The Kronenhalle, on the Limmat just below Bellevueplatz, is the grandest classical restaurant in Zurich and one of the most important art-collecting restaurants in the world. The walls of the wood-panelled dining rooms hang with original works by Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Miró, Klee, Braque and Bonnard, all acquired or given by the artists themselves to the owners between the 1920s and 1960s.
The food is classical Swiss-Continental — boiled beef, sweetbreads, Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, Crêpes Suzette flambéed at the table by frock-coated waiters — and it is not the most exciting cooking in town, but the room is unforgettable and the service is the best in Zurich. The attached Kronenhalle Bar is a separately famous cocktail bar with a long history of its own. Reservations essential; dress smartly.