Josef

It’s been a while since I visited Restaurant Josef, but the memory has refused to fade — which says a lot, considering how many dinners I’ve had since. The atmosphere was warm in that effortless, quietly confident way, and the team created a vibe that made the whole evening feel easy and welcoming. The food was genuinely impressive — thoughtful dishes with bold, well-balanced flavors that clearly came from people who care about what they put on the plate. Every course had its own little moment, and together they made the evening feel special without being showy. So yes, it’s been some time, but I’m still grateful for that night, still thinking of the great experience, and still plotting my return. Thanks to the team for making it one of those moments that sticks with you — the good kind, not the haunting kind.

Analysis below, in short: cannot recommend. Great food but audiciously tiny portions for 25 CHF, extremely overpriced. Standard in general not high enough for what you pay. Price: 2/10 Very expensive (around 22 to 25 CHF per dish), the dishes are not even starter sizes, I am serious (see picture). The duck for example is only one slice of duck breast, the fish the same. CHF 4.50 per person for water and another 4.50 for bread per person. Even for ZH a lot. Atmosphere: 8/10 Very nice location, not too noisy, great decoration. Tables very close together Food: 8/10 Great quality food, very tasty. The duck came quite raw and was only average. The fish dishes are great. The portion sizes are a joke. The menu recommends 4 portions, in reality you need 6 to 7 (also women). Service and other: 5/10 All waiters cut the bread by holding it in their bare hand (not holding it in a towel). One of them came from the smoke break and proceeded to directly touch the guests bread (unacceptable). Empty restaurant but guests are being kept waiting for 5 minutes at the reception despite reservation, as no staff was there. All waiters are friendly but obviously not trained personnel as occasionally they just lean into the table to take bottles/plates without even asking.

I really liked the atmosphere and concept of this bar-restaurant. The menu is very creative and the dishes very nicely prepared. Particularly liked the pork, deer and salmon trout that were great to share on top. Also the tortellinis and risotto with crab were very tasty. The food was not always as hot as it should be, but definitely a cosy place to spend the evening with friends or good colleagues. Suggested wine (Pinot Noir Graubunden) was very nice too. In the meantime I went a few times and food always is delicious. Quite expensive though.

Last night, I had dinner at Josef and was absolutely blown away by the quality of the food, the warm hospitality, and the cozy atmosphere. The restaurant was packed on a Saturday evening, so keep in mind that they have two sittings per night. Josef offers a small-plate dining experience, with four dishes recommended per person. Since I’m not a big eater, I opted for two dishes plus a dessert, which was just the right amount for me. I started with the Cured Char with pickled radish and cucumber gazpacho—a beautifully balanced dish with fresh, vibrant flavors. For my main, I had the Flambéed Sturgeon with citrus risotto, smoked beurre blanc, and pickled egg yolk. The risotto was unlike anything I’ve had before—creamy, flavorful, and perfectly executed. My friend ordered the Scallop Tortellini with fennel and crustacean bisque, as well as the Pan-Fried Pike-Perch (Zander) with broccoletti, salicorn, and verjus beurre blanc. She was just as delighted with her choices. Beyond the incredible food, the service was genuinely friendly and welcoming, adding to the overall experience. An excellent dining spot—I’ll definitely be back and highly recommend it!

Another hidden gem in the midst of Zurichs chaos. I was recently taken here by a friend who had been raving about for quite some time. Initially I wasn't convinced but was quickly surprised once I took a look at their menu. Quite modern, great attention to detail and magnificent cooking skills. We truly enjoyed our dinner here and would recommend it to anyone who loves food.

I will never understand why people are upset about prices or the size of dishes at restaurants like this. Josef is super transparent in what they do and what you can expect: either order 3-4 dishes or take the menu and you’ll be satisfied and happy. And yes it costs 100 chf cause the produce is local, fresh, excellent. The wine list is well written, interesting, fairly priced. The staff is genuinely friendly and knowledgeable and will make sure you have a good time, even when the place is full and they are operating at full speed! Can’t wait to be back in Fall and Winter and see what they put on the menu!

Nice atmosphere and good food. Small dishes, recommended to order 4 plates per person. Each plate is around CHF 20, so this is (at least) CHF 80 per person just for the food.

Amazing place! The dishes were really good and their bread was delicious! We had 6 dishes for 2 with bread and we were satisfied. Delicious drinks too!

This place was crazy noisy, expensive and just weird. We stayed for about 10 minutes and had to just leave. My recommendation is that if you have a lot of money to blow on drinks then come here and do that, but don't plan to enjoy a meal.

The beef tartare was incredible, the octopus was okay, and the pork was delicious (but a little dry). The atmosphere was cute and trendy, but I think it's ok I left my mustache at home. Service was great and they speak very good English. I enjoyed a beer outside before my food came. Side note: the olive bread is to die for.

Good value in Zurich for the amount & quality of food you get! You get to decide how many dishes you want - from 2 all the way to 7 or more! They're all small portions so I ordered 4 and my friend ordered 5 and we were stuffed by the end. It's great that you get to try a variety of dishes this way. They're also known for their cocktails, especially gin based. MUST GET: beef tartare, asparagus risotto, onsen egg, hamachi, and the prime rib dish. Although they probably change their menu depending on what ingredients they have that week. You should definitely a reservation online! It is quite full most of the time.

I've only been here once for a private party, but it's an awesome venue for a large gathering of people. I guess it also helped that there was an open bar. ;) Plenty of space for sitting and chatting, we could sit and eat our dinner at the white table-clothed tables, the food and drink stations were set up around the sides, and open area in the middle was great for dancing and having lots of fun! :)

First time I was here and surprisingly excellent place for a dinner. Ambiance is rocky a bit noisy but food is definitely great. Portions are small and pricy but it's Zürich, one of the world most expensive city. Wine card is also nice and the portugaise wine we took was great. So, if you can afford it, I'd really suggest to come and confirm what i said.

Fantastic dinner! The ambiance would be appropriate for any occassion whether it's a first date, third date, or a party of friends. The interior is filled with funky wall art alongside classic wooden tables and bar. The lighting is dim, but the ambiance is lively. The menu is comprised of tasting plates which change regularly, and you can choose how many you'd like: 2 plates for 36 CHF, 3 plates for 48 CHF, 4 plates for 59 CHF, etc. They recommend 3 plates for an "average appetite." Since it's tasting plates, you can imagine that the portions are small. BUT don't be put off by the size-- they pack a lot of flavor into those small dishes! I don't know how long these will stay on the menu, but my top items of the night were the: 1) Hausgemachte Tagliarini an Tintenfisch Tomatensauce: Housemade Tagliarini with Squid Ragu. The pasta was al dente under the sweet and briny tomato sauce. The squid made for a creative alternative to a typically meat-based ragu! 2) Mistkratzerli aus dem Ofen mit Wirz und Semmelknödel: Oven-roasted Chicken with Cabbage & Bread Dumpling: The moist and flavorful chicken was accompanied by tender cabbage which was an awesome contrast to the bread dumpling, my favorite element of the dish, pan-fried and super crispy. 3) Gebratene Jakobsmuscheln mit weissem Bohnenpürée und marinierten Carciofini: Seared Scallop with Artichoke & White Bean Puree. The single scallop was perfectly cooked with a crisp, caramelized outside and translucent, buttery inside. This plate was given to us gratis because the food was taking forever to come to the table, which brings me to my next point... The service is SLOW. I couldn't tell if it was the waitress, or if the kitchen couldn't handle the volume of people. Either way, reservations are definitely needed, and don't be late! We were late for ours, and were pretty much rushed out before we could order dessert. I would have loved to try one of them seeing how great the rest of the meal was, but I suppose that's our own fault & leaves something to find out for next time!

Josef was one of the few places we found on a Saturday evening, 11pm, still serving food. Staff was very kind and they explained us that the 5 course Josef menu was not available anymore (hmm.. at 11pm we wouldn't have wanted that anyway), but all the rest were in the menu. Place was VERY crowded at that time, we were lucky enough that they found one spare table of 2 people so we could sit. The philosophy at Josef is rather different: food comes in small portions and you can choose any 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the menu for fixed prices. For 2 you pay 39 and for 3 47, if I remember well. Also, all the meals are quite unusual and very carefully prepared. I had risotto nero with calamari and roasted chicken with sweet sauce and sweet/spicy roesti. It was very tasty, unlike anything I have tried before. I will clearly go back and check all the other stuff they have in the menu! It seems to be a wonderful place for a special night. However, I would recommend making a reservation before hand, as, from what I saw, people seem to really like it..

Celebrated my birthday this year here! Found them via Yelp and had no expectations. Though the venue is nostalgic and worn down, the food & service was outstanding! Didn't expect such quality dishes to come out of that kitchen, but they impressed!

This is Tapas style, and it is great because it means you get to try a wider variety of dishes! Definitely delish. Would eat again.

Delicious food, great ambiance. Careful attention to dietary restrictions. Awesome dinner.

This place is one of my favorites. The interior is nice and the food is great !! You should try the beef tartare. House cocktails are most of the time well-chosen and the staff is very friendly (, hipsterish) and helpful. In the summer nice atmosphere outside. Book in advance - closed on sundays. A small downside is that you have to come in shifts (7 p.m. or 9 p.m.)

One of my favorite restaurants in Zurich and even a nice place just for a lone beer. The interior is designed nicely. Plates are small, but very well executed and thought out. It is gourmet in the sense that they use very technical techniques and very well thought out. We end up having 3 plates; one starter, one entre-like dish, and something else, then a shared desert. Notes: Menu is in German and the place may be a little hard to find since the name is not clearly written on the restaurant. It is on the corner of the block. The bill for two people is probably around 100 francs.

Amazing small plate food. If you're solo it has an awesome bar to sit at and enjoy a culinary delighted menu and service. GREAT wines by the glass. Also to note this menu is very Paleo friendly.

For my birthday, my colleagues gave me a copy of the magazine "Zürich Geht Aus" - and decided that I should pick a place to visit after work one day. Thus, we ended up at Josef for one of the best meals I've had in a really long time. I'm not a fancy food kind of person (especially not fancy European cuisine), so I was a little hesitant about coming here. The steep prices didn't help. But!!! With that said, everything I had here was so amazingly good that I would love to come back again. I shared a few plates with a colleague, and half the time I didn't even want to give the other half to her because the food was just that good. We'll start with the food that, in comparison to everything else I tried, was just "okay" and nothing special (please note that "okay" here still means "good") - that'd be the beef tartar. The scallop carpaccio with watercress was not bad, but there was way too much spice/flavor to the watercress, which took away from the simplicity of the scallops. I also had a chance to try the pork (from a pig fed on some kind of special milk - I didn't really follow the staff's impressively detailed explanation), which was good. The steak was delicious, and the mashed potatoes were actually sweet. My fave, though, was hands-down the octopus. It was crispy and flavorful, and I wanted to order a second plate of it. Honestly, each dish had its own distinct taste, and most of the time, one portion isn't enough because the food is just so good, you want more of the same! But I'm really glad they came in small portions so I got to try a little bit of everything. Before I forget, the service is really impressive - it's not often you go somewhere where the waiters/waitresses actually know what they're talking about, but at Josef, they know their shit. The waitress was able to tell us about each of the dishes we ordered (in more detail than I could understand, given my language skills) to a scarily impressive degree - it was GREAT. All in all, a great experience. If I were a little richer, I'd come back more often. ;)

Smokey corner, trendy busy place. not a place for a quiet evening. one half is used as a bar, another half is the restaurant. was just there to have a drink. service so-so, probably because it's so busy. dishes are small, so recommended : 3 or 4 dishes instead of one main course, which can be expensive (about 45CHF in total)

Delicious, Tapas style or tasting menu available. Interesting and artsy food options, service could be better.

Delicious food. Fun atmosphere. Great wine. We went there when white asparagus was in season. I have been ordering white asparagus dish everywhere I go to take an advantage of it. This one was good too! The perfect place for a casual date night! You will have a fantastic start on your evening. Can't wait to go back there when I'm in town next.

My wife and I had dinner at Josef on a Monday night. We were welcomed and sat down quickly - the place is busy even for the start of the week. We decided on the 3 courses option each and shared all the dishes (after we both had decent lunches - we opted for the light dinner and bottle of wine option). The food really tasted good. On the positive side: Good wine selection, nice staff, good concept and atmosphere.. on the negative side: the plates are very small - regardless of how good they were, we had 3 shrimps on a big plate - considered as one dish. Even my wife, who is petite was not close to full after her dinner. Good but no overall feeling of satisfaction when you leave this place...

LieblingsCafe Züri! Sweet decor, well portioned off beat menu and great drink selections. Conveniently located close to nice bars year round. Go with a friend you are comfortable sharing with, if adventurous do the Chef menu as it ends up being similar price to your personally ordered plates. Make reservations. Hausmade Raviolis will not dissapoint, lecker!!!!

Excellent modern European cuisine!! It's a small plates concept where you order 2-3 items. Everything we had was delicious and ver well prepared. Definitely try the Onsen Egg, you will never have a better, more perfectly cooked egg. The calamari was extremely tender and tasty. Friendly, efficient service. Good wine list too!

Food is realy good, service too. But prices are too high, even for Zurich.

Good food and nice atmosphere. Expensive but not unusually so for Zurich. Small plates are the specialty, with combinations of two or three on the menu. The two of us had four and a bottle of wine. But the highlight was the personable waitress who gave us lots boom great suggestions about what to see in and around Zurich. The tartare was good as were the other three dishes.