Thursday 10 May 2012

Zurich Eats on the Cheap: El Luchador




Eating out in Zurich on a budget can be a difficult task, especially if you do not have your own earned income. There is usually a slight onset of guilt felt should I even consider dining out without my hubby and using his money to fit the bill. I probably just need to get over this. Oddly enough it was Husband who set me the new weekly goal for this Blog of finding somewhere tasty and cheap to eat in Zurich and making it known to the masses. My budget is in and around 20 Francs. Challenge accepted Husband, challenge accepted.

I might have slightly cheated this week to be honest as I decided to head to El Luchador on the recommendation of Ron Orp’s newsletter (If you live in Zurich and are not reading this already then sort it out). He advised that it’s one of the first proper authentic mexican cuisine eateries to open in the city and was full of the praise.  A newb has gotta start somewhere and I’m a sucker for a taco, yum yum. 

First impressions were absolutely delightful, the interior was decked out with a mishmash of second hand furniture and wallpapered with an array of mexican wrestlers. The staff were incredibly friendly and once I had used up my very limited German, were only too happy to help translate the menu for me. At each table you are given four tiny bowls with various, chilli sauces, onions and salsas to add to your chosen dish as standard and cutlery served from large tumbler glasses with plenty of napkins (much needed as it is a near impossibility to eat this type of food without out making a mess of yourself, oh the shame). I ordered the following: 

Tacos de pollo al axiote costing  9.50 Francs
Cream de frijoles costing  5.50 Francs
A Corona with a wedge of lime costing 6.50 Francs

To be honest I wasn’t 100% sure what it was I had ordered but who doesn’t love a certain degree of mystery to their food. After waiting no more that 15 minutes at most my table looked like this:


Drool Inducing 

All this for 21.50 Francs? (about €17, great for Zurich)  Amazing, I think I might be on to a winner with El Luchador. The tacos were to die for. Sorry again to say this but there are no other semi-words I can think of to better describe good food other than nom, nom, nom. The only negative I could find was that the chips that came with the cream de frijoles we slightly over fried to my liking but that said I wasn’t familiar with this dish and it’s probably how they are supposed to be served (I mean if I wanted nachos I could have ordered them).

As I was making my exit I got speaking to the other waitress who appeared to be the owner of the establishment. I asked if they served margaritas as I could not see them on the menu and I was pleasantly informed that yes, the classic kind are their staple (I will be back to sample soon).  I told her the food was delicious and she asked me to spread the word (the restaurant has only been opened for 3 weeks). So here you go friendly nice lady from El Luchador, to be honest I’m not sure what my reach is like yet in Switzerland but if any Zurchers (yes I found out recently it’s Zurchers not Zurichans) are reading this then get yourself down to El Luchador on Konradstrasse for some of the tastiest mexican food I’ve had in a long time and the price aint half bad neither.

Noms: 5 noms out of 5

Price: One full GBM for around 20 Francs

2 comments:

  1. I'm taking some credit for that idea too! Jenny

    ReplyDelete