The first sight that greets you at Hiltl is the buffet. Long counters gleam under soft lights, laden with a dazzling spectrum of colours and scents. Guests move along the line in quiet awe, trays in hand, eyes darting between the familiar and the unexpected. There’s no hierarchy here, and quinoa and curry, hummus and risotto, all coexist. “Our buffet is Zurich’s passport to the world,” says Sabrina Baumer, a server. “People come from everywhere, and still find something that reminds them of home.”
A pair of Swiss businessmen exchange quiet conversations over white wine. A young family settles by the window with heaping plates. Near the salad bar, Luca Schmid, a regular, sums up the sentiment: “You don’t come here just to eat. You come for the energy — it’s like being part of a story that’s been unfolding for more than a hundred years.”
That story began in 1898, when vegetarianism in Europe was considered eccentric at best. Ambrosius Hiltl, stricken with rheumatism, was advised to give up meat. The improvement in his health turned him into a believer. Hearing of a struggling vegetarian café in Zurich, he took it over.
At first, people believed the restaurant would close within months. Yet Hiltl persisted, refining recipes, experimenting with flavours, and introducing a philosophy of conscious eating decades before the term existed.
Through the 20th century, Hiltl quietly became a hub for health enthusiasts, intellectuals, and travellers. In 2012, Guinness World Records recognised it as the world’s oldest continuously operating vegetarian restaurant, a testament to endurance and evolution.
Today, Hiltl’s space on Sihlstrasse hums from morning until midnight. Spread across multiple levels, it includes a vast buffet, a bistro, an a la carte restaurant, and even a late-night bar—a meeting point for every type of diner.
The buffet alone features more than 100 dishes, which change with the seasons. “People are often surprised,” Sabrina says. “They expect vegetarian food to be simple, maybe even dull. But here, they realise it can be bold, rich, indulgent.”
Indian cuisine has long been part of Hiltl’s menu, a tribute to one of the world’s great vegetarian traditions. From butter paneer and vegetable samosas to tangy mango chutney, the flavours of India appear daily.
At lunch time, Hiltl veritably thrums with energy. Business meetings blend into birthday lunches, locals mingle with tourists, and conversations drift between German, English, French, and Hindi. Office-goers, students, and late-night diners all find a place here.
In an era when plant-based eating is mainstream, Hiltl could have become a relic of its own success. But it has remained contemporary. Menus shift with the seasons, drawing inspiration from Zurich’s diverse population: vegan lasagna one month, jackfruit curry the next.
Vegetarianism here isn’t a lifestyle statement or trend; it’s a blend of craftsmanship, patience, and imagination. The founder once said: “Good food speaks to both body and spirit.” A century later, that belief threads through every dish.