Zürich Restaurant Hiltl Celebrates 125 Years as the World's Oldest Vegetarian Restaurant
The Neumünsterallee institution marks a remarkable anniversary this week with a special menu, an exhibition, and a message that its founding philosophy has never felt more relevant.
Hiltl, the Zürich restaurant widely recognised as the oldest continuously operating vegetarian restaurant in the world, celebrated its 125th anniversary this week with a series of events including a pop-up exhibition tracing its history from a small 1898 abstinence café to a four-floor dining institution serving over 1,000 guests per day.
The current owner, Rolf Hiltl — the fourth generation of the family to run the business — hosted a special anniversary dinner on Wednesday featuring dishes drawn from the restaurant's archives, including a recreation of a 1920s lentil soup recipe. "Our great-great-grandfather had no idea he was ahead of his time," Hiltl said at the event. "He just thought meat was unnecessary."
