Where to eat ISRAEL 🇮🇱 Zürich: Neni

Neni

Langstrasse 150, Zürich

What we ordered: For two people, one falafel appetizer served with tahini that we split along with two entrees: one order of chicken shawarma consisting of marinated chicken, roasted red onion, smashed potato, garlic cream (on the side) and herb salad and one order of vongole with wild caught prawns, in harissa bisque and garnished with herb oil and togarashi, which came with two pieces of crusty bread. To drink, we had three Sicilian spritzes consisting of Companion Sicilian orange with prosecco and four glasses of Veltliner white wine.

Cost: 157 CHF / €167 / $175 

Put simply, Neni was not really Israeli and not exactly great either. Quality Middle Eastern food is not the easiest to find in Switzerland. There is usually almost always better in some of the neighboring countries, specifically France and Germany, both home to significant Arab Muslim populations and in France, Europe’s largest Jewish community, many of whom can trace roots to North Africa or the Middle East. We all know what happened to the Jews in Germany and the “Lebensraum” of Eastern Europe once desired by Nazis and Nazism, and if not, read an actual book. It is why we even have something we can call Israeli food now.

As a restaurant, Neni is located in the trendy 25 Hours Hotel which is within walking distance of the popular restaurant and bar scene on Europaallee, a former rail yard that was converted to commercial space. Honestly, given the location, it is not hard to say there are better places not so far away (like Yamas, where we went for Greek food) where your money might be better spent. 

As a place to drink, Neni is fine. The Sicilian spritzes were lovely and light on a warm late summer day, as was the Veltliner. Given how it was almost the peak of summer heat when we stopped by, we probably had more than we should have or ordinarily would. It is sometimes easier to knock back a glass in the heat than it is to eat.

The falafel appetizer was fine. It was fresh, crisp and with the tahini, it was quite alright. Still, nothing to write home about and as a Middle Eastern meal, perfunctory at best. This is more than can be said of our main dishes. The shawarma was not shawarma at all but effectively grilled chicken breast. Georg said it was no better than what is available at the good discount grocery Denner. Why it was called shawarma other than to sound like it might be from the Middle East is a bit of a mystery.

As a bit of a provocation, I of course ordered the one glaringly unkosher thing on the menu. It was called vongole but it was not vongole or clams at all but mussels. The prawns were a good size and the bisque was really nice with the harissa and herb oil. It was probably the best thing there and as a seafood dish it was quite good. It was so warm the day we went that I did not indulge in the bisque as much as I might have on a colder day.

The two slices of bread it was served with were great for dipping in the garlic sauce left to the side from the so-called chicken shawarma. It was also supremely garlicky and required multiple toothbrushings later. I was not really sure I could no longer taste it until after a few espressos at the office the next day.

If you want quality kosher Israeli food, Neni is not the place for you. However, if your attitude about what constitutes Israeli food is highly flexible and can accommodate the non-kosher critters of the Mediterranean, get some seafood bisque and a cocktail and you will have a decent time of it.

About half the main dishes are also steeply priced at over 45 francs, which given the quality and quantity hardly seems worth the cost. If you have had really quality shawarma before, you know the difference between it and something calling itself that which barely passes muster. For seafood too, you can always find a place that specializes.

Overall, there is better Israeli food to be had, and like with other Middle Eastern flavors, perhaps not in Switzerland but certainly in France and Germany, such as at legendary Parisian falafel spot L’As du Falafel or Nish Nush in Cologne near where I used to live. Try those spots instead.

How to get to Israel from Switzerland:

The only real way to get to Israel from Switzerland is by air due to border closures, conflict zones and other assorted dangers that make the Middle East hot in ways that do not mean the weather or sexually attractive. 

However, that is not really possible at the moment given the post-October 7, 2023 attacks against Israel and seizure of civilian hostages by Hamas. The subsequent regional fallout which has included a bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza, the targeted killing of a Hamas leader in Iran after that country’s president died in a plane crash, a barrage of Iranian missiles fired at Israel and blocked by a coalition that included Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the US and the UK, incoming rocket fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon followed by an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon, a tentative ceasefire between the two sides, the deaths of the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria – surely, this is an incomplete list and a lot of people have been killed or made refugees. Things are tense, to say the least.

In more normal times, though, Swiss Air flies direct from Zürich and the flight time is around four hours. Aegean, Austrian Airlines, El Al, KLM, LOT Polish and Lufthansa all offer various routes with connections in various European capitals including Amsterdam, Athens, Munich, Vienna and Warsaw.

From Geneva, Swiss Air offers routes through Vienna and a codeshare flight with Austrian Airlines as well as through Frankfurt with a codeshare flight on to Tel Aviv with Lufthansa, though the layover adds a considerable amount of time to the journey. Air Dolomiti also offers a connection through Munich and a flight onward to Tel Aviv on Lufthansa for considerably less time when the layover is factored in. Additional routing options are available with Air France, Bluebird Airways, EasyJet, El Al ITA Airways, LOT Polish, Transavia and Wizz Air, or some combination of these airlines.

All of this is of course subject to change in the future, once a so-called new normal is established.

How many people from Israel are in Switzerland: More than 1,500 

Distance between Bern and Jerusalem: 4,140 km

Distance from Neni to Jerusalem: 4,020 km

Learn how to make Israel's national dish, falafel, and about its origins.

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