Gasthof zur Sonne

Traditional inn with cozy and modern dining rooms, located in the picturesque Altmühl Valley in a river bend. Among other things, they serve pasture-raised lamb and a four-course menu.

Its shores are already almost completely built up; only Lake Zurich itself remains as it always has. And just as before, it supplies chef-owner Caesar Meyer with plentiful ingredients for the refined dining at the listed “Sonne” restaurant, complete with an elegant dining room and terrace. The small fish burger served as an amuse-bouche set the tone. It was followed by a Jerusalem artichoke soup featuring a parfait made from the liver of the smelt, a fish that professional angler Sämi Weidmann only catches in winter. Next came a reimagined Italian classic, the Vitello carpa: finely sliced roast veal is served not with tuna sauce but with carp sauce, proving that exquisite cuisine can certainly be achieved with a freshwater fish. Rather than marine delicacies, the invasive signal crayfish from Lake Zurich feature in another house specialty: an outstanding bisque crowned with a delicate pike dumpling. Also sourced directly from the lake in front of the house are the trout fillet prepared à la meunière, the confit pike fillet with olive tapenade, scallop mussels, and yacon purée, as well as the poached whitefish fillet served with a Stäfa mushroom sauce. Given such a strong emphasis on local sourcing, the impressive wine list naturally includes excellent crus from the vineyards along Lake Zurich’s shores.