Hiltl

The Oldest Salad Bar on Earth

3.5 of 5

Haus Hiltl was founded in 1898 by Ambrosius Hiltl, and Guinness World Records recognizes it as the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world. Read that again. A vegetarian restaurant older than most countries' food laws. It sits at Sihlstrasse 28 and has outlasted every green juice trend, every cauliflower steak, and every chef who ever said meat-free was a fad.

It runs several formats under one name. A restaurant, a bistro, takeaway and a buffet, all with vegetarian and vegan options. Opening hours are generous. Monday to Thursday from 7 in the morning until 10 at night, Friday until 11, Saturday from 8 until 11, and Sunday from 10 until 10. That is a place built for habits. People eat here before work, after the theater, and on lazy Sundays, and the staff has seen all of them.

I trust a place that has run for well over a century on principle alone. Buffets fail in all sorts of ways, so build your plate with some restraint. Go around once to look, then go again with a plan. Take the terrace in summer if the weather cooperates. This is not tasting menu theater. It is a working kitchen that happens to be a world record holder, and it feeds meat eaters without making a speech about it.

Order this: The buffet, built slowly, A table-service dish if you want to sit properly, Something from the bakery side for the road
The damage: $$
Go: Any evening, or a Sunday from ten
Find it: Sihlstrasse 28, 8001 Zürich