingerstrasse 64, 4057.
For details go to eintracht-basel.ch.
More
Here are a few other tasty highlights from my Basel city break:
Acero: Ace little eiscafe (cafe serving ice cream) with lots of homemade treats and a lovely and spacious garden in the back. Excellent pistachio ice cream here! eiscafe-acero.ch
Buvette Landestelle: Hanging out by the river and drinking a cold one seems to be as Basel as it gets – in the summertime anyway. And a great place to do just that is at Buvette Landestelle. Once a “favela” installation for Art Basel 2013, this open air bar and restaurant is the place to be if you like the idea of a laid back and post industrial setting with loads of street art to admire. landestelle.ch
Glaus’s: Traditional cheesemonger on upscale retail row of Spalenberg Strasse with more than 250 different cheeses, mostly Swiss. There’s no online presence that I can find but the address is Spalenberg 12, 4051. Telephone number is 0612618008.
Läckerli Huus: Basler läckerli is a gingery biscuit, and according to just about everybody I encountered this huus sells the best in town along with a range of other traditional sweets. lackerli-huus.ch
Läderach: Maybe you’ve heard that the Swiss have a thing about milk chocolate? Well in Basel, Läderach is reckoned to be the top shop for chocolate yummies for all price ranges and occasions. laederach.com
Union Restaurant: This cool “American” style restaurant with an awesome burger menu was a perfect venue for catching some World Cup action on the big screen. My waitress asserted my Brie bacon burger was to be the best I would ever have. It wasn’t, but it might well have been the most gorgeous smelling cheeseburger ever to have been placed beneath my greedy chin. Yummy stuff! A glass of the region’s own Quintus, Valentin Schiess Pinot Noir, Gamaret was a winner too. The look and feel of this place was kind of like a Swiss outlet of the London burger chain, Byron. Prices were in line with that comparison too, maybe a little more dear. union-restaurant.com
More posts about my Basel weekend are on their way. So please keep an eye out for more tips on having a Rhein time in this compact city that’s big on culture.
