Restaurant in Zurich, Switzerland
Plant-based Michelin cooking. Book early.
KLE earned its 2024 Michelin star by doing something most vegan kitchens cannot: building genuine flavour complexity across a multi-course surprise menu, with Moroccan and Mexican influences shaping a plant-based kitchen that is technically confident rather than merely virtuous. At €€€, it is priced below most of Zurich's starred rooms. Book the longer menu format and reserve well in advance — covers go fast.
If you're choosing between KLE and Zurich's more conventional Michelin-starred dining rooms, the decision comes down to what you want the kitchen to do. The Restaurant will give you classical creative cooking with richer proteins and deeper wine integration. KLE will show you what a rigorous, technically confident kitchen can do when meat and dairy are removed entirely — and that is a harder problem to solve well. Chef Zineb Hattab solves it convincingly enough to earn a Michelin star in 2024. Book here if plant-based cooking at this tier is what you're after; go elsewhere if it isn't.
KLE sits at Zweierstrasse 114 in Zürich's Kreis 3 district, operating out of what the Michelin guide describes as a charming pub setting. The room is modest by starred-restaurant standards — no grand hotel backdrop, no designer fit-out. What you're paying for is on the plate and in the structure of the meal. In the evening, Hattab serves a surprise tasting menu of four to six courses, built around plant ingredients that draw simultaneously on Moroccan and Mexican culinary traditions. Regionality and sustainability inform sourcing decisions, and that principle extends to the wine list. Google reviewers score it 4.6 from 567 reviews , strong for a restaurant at this price point in a competitive dining city.
The technical case for KLE rests on what Hattab does with flavour architecture in the absence of animal fats. Vegan fine dining fails most often at depth , dishes that are technically accomplished but lack the layered richness that makes a tasting menu feel satisfying over five or six courses. Hattab's background gives her an unusual toolkit: training under Andreas Caminada (one of Switzerland's most decorated chefs, whose own restaurant Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau holds multiple Michelin stars) alongside time at Cosme in New York, which is one of the more serious Mexican kitchens in the United States. That cross-cultural fluency shows in a menu that does not simply replace meat with vegetables , it uses spice logic, fermentation, and regional produce in ways that build genuine complexity. The Michelin citation specifically notes that flavours are spot-on, sometimes very creative, and always delivered with passion. For a first visit, trust the full surprise menu rather than opting for the shorter format.
For comparison, Zurich has other strong plant-forward options, but none that operate at this award level within the city. Légume in Seoul and Seven Swans in Frankfurt are the most useful international reference points for vegan fine dining at Michelin standard , KLE belongs in that company.
Booking difficulty is rated hard. A Michelin star earned in 2024 at a small neighbourhood restaurant with limited covers means the reservation window is tight. Book as far in advance as your plans allow , last-minute availability is unlikely on weekends, and even weekday tables will require forward planning. The evening tasting menu format means this is not a drop-in dinner; arrive with time allocated for a full multi-course experience. If you are visiting Zurich as part of a wider Switzerland trip, it is worth noting that starred alternatives in the surrounding region include Hotel de Ville Crissier, Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in Basel, Memories in Bad Ragaz, Maison Wenger in Le Noirmont, and Einstein Gourmet in Sankt Gallen , none of which overlap with KLE's cuisine profile.
Pricing sits at €€€ , below the €€€€ tier occupied by many of Zurich's other starred rooms. For the level of cooking and the Michelin credential, that is good value by Swiss standards. The surprise menu structure means you are not choosing dishes on arrival; communicate dietary restrictions clearly when booking rather than on the night.
| Detail | KLE | IGNIV Zürich | The Restaurant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | €€€ | €€€€ | €€€€ |
| Cuisine | Vegan, creative | Sharing format | Creative |
| Michelin | 1 Star (2024) | Yes | Yes |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Hard | Hard |
| Menu format | Surprise tasting menu | Sharing dishes | Tasting menu |
Book KLE if plant-based cooking at Michelin level is a priority, if you want to eat at a genuinely creative kitchen rather than a hotel restaurant, or if you are curious what serious vegan fine dining looks and tastes like at this tier. Do not book expecting a conventional fine-dining room , the setting is a pub, the format is a surprise menu, and the experience is built around the food rather than the surroundings. First-timers should choose the longer menu format (six courses where available) to get the full range of the kitchen. If you are bringing a mixed group where vegan food is not universally welcomed, this is not the right choice , the commitment to plant-based cooking is total, not optional. For those diners, IGNIV Zürich by Andreas Caminada or The Counter are better fits.
For other directions in Zurich's dining scene, DAR and Marktküche offer strong alternatives at different price points and formats. A broader overview of what to eat in the city is in our full Zurich restaurants guide. If you are planning the full trip, our Zurich hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the rest.
Yes, at €€€ it is priced below most of Zurich's Michelin-starred rooms, which run at €€€€. For plant-based cooking at this technical level, with a 2024 Michelin star and a 4.6 Google rating from over 500 reviews, it represents good value within the Swiss fine-dining market. The comparison that matters: you will spend more at IGNIV or The Restaurant for a different style of cooking, not a better one.
Yes, and it is the only format available in the evening. Choose the longer option (six courses) over the four-course version if given the choice , the Moroccan and Mexican influences in the cooking tend to build across the meal, and the shorter format compresses the range. Chef Hattab's training under Andreas Caminada and at Cosme in New York is most visible over a full menu rather than a truncated one.
Smart casual is the right call. The room is a pub setting, not a hotel dining room, so a jacket is not required , but this is a Michelin-starred restaurant at €€€ pricing, so dress accordingly. Zurich's dining culture trends towards understated elegance rather than formal. Think well-put-together rather than dressed up.
Specific seating configurations at KLE are not confirmed in our data. Given the pub setting and limited covers, bar or counter seating may exist, but this is not verified. Contact the restaurant directly to confirm options. Do not rely on walk-in availability at the bar , the booking difficulty is rated hard and covers are likely fully committed on most evenings.
For vegan fine dining specifically, KLE has no direct equivalent in Zurich at Michelin level , it is the clearest choice in that category. If you want creative tasting-menu cooking without the plant-based constraint, The Restaurant and IGNIV Zürich are the nearest comparisons in terms of ambition, though both sit at €€€€. For a lower price point with serious cooking, DAR and Marktküche are worth considering. See our full Zurich restaurants guide for more options across formats and price tiers.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| KLE | Chef Zineb Hattab knows how to work with pure plant ingredients. The flavors are spot-on, sometimes very creative, and always delivered with passion. Zürich is fortunate to have many pure plant-based chefs and restaurants. Kle also stands for diversity, equality, and inclusivity when it comes to the team. We’re Smart has gained another wonderful restaurant, and rightly so!; Chef: Zineb Hattab document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { var el = document.getElementById("Achievements_chefs"); if (el && el.parentNode) { el.parentNode.removeChild(el); } });; Zineb ("Zizi") Hattab proposes something out of the ordinary in her charming pub. Not only is the modern-creative food entirely vegan, but it also draws on interesting Moroccan and Mexican influences. The chef – the daughter of Moroccan immigrants – was born in Spain and grew up in Costa Brava. Originally an engineer, she followed her passion for cooking, gaining work experience with Andreas Caminada in Switzerland and in Mexican restaurant Cosme in New York, to name but two. Choose four to six courses for the surprise menu served in the evening. Great importance is attached to regionality and sustainability, and that also applies to the wine.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | €€€ | — |
| IGNIV Zürich by Andreas Caminada | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| Kronenhalle | World's 50 Best | €€€ | — |
| The Restaurant | Michelin 2 Star | €€€€ | — |
| EquiTable | Michelin 1 Star | €€€€ | — |
| La Rôtisserie | Michelin 1 Star | €€€€ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
At €€€ pricing with a 2024 Michelin star, KLE is worth it if you want creative plant-based cooking at a serious technical level. The value case is stronger here than at Zurich's hotel fine-dining rooms, where you pay a premium for the address as much as the plate. If conventional proteins are important to your idea of a special-occasion meal, the price will feel harder to justify.
Yes, for the right diner. The evening surprise menu runs four to six courses and is the format the kitchen is built around — chef Zineb Hattab's Moroccan and Mexican influences show most clearly across a full progression rather than in a single dish. If you want à la carte flexibility, KLE is not the right fit; this is a kitchen that rewards the full menu commitment.
The Michelin guide describes the setting as a charming pub, which points toward relaxed rather than formal dress. A neighbourhood restaurant in Kreis 3 with a sustainability-focused ethos does not carry the same dress expectations as Zurich's hotel dining rooms. Neat, casual to smart-casual clothing is a reasonable read, but the venue database does not include a stated dress code.
The venue database does not confirm bar seating or walk-in availability at KLE. Given the small cover count and the booking difficulty that follows a 2024 Michelin star, assuming you can arrive without a reservation is a risk. Secure a booking in advance.
EquiTable is the closest alternative if plant-based cooking is the priority. For Michelin-level cooking with animal proteins, IGNIV Zürich by Andreas Caminada — where Hattab herself trained — offers a sharing-format tasting menu at a comparable price point. Kronenhalle suits diners who want a historic Zurich institution over a chef-driven neighbourhood restaurant. La Rôtisserie and The Restaurant are hotel fine-dining options that trade the creative edge of KLE for more conventional luxury settings.
Location
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