When you think about the world’s oldest vegetarian restaurant, you naturally assume it must be located in India, or nestled in some valley in Nepal. The fact is, the world’s oldest vegetarian restaurant is in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Established in 1898, the Hiltl, also known as Haus Hiltl, this restaurant is not only running (rather booming with business) even today, but boasts a world-class vegetarian and vegan menu with a global influence. Hiltl also holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest continuously running vegetarian restaurant in the world.
As you can image, the restaurant has a vibrant history and cultural significance. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
A Vegetarian Restaurant In A Meat-Loving Land
Vegetarianism and veganism might be globally accepted as healthy as well as delicious diet cultures now, but at the turn of the twentieth century, the same could not be said of any European nation, let alone Switzerland. So when a few immigrants started the Vegetarierheim and Abstinence-Café, the place was mocked and nicknamed ‘the root bunker’ by locals. Enter Ambrosius Hiltl, a tailor from Bavaria, who suffered from rheumatism and started to follow Maximilian Bircher-Benner’s (yes, the same guy who invented muesli) recommendation of a vegetarian diet.
After moving to Zurich in 1898, Hiltl started dining at the Vegetarierheim and Abstinence-Café, and found his health improving. He joined the restaurant team as a manager, and in 1904, bought the restaurant and married the chef, Martha Gneupel. As sales improved, the couple moved the restaurant to Sihlstrasse and renamed it Hiltl—and the restaurant simply went places from there on. In 1931, Hiltl became the first all-electric restaurant kitchen in Zurich. The Sihlstrasse area is today a bustling market district for Zurich, leading to the restaurant’s constant popularity. The building has three stories, providing massive seating options for patrons and plenty of natural light too.
The Indian Connection
After Ambrosius and Martha, the restaurant was taken over by the couple’s sons, Walter and Leonard. By this time, the restaurant was more of a family-run business with husbands, wives, brothers and sisters all involved in aspects of the operations. In 1951, Leonard’s wife, Margrith Hiltl, attended the World Vegetarian Congress held in New Delhi—and thus sprung up an Indian connection which lasts in Hiltl even today.
The trip introduced Margrith to how Indian cuisines use fresh, seasonal produce, a whole spectrum of spices, and age-old techniques to come up with millions of ever-evolving vegetarian dishes. Once back in Zurich, Margrith continued to explore Indian cuisines and gradually introduced select dishes, cooking methods and ingredients to expand the Hiltl vegetarian menu. With this Indian connection, Hiltl naturally became extremely popular with Indians travelling to this German-speaking part of Switzerland. Their most famous Indian patron was former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
One of the main reasons why Hiltl has continued to stay popular is the fact that each generation of the owners introduced changes that were contemporary and relevant. After Leonard and Margrith, their son Heinz took charge of the restaurant, and renamed it Hiltl Vegi. In the 1990s, the restaurant was passed down to his son, Rolf Hiltl, who introduced digital updations, a new wine list and extended the opening hours to 11pm. This attracted younger crowds, and Hiltl became a part of Zurich’s vibrant nightlife too. Hiltl proves that as long as heritage restaurants move with the times, their legacy will surely continue to grow.