Hi. Wondering about places to eat in Zurich for dinner. Nothing too pricey although I know that is the norm. Family of 4 (kids are 22 and 17). Have heard about raclettes or the Mac and cheese at crazy cow restaurant. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.
Not sure but I thoungh crazy cow went out of business a while ago...
Alternatively, you might want to consider a picnic in one of the wonderful parks near the lake. https://www.zuerich.com/en/visit/zurichs-parks-gardens
We just spend 5 days in Zurich. It gets dark amazingly late - around 9:30.
Go to anyone of the Coop Markets, get whatever prepared foods you like and a bottle of wine....and enjoy a great evening at the lake. You might even combine it with swimming.
It looks like the Crazy Cow has changed since we stayed at the Leoneck Swiss Hotel that adjoins the restaurant.
http://www.restaurant-8001.ch/en/home/
There are several restaurants in the old town that will likely meet your Raclette requirement. I don't recall any great, reasonably priced, food experiences in Zurich with the exception of Sprungli. It is pretty hard to beat Spungli Luxemburgerli for a treat.
I haven't been to Zurich, but I'll share my budget eating tips learned from other Swiss destinations.
The best deal is Manora, on the top of the Manor department store. It's like a Las Vegas buffet with "stations"; the food is not sitting around on steam tables, but is prepared for you. For instance, if you order fish, a piece of raw fish is taken off the ice and cooked for you. In addition, for a few CHF you can add beilage, which is all the starches and veggies you can fit on the plate. It's delicious, and half the price of a regular restaurant. Plus, the variety means it's easy for everyone to find what they want, in the quantity they want (if one person wants a full meal and another only wants a snack, no problem). The only problems are that they're always mobbed (Swiss people know they're the best deal in town) and the Zurich branch is open 9 AM to 8 PM Monday to Saturday, meaning relatively early dinner six days a week and no meals at all on Sundays. Their Zurich location is right in the center: https://www.manor.ch/de/store-finder/store/ZCH
Tibits is a vegetarian buffet; you pay by weight. It's open very long hours seven days a week. I see from their website that their Zurich location is a bit outside the center: https://www.tibits.ch/en/restaurants.html#tibits-zuerich-seefeld