A taste of hawker in downtown Zurich
NIMMI Restaurant & Take Away
Josefstrasse 137
8005 Zürich
A trip to Zurich almost always closes with dinner in Nimmi. It’s cheap (truly cheap for Zurich or Swiss standard) and delicious but do not expect white and starched tablecloths with silver cutlery. During winter time, when patrons need to be inside, the smells of fried spices stick for days. But in summer, a few mismatched chairs surrounding wobbly tables covered with loud-patterned plastic on the side-walks reminds me of the casual dining experience in Singapore’s Indian stalls.
The menu is slim but the food is authentically spicy and strongly flavoured. As proof of authenticity, we are often accompanied by Sri Lankan families or labourers as fellow patrons. Our favourites are the meat roll (whose proper Tamil name I forget but in German it’s called meat rolls), the Masala Dosai (potato-stuffed rice and lentils crepe), and the dish worth fighting with your husband for, the Puttu Kothu with lamb (stir-fried steamed rice powder). The cooks do not shy away from the heat: requests to tone down the chilies in respect of the clienteles are quietly ignored. So be prepared to cool down with their delicious mango lassi instead.
