The “Waldhaus both Basel” has stood on the outskirts of the city for over a hundred years. What is the inn all about – and the name?
According to popular opinion, the people of Zurich have been Basel’s favorite enemy since the Middle Ages. When I made my debut at the carnival on the Rhine knee eleven years ago, I expected ridicule and malice to pour down on us in schnitzel benches. But more poison arrows then flew towards Baselbiet, and not just because the controversial idea of reunifying the two half-cantons was on the agenda.
The name “Waldhaus both Basel” has a similar explosiveness to it, as if people from Zurich and people from Basel were to found a “FC Beppi Grasshoppers” in order to finally create a new football arena. The 120-year-old inn on the outskirts of town, in the hard forest full of oaks and hornbeams, is modeled on a forester’s lodge, with half-timbering and a mighty hipped roof. The main and outbuildings, including the twenty hotel rooms, were extensively renovated and freshly furnished last year: the interior appears bright and modern.
The bar is a pleasant place to acclimatize in a foreign country.
Next to the entrance, the red and black crosier are paired, i.e. Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt, and the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” and the “Basler Zeitung” are waiting just as harmoniously on a table inside the lounge. The service staff, in turn, use predominantly local dialect to prove that guests with a Zurich dialect are also welcome here. It is very present right from the start, acts helpfully and uncomplicated.
To acclimatize in a foreign country, we start the evening with a familiar Negroni (Fr. 16.–) in the bar, unmistakably prepared with the Turin Antica Formula vermouth, which makes it particularly well-rounded. Fresh popcorn is served for snacking. Outside, the magnificent terrace directly above the Rhine, which is also used for a fondue chalet in winter, beckons. There are even some covered places under arcades on the house wall. But it’s too cool, so we take a seat in the cozy restaurant, with a view of the German river bank including the Grenzach and its turquoise blue industrial buildings.
A trip to the 1980s.
Sound-absorbing elements are mounted under the ceiling in addition to lantern-like lights, so that it doesn’t get too loud on this Friday, when almost every table is occupied: young couples meet for a date, families get together, and the kitchen has a home-style feel something for everyone. Out of nostalgia, I choose an Eighties classic to start with, which is called the “Golden Shrimps Cocktail” (Fr. 22) and is served in a martini glass with a not-too-fattening calypso sauce.
During the game season there would be a saddle of venison to order, but I’m interested in the “Basler Lümmeli” (200 grams Fr. 59.00), which is available in two sizes: under a spicy mustard and herb crust is a very tender beef fillet, cooked to perfection and accompanied by excellent French fries and roasted vegetables. The beef fillet stroganoff (CHF 49) is also praised at the table, apart from the slightly dry spaetzli. A Züri-Gschnätzlet (CHF 48) also has a permanent place on the menu.
If you need further proof that Zurich wines are not cut here, you can find it on the wine list: the only wine from the New World comes from Dieter Meier’s Argentine farm. Various Baselbiet Pinot noirs are also waiting in the well-stocked cellar, including the incredibly tasty RhyPasso (Fr. 99.–), which is now called RhyServa: The Siebe Dupf winery ferments it on the pomace, as is common with Ripasso in the Veneto Pun but only recently adapted (apparently due to an intervention from northern Italy).
On one side you can see the greenery, on the other the Rhine.
But what is the name of the inn that has weathered many a storm in its eventful history? Like the Hardwald, it is owned by the Basel community, but stands bravely on the ground of Muttenz, after which the not always well-behaved FCB fan curve is named. And Birsfelden appears in the address, from where mail was once delivered to this address.
The Basel Wyniger Group has been leasing the business since last year’s renovation. It also includes the great “Teufelhof” in Basel – and now the Confiserie Beschle, whose Saint Honoré cake we love so much. In fact, this is served in the “Waldhaus” (Fr. 7.90) and tastes great, although our piece lacks the wafer-thin layer of caramel. And we have one more suggestion: If coffee came with a homemade biscuit instead of an industrially manufactured mini-Läggerli from the “Läckerli Huus”, sorry: Gutzi, the attention to detail in this connecting house would soon be perfect.
Waldhaus both Basel
In der Hard
4127 Birsfelden
Telephone 061 313 00 11
For this column, tests are carried out unannounced and anonymously and the bill is always paid at the end. The focus is on restaurants in Zurich and the region, with occasional detours to other parts of the country.
You can find the collection of all NZZ restaurant reviews from the last five years here.
