A Lunch that Means Business at Restaurant VIVUS in Zürich

I am not going to lie, when I do not eat lunch at Freshii, I usually spend my middays with a boring sandwich or an unspectacular salad that are definitely not worth writing home about.

The Newly Swissed challenge to step up my lunch game at Steigenberger Bellerive au Lac in Zürich sounded perfect: The prospect of checking out a place where lunch dreams do not go to die made my taste buds practice their happy dance.

Mission Quick Lunch

The place: VIVUS Bistro at Bellerive au Lac in Zürich

The offer: The Quick Lunch special includes a soup or salad, your pick from two daily specials, 3 dl of water, and coffee or tea. All of this should take about 50 minutes, setting you back 29 francs.

The VIVUS Quick Lunch promises a - surprise! - quick and healthy lunch option. With daily specials (for both vegetarians and meat lovers) and a variety of salads and snacks, the restaurant is ready to become the go-to place for lunchers who want to impress business partners. It also works for those who would like to get away from Zürich's hustle and bustle, or those in the market for a delicious business lunch with all the trimmings for under 30 francs.

Come for the business lunch, stay for the view

Like any good lunch testing crew, my photographer friend Maree and I ordered a daily special and something off the regular menu. Maree chose a tropical summer salad with avocado and melon, while I opted for the daily special that included a (pleasantly big) salad, followed by duck in thyme juice, bite-sized polenta balls, and green beans.

I am not going to lie, eating duck and polenta for lunch sounded like a recipe for a food coma disaster that would last until it was time for a disco nap. But even though the portions were generous, I stayed awake and nobody at work noticed that I just indulged in a lunch feast.

Rest assured that the lighter lunch option, the tropical salad, was just as refreshing, crunchy, and summery as expected.

To complete our VIVUS lunch experience, let’s throw one of the city’s most beautiful views in the mix: Eating a delicious lunch is great, but eating while overlooking Lake Zurich and indulging in some midday people watching is greater. All of this is topped off with the proverbial cherry on the lunch cake - the exceptionally friendly and helpful staff at VIVUS.

The verdict: If you eat lunch and work in downtown Zürich, check out the Quick Lunch at VIVUS.

We came. We photographed. We ate.

We all know that you have not eaten a 21st-century meal unless there is photographic evidence online. And, I mean, come on: Who does not want to eat this?

Because I take my work very seriously, I have written everything so far without being influenced by a special surprise treat that just blew us out of the water: Vanilla parfait, basil-lemon sorbet, and little brownies, decorated with cherries that were soaked in just enough port wine to go back to work safely.

It was exactly as delicious as it looks.

(Photographs copyright by Maria Grazia De Francesco at MAREE. Photography and Visual Design)