Lindenberg 23, 4058 Basel
Tel: 061 692 73 33

http://www.hirscheneck.ch

Smoking Policy: No smoking area

Date visited: Friday April 20th 2007



I had actually been to this place before - in about 1993 I was driving my goods and chattels from Frascati, Italy to Leiden in The Netherlands and Basel was more or less the halfway point between the two. I booked into a hotel close to the Wettsteinbrücke and wandered around the area looking for a drinking hole. The crowd at the time was studenty and I had a longish chat over a few Weizen with a guy about my age about how much he disliked doing military service.

In more recent times I have been for a beer at the Hirscheneck with friends and they do serve a decent glass of Appenzeller on a hot day.

On this particular Friday we were too lazy to cook and decided to try the Hirscheneck out for a meal. The bar is known in Basel as being popular with the alternative / left wing crowd - so not the place to meet folks in pinstripe suits; a bonus in my opinion. When we got there, the tables on the terrace were full so we strolled inside.

The interior is fairly traditional with a few posters glued up just like you would find in a Students Union building. The atmosphere was fairly relaxed with punk/alternative rock being played over the speakers in the main bar area. We adjourned to the side room where you could hear the music but still have a conversation. At the back of the side room is the enclosed no-smoking area.

To start I ordered a Stänge and my partner an apple juice. The menu had a half dozen vegetarian starters and main courses and about two meat main courses. I went for the nutroast (Nussbraten) with roast potato wedges and red cabbage. My partner for Chimichange (Mexican tortilla with vegetable filling), garlic dip and salad. For an extra SFr3 we could have a menu salad so we went for that as a starter.

The salads were nice and fresh with a good dressing; the bread that came was fresh also and very crusty. My main was very tasty - it came with a mushroom sauce which I liked. My partner’s main plate was piled hight with loads of salad as well as the tortilla wraps. Both of us enjoyed the food. The main courses were good value - all of them less than SFr20.

The wine selection was alright too, I had a couple of dl of a quite respectable Navarra.

The service was friendly - I think the staff are more on-the-ball with customers than you will find in far more expensive establishments. The guy who looked after us was never too far away to get his attention.

In the end we paid about SFr64 for a starter salad each, two main courses and a few drinks - so we had no hesitation in leaving a tip.

Definitely a place to go if you want a decent meal or a drink out without all the hassle.

This article appeared originally on http://www.bastronomy.com - a non profit website containing restaurant reviews and other foodie-related stuff with a Basel bias.

By Nick Steven