On Wednesday, June 23rd, Bill and I had plans to visit Rico’s cosi, a very nice restaurant in Küsnacht that we didn’t have the chance to try when we visited in October 2025. Rico’s cosi has the look of an artsy place, and reservations are pretty much a must. The chef, Rico, is featured on the restaurant’s Web site, smiling broadly in a red apron. The cuisine is Mediterranean and French-contemporary, and the price per course is $$$$. 😚 Our reservations were for 7:30 PM.

Before our dinner, Bill had class. Bill’s classes for Wednesday allowed for a break from 11:00AM until 2:00 PM. We had a leisurely breakfast, gazing at the lake and enjoying the many wonderful treats offered at the Pavilion Restaurant. I’m not sure if I mentioned it, but for people not staying at the hotel, breakfast at the Pavilion costs 54 Swiss Francs per person. 🫪 The good thing is, you definitely won’t leave there hungry!

On Wednesday morning, I had avocado toast. Bill decided to go with poached eggs and bacon. Of course, we had the rest of the stuff, too… the etagè, bread, coffee, juice, water… and yes, I needed to pee afterwards!

After breakfast, Bill went to his morning class, and I did my usual writing. Then, when Bill came back, we visited the Biergarten. It offered a different view of the lake, as well as easy access to beer.

Once Bill went back to class, I decided to go to the lake. On Wednesday, there were two women there… probably twenty years younger than me. One of them, dressed in a black one piece and sitting under an umbrella, talked non-stop for the entire time I was there.

However, in spite of the chatter, I still kind of dozed off. Beer, sun, and the relaxed vibe encouraged restfulness. I interspersed my sleepiness with a few plunges into Lake Zürich. You can see there’s a barrier up. Again, there was a private event hosted on the beach area, which made it harder to separate from the talkative lady.

Later, Bill returned from his class at the Jung Institute. We got dressed for dinner and walked over to Rico’s, which is located very close to the Institute. We didn’t know it when we arrived, but service was in the garden in the back of the restaurant. Still, we got a peek inside of Rico’s, which is a really beautifully decorated place. We also passed a young looking Asian guy sitting in the small parking lot, smoking a pipe. I don’t remember the last time I saw someone smoke a pipe! 🤣

We were a little early for our 7:30 PM reservation, and a little bit overdressed. Most of the people under the tent were dressed in shorts and polos, or something similar. We took a two top just outside of the tent, and the gentleman who seated us said it was a good thing there was shade. 🫪

To be honest, I wasn’t all that impressed with Rico’s… Not because of the food, which was excellent, but more because of the service. When we sat down, we were presented with a menu for a tasting menu– 5 courses at 198 CHF per person.

There were several things on it that I didn’t like. For instance, they were offering foie gras, which I object to for a few reasons– the main one being that I don’t like how it tastes. They also had a veal entree, and while I do think veal tastes good, I prefer not to eat it.

When I demurred about the veal, the waiter said they could make the veal dish with beef, which would have been okay. But I was a little tired of meat and wanted something else. So I asked for an a la carte menu, and the guy looked at me like I had nine heads, or something. Like… why wouldn’t you want to eat five courses for triple digits, even though there are things on the menu that you wouldn’t eat even if the most gifted chef in the world prepared them?

He looked so surprised that I asked, “You do have an a la carte menu, right?” I figured they did, because Bill had already looked at it before we came to the restaurant.

The guy said, “Yes, of course.” He presented to me, and I took the below photo.

I noticed that just about everyone else was having the tasting menu. Maybe the guy was puzzled that I didn’t follow the crowd (kind of a recurrent trend in my life), or maybe it was annoying to him because I was being contrary, and making life harder by ordering something different… not trusting the chef. Or maybe he feared we wouldn’t spend as much as the other folks did (preposterous!).

I’m sure the tasting menu was delightful, and we did order a couple of things that were on it. But I feel like if you’re charging as much as Rico’s cosi does, you shouldn’t be surprised when your guest wants to see the a la carte menu.

In the end, ordering a la carte was a good decision… Behold!

The food was excellent, very fresh, and beautifully presented. We both really enjoyed our fish dishes. However, the service, in my opinion, was a little inconsistent and could use some work. The wait staff, which consisted of all men, was a little casual, and not in a good way. They also held our wine hostage, although to their credit, they never got too weeded to top us up. I will also give props to the friendly guy who used a table crumber to sweep our table after we finished eating. That is a mark of good service.

At one point, a chef practically barked at Bill, who thought he was about to give him the wrong plate. Granted, the chef knows what he’s serving, but he came off as a little temperamental. I can’t blame him for being irritable, since the job is stressful, and likely uncomfortable. But it was still off putting.

Then there was the wine service. We had a champagne aperitif, and then ordered a white wine to go with our dinner. Bill had to stop the server from serving the wine, however, because the staff neglected to change the glasses from which we drank our aperitifs. It probably wouldn’t have made a huge difference in the taste, but again, for a restaurant that charges as much as Rico’s does, one expects much more attentive service than that.

Finally, there’s the vaguely threatening email Rico’s sent before our reservation– if we didn’t show up, they’d charge us 100 CHF! I know some high demand restaurants do that, but they hadn’t even taken Bill’s credit card number. Add that to the Asian lady sitting in the corner with her husband, giving us surreptitious side eyes… That’s not the staff’s fault, but it did kind of lend to the atmosphere of snootiness.

Still, I’ve certainly had much worse meals, and I wouldn’t turn down another visit to Rico’s cosi. I would love to try sitting inside next time.

If you decide to go there yourself, make sure you bring plenty of Swiss Francs or a credit card with a healthy limit. I think our bill came to somewhere around 400 CHF. That’s certainly not the most we’ve ever spent (that would be Cheval Blanc in Basel— just under 1000 CHF, and absolutely worth every cent!), but it was definitely expensive.

Rico’s cosi used to have at least one Michelin Star, but apparently, they lost it at some point. You can see this referenced in reviews from other guests, a few of whom were also turned off by the service. I notice that they are quick to accept responsibility in their responses to poor reviews, but they also complain about “harsh wording” in review titles. I guess I’ll take that under advisement when I write my Trip Advisor review. 🙄

On our way out of the garden, I was surprised by the sight of a very snazzy looking Ferrari. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen one so up close and personal. But then, perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was Switzerland, after all…

I noticed Rico was also admiring the car, and we shared a moment staring at it. He actually seemed like a very friendly guy. He came around to the tables and thanked us for coming. It was just a couple of his staff members who came off as less than genuinely nice or service oriented.

As we were walking back to the hotel, I reflected more on the Ferrari and thought about the type of person who typically buys such a vehicle. Some of them are truly car aficionados, who simply love high performance sports cars and don’t mind spending six figures to own one (or more). And some of them are people who are compensating for certain other things that come up short in their lives… 😏🤣

But I can’t deny that the car was very impressive! And the person driving it, probably dines at Rico’s cosi, or places much like it, somewhat often.

Stay tuned for part eleven…