Basel on a Plate: Six Delicious Swiss Dining Adventures

Basel on a Plate: Six Delicious Swiss Dining Adventures

Consider this your one-stop guide to Basel’s creative culinary scene. From an innovative craft brewery to a vegan doughnut destination, here’s where to sip and savour your way around Switzerland’s most inventive city

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One
of our favourite things about Basel? The inhabitants of this ever-youthful
Swiss-German town really know how to play hard when the working day
is done. Whether it’s heading to atmospheric old taverns on the
banks of the Rhine for “fish fondue” and a bottle of white in the
evening, or visiting the city’s vegan pop-ups and craft breweries
to scoff beer-paired small plates and inventive doughnut creations
at the weekend, a reputation for city-wide innovation ensures that
city residents can take their pick from a tiptop culinary scene
seven days a week. And, in this academically inclined,
entrepreneurial city, the food is as fabulous as the art and
architecture it’s famed for. Fill your plate morning, noon and
night with our pick of the city’s top drinking and dining
spots.

Taste the future in Switzerland’s creative capital

Donuts for sale at Mystifry, Basel

Mystifry

Switzerland’s first vegan doughnut shop, Mystifry was a pop-up
that proved such a hit that it became a stay-up. Now in a permanent
home in a picturesque historic street in Basel’s old town, the
bakery offers a rotating menu of six innovative flavours, all based
on a vegan brioche dough that is cut, fried and decorated by hand
in small batches. When we visited, peanut butter, lemon meringue
pie and s’mores were among flavours on offer, served alongside
locally roasted direct trade coffee. Don’t pause on this place –
once the sweet treats are sold, the shop closes for the day.

Address

Rheinsprung 4, 4051 Basel

Finkmüller, Basel

Finkmüller

The city’s best-loved coffee house and bakery: head to the
Klybeckstrasse branch at any time of day to devour homemade
cheesecake with a cappuccino alongside a loyal following of
students, local writers, and remote workers. We love the lunch menu
of salads, soups and open sandwiches. Inside the café, you’ll find
a florist at work, as well as an organic cold-pressed oil store,
Oelist. A side venture of the Finkmüller founders, the carefully
curated collection of top-quality oils includes everything from
wild rosehip seed oil to organic hemp oil.

Address

Klybeckstrasse 64-66, 4057 Basel

Interiors at Matt & Elly Brewery & Kitchen

Matt & Elly Brewery & Kitchen

One of the most talked-about new districts in Kleinbasel is
Erlenmatt, a regenerated freight depot that is now an experiment in
sustainable urban development, with apartments, a school, a
residential care home and an abundance of green parkland sitting
alongside bars, restaurants and commercial spaces. Right in the
heart of things is this innovative new craft brewery, where the
kitchen serves beer-paired dishes until midnight, Tuesday to
Saturday. Expect seasonal creations such as lamb curry and
couscous, risotto Milanese with bone marrow, and braised red
cabbage with king oyster mushrooms. The space is modern, sleek and
sexy, and there’s even a rail of clothes by local designers and
some carefully sourced vintage pieces to peruse. Shopping before
scoffing? We’re there.

Address

Erlenmattstrasse 93, 4058 Basel

Fisherman's Hut, Gasthof Zum Goldenen Sternen

Gasthof zum Goldenen Sternen

Even the classics come with a twist in Basel. Gasthof zum
Goldenen Sternen is Basel’s oldest inn, and enjoys a prime position
perched on the banks of the Rhine. It has a spectacular late-gothic
facade and magnificent baroque interiors, but we suggest skipping
the dining room and instead opting to hire the restaurant’s
fisherman’s hut – a stilted wooden boathouse right on the water.
Order the fish, which you cook yourself at the table, fondue-style,
and a bottle of chilled white chasselas, the classic Swiss wine to
accompany any fondue, to savour by candlelight. Dusk dining
experiences don’t come more memorable than this.

Address

St Alban-Rheinweg 70, 4052 Basel

Interiors at Ufer7, Basel

Ufer7

Perfectly situated next to one of the best swimming spots on the
Rhine, this local favourite specialises in regional, sophisticated
and creative Swiss sharing plates. From March to September, a
buvette (outdoor food stall) parks up outside the pretty townhouse
facade; in the winter months, cheese fondues are added to the menu
indoors. Jump in the river for a sun-soaked swim, then grab a seat
for a colourful, veg-laden lunch. Think: orecchiette pasta with
green asparagus, tomatoes and spinach, tender trout, and a
watermelon, cucumber and bulgur wheat salad.

Address

Untere Rheingasse 11, 4058 Basel

Klara, Basel
Photo credit: Kevin Faingnaert

Klara

Across the Rhine from the vast Markthalle covered food market, Klara is a
laid-back food court with various stalls in the more relaxed and
bohemian side of Basel, Kleinbasel. There are nine international
kitchens here, compared to the Markthalle’s 40, plus a bar serving
local craft beers and kombuchas. La Taqueria’s tacos al pastor have
a cult following, and at AfroLicious, founder Meaza serves
Ethiopian and Senegalese favourites including injera sourdough
pancakes and maffe peanut stew.

Address

Clarastrasse 13
4058 Basel

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The Lowdown

How to Get There

Fly direct from London Gatwick to EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse
Freiburg with EasyJet, or journey via London Heathrow to
Zurich Airport with SWISS. From Zurich airport, Basel city centre
is just under an hour by train with Swiss Federal Railways.

The Swiss Travel System covers more than 29,000km with its
extensive public transport network of trains, buses, cable cars and
boats. Book your tailored Swiss city package and get unlimited
travel on public transport with a Swiss Travel Pass at switzerlandtravelcentre.com.


Ready to plan your Basel break? Visit myswitzerland.com to get a taste of all the Swiss city
offers.

A man stands in front of some Basel street art

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