Restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland
Michelin-starred vegetables, serious booking effort required.
EquiTable holds a Michelin star (2024) and a We're Smart Green Guide listing for its plant-forward set-menu cooking in Zurich's district 4. Chef Julian Marti runs four to seven courses built around seasonal, locally sourced produce. Book well in advance — this small room is hard to get into — and flag vegan requirements at reservation. At €€€€, it earns its price for food-focused diners marking a special occasion.
If you are planning a milestone dinner in Zurich and want a Michelin-starred room where vegetables genuinely drive the menu rather than merely appearing as an afterthought, EquiTable is the booking to make. Chef Julian Marti holds a Michelin star (2024) and has earned recognition from the We're Smart Green Guide for his plant-forward approach at Stauffacherstrasse 163 in district 4. This is the restaurant for food-focused travellers who want precise, seasonal cooking with a sustainability backbone, not a tourist-facing Swiss brasserie. If that description fits your occasion, read on. If you want a la carte flexibility or a buzzy shared-plates format, you will likely be better served elsewhere in the city.
EquiTable operates on a set-menu format, running four to seven courses depending on the evening. The kitchen is guided by the Think Vegetables, Think Fruit philosophy championed by We're Smart, which means the plate is organised around seasonal produce sourced from local, fairtrade, and organic suppliers wherever possible. That is not a marketing claim: it is the selection criterion the We're Smart Green Guide used when deciding to include Marti's restaurant in their directory alongside a handful of similar operators across Europe.
The dining room itself is small, with a minimalist interior that reads urban and international rather than Alpine-traditional. Maîtresse and sommelier Sandra Brack runs the front of house, and multiple sources note the atmosphere as genuinely relaxed and the service as charming without being stiff. For a Michelin-starred room, that is a meaningful differentiator: many comparable addresses in this price tier tip toward formal in a way that dulls the experience for guests who are not there for ceremony. At EquiTable the food is the ceremony.
The wine list leans into Swiss, German, and French bottles, and wine pairing is available alongside an alcohol-free alternative — a practical detail worth noting if you are celebrating with a non-drinker. The sommelier-led recommendations are described as thoughtful rather than encyclopaedic, which suits the intimate scale of the room. Google reviewers give the venue 4.8 from 312 ratings, a score that holds up well for a small Zurich restaurant where a handful of disappointed covers could shift the average considerably.
Honest answer here is that EquiTable's public-facing information does not clearly differentiate a lunch service from the dinner experience, and no lunch-specific pricing or menu has been confirmed in available data. What is confirmed is a set-menu format of four to seven courses. At the €€€€ price tier in Zurich, dinner is almost certainly where the full tasting format runs; if a shorter or lower-priced lunch menu exists, it has not been publicly documented in a way that allows a confident recommendation. If lunch value is a priority for your visit, contact the restaurant directly to confirm what is on offer before booking , do not assume a midday discount applies. For the full seasonal tasting experience with wine pairing, dinner is the safe and substantiated choice.
One clarification worth making before you book: EquiTable is not a fully vegan restaurant by default. Vegetables lead, but the kitchen works with animal products. A full vegan menu is available, but it must be requested at the time of booking , it does not appear automatically. Vegetarian guests are accommodated as standard. If your group includes someone who needs a fully plant-based menu, flag it when you reserve. Failing to do so means the kitchen cannot guarantee the adaptation. This is a practical issue that affects groups with mixed dietary requirements more than solo diners or couples where everyone eats the same way.
Booking difficulty is rated hard. For a small Michelin-starred restaurant in Zurich with a loyal local following and growing international recognition from guides like We're Smart, that rating is credible. Book as far in advance as your schedule allows, and treat the vegan menu request as part of the reservation process rather than an on-the-night conversation. No phone number is listed in current records; reservations most likely go through the restaurant's own booking system or a third-party platform. Confirm this when you search , do not rely on walk-in availability for a special occasion.
| Detail | EquiTable | IGNIV Zürich | KLE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michelin Stars | 1 Star (2024) | 1 Star | None listed |
| Price Tier | €€€€ | €€€€ | €€€ |
| Format | 4–7 course set menu | Sharing plates | Vegan tasting |
| Vegan Option | By prior request | On request | Default |
| Booking Difficulty | Hard | Hard | Moderate |
| Dress Code | Not confirmed | Smart casual | Casual |
For context on Switzerland's wider fine-dining tier, comparable addresses worth knowing include Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, Hotel de Ville Crissier in Crissier, Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in Basel, and Memories in Bad Ragaz. For international modern cuisine benchmarks using a similar set-menu format, Frantzén in Stockholm and FZN by Björn Frantzén in Dubai represent the upper end of the category globally. Closer to Zurich, 7132 Silver in Vals and Colonnade in Lucerne are worth adding to any Switzerland fine-dining itinerary.
If you are spending time in district 4 or nearby, Zurich has a strong mid-tier restaurant scene worth exploring. Wirtschaft im FRANZ, Heugümper, and Wöschi each offer a different register of the Zurich dining experience at a lower price point. For the full city picture, see our full Zurich restaurants guide, plus hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences guides for planning the rest of your trip.
For a different take at the same €€€€ tier, IGNIV Zürich by Andreas Caminada is the strongest comparison: also Michelin-starred, but built around a sharing-plates format that suits groups better than EquiTable's set menu. The Counter offers creative cooking at €€€€ if you want something more accessible in format. If budget is a factor, KLE operates a plant-focused menu at €€€ and is easier to book. Kronenhalle is the right call if you want traditional Swiss cooking and a room with historical atmosphere rather than seasonal fine dining.
Yes, with caveats. The Michelin star, thoughtful sommelier service, and multi-course format make it a credible special-occasion booking , an anniversary dinner, a milestone birthday for a food-focused guest, or a significant work dinner where the setting needs to carry weight. The relaxed atmosphere means it works for celebrations that do not require formal ceremony. The main caveat: if anyone in your group needs a fully vegan menu, flag it at booking. Arriving on the night and requesting it is not an option the kitchen can guarantee.
The restaurant is described as small, which suggests group capacity is limited. For large parties, contact the venue directly before assuming availability , a set-menu format in a small room does not naturally scale to groups of eight or more without prior arrangement. For a group celebration in Zurich at the same price tier, IGNIV Zürich's sharing-plates model is structurally better suited to larger tables.
Dinner. The confirmed format is a four-to-seven course set menu, which is a dinner-oriented structure. No lunch menu has been documented in available records. If a lunch service exists, the scope and pricing are unconfirmed , contact the restaurant before planning a midday visit. For the full seasonal tasting experience with wine pairing, book dinner and treat it as an event rather than a meal.
No dress code has been formally published. At a Michelin-starred restaurant in Zurich at the €€€€ price point, smart casual is a safe baseline , clean, considered clothing that matches the seriousness of the occasion without requiring black tie. The interior is described as minimalist and urban rather than traditional grand dining, so you do not need to over-formalize. If in doubt, dress as you would for any serious European fine-dining room and you will be appropriately turned out.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| EquiTable | €€€€ | Hard | — |
| IGNIV Zürich by Andreas Caminada | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| KLE | €€€ | Unknown | — |
| Kronenhalle | €€€ | Unknown | — |
| The Counter | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Eden Kitchen & Bar | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
How EquiTable stacks up against the competition.
For a different angle on Michelin-level dining in Zurich, IGNIV Zürich by Andreas Caminada offers a sharing-format experience that suits groups better than EquiTable's set-menu structure. KLE is worth considering if you want a sleeker, design-forward room at a comparable price point. Kronenhalle suits those who want classic Zurich atmosphere over modern produce-driven cooking. If you want a more relaxed, lower-commitment meal in the same district, The Counter and Eden Kitchen & Bar are accessible alternatives without the booking difficulty.
Yes, provided the format suits you. EquiTable holds a Michelin star (2024), runs a four-to-seven course set menu, and the front-of-house is led by an experienced maître d' and sommelier — the structure is built for occasion dining. The room is small and minimalist rather than grand, so if you want a celebratory atmosphere with theatrical scale, look elsewhere. For a milestone dinner where the food and wine pairing are the event, this works well.
EquiTable is a small restaurant on a corner plot in district 4, and the set-menu format limits flexibility for large parties. Groups of two to four are the natural fit. If you are planning for six or more, check the venue's official channels before booking — the kitchen's ability to accommodate dietary variations (including the vegan menu, which requires advance notice) will also need to be confirmed at that stage.
The available information does not confirm a separate lunch service at EquiTable, so dinner is the safe booking assumption. If a lunch sitting matters to you, verify directly with the restaurant before planning around it — the Michelin listing and We're Smart recognition both reference the set-menu format without specifying a midday service.
The room is described as minimalist with an urban, international feel — not a formal white-tablecloth environment. Smart casual is a reasonable baseline: no need for a jacket, but this is a €€€€ Michelin-starred dinner, so dress accordingly. Think well-put-together rather than dressy.
Location
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