Hellbergs Go with the Ollin Flow

Off the beaten track of vegan, nose to tail, and other food trends, Alexander Hellberg has been serving innovative creations, primarily inspired by Latin America and Spain, since opening his restaurant in October 2016.

Hellbergs has 22 seats as well as a number of tables outside on the picturesque Zinnengasse. Tapas are served along with wine and beer at the bar inside. Alexander regularly introduces South American spirits and cocktails there.

Alexander lived in Brasil for many years. His mother is from Chile, his father from Denmark, and his grandparents had a restaurant in Alicante. It’s there that he was first introduced to gastronomy.

Because he traveled and moved house often with his parents and four younger brothers, he got to experience many different cultures and cuisines. Amongst others, he’s a big fan of Korean food, which is why there are also Korean dishes on the menu, personally prepared by himself.

Normally, however, award-winning woman-in-charge Claudia Ramirez Gutierrez of Mexico stands at the grill, conjuring extraordinary creations for the table. In the future, guest chefs from Brasil and other countries will also be invited.

We start with the prehispanic lasagne with vegetables and “huitlacoche”, a Mexican truffle highly prized for its strong umami taste. Our second starter is a salad with a young Spanish goats cheese and agave syrup vinaigrette. Both quite unusual, but also incredible!

For our main we select a casserole with poached eggs and cactus leaves in a chipotle sauce, as well as the black hake, cooked to perfection and served with sautéed vegetables. And we definitely don’t want to miss out on the homemade cheesecake, which is easily one of the best in town.

For lunch Hellbergs also offers different daily menus to take away for under SFR. 20, so you can easily enjoy the gourmet cuisine by the Limmat or lake.

Sandra Künzler

Author Zurich