Le Furet

Le Furet is located in the Charmilles area, the restaurant is fairly nondescript from the outside, and once you're inside, don't expect warmth and fuzziness or anything, that is just not what they're known for. What they are known for is their signature all you can eat shrimp platters, they'll keep bringing them until you can handle no more. The shrimp come in a delicious garlic sauce and fries are also served with them. But here's the thing, it may say all you can eat, but chances are you really won't be able to eat that much! Indeed, you may feel full way before you expected to.

A little side note though - girls: trust me, this is really not the place to bring the mister on a first date... nor a second, nor a third, nor a fourth... you get my drift.

Anyway, the bottom line is if you're feeling really hungry one night and think you can handle the attitude that will come with your meal (it's not that they're unpleasant per se, but they do seem to be somewhat stressed a lot of the time), you might want to check this place out.

Pictured below: shrimp and french fries at Le Furet.

The Hamburger Foundation

The Hamburger Foundation claims to offer "the best burger in town" no less! Do they? Well, first of all, how hard is it to offer the best burger in Geneva? Most of the burger joints here are not that great anyway. Having said that, THF does offer a quality product, and I would go back every now and then... depending on where they're located. See, The Hamburger Foundation operates out of a food truck, and you have to check their website or their Facebook page to find out where they'll be on any given week. I'm very excited the food truck movement is finally taking off in Geneva and I do hope this will lead to more and more quality products at affordable prices.

I also found the staff to be really nice and friendly, and that is definitely something Geneva could use more of. However there are a few things I feel THF needs to work on a little more, for instance the bun (yes the bun, always the bun) is not quite what I would expect from "the best burger in town" though it is OK, but just OK. Furthermore the fries are disappointing at best. I suspect they may even be the frozen type, though I could be wrong. However, what does make The Hamburger Foundation a rather pleasing experience is the quality of the meat, definitely one of the better patties I've had in Geneva, it came a little rare to my liking but then again I didn't specify otherwise. I'll know to ask for medium rare next time, and hope they get it right.

A cheeseburger, fries and a drink will run you about CHF 20.- I guess that is what you would expect in this city.

One final point about The Hamburger Foundation: seriously people, if you're handling my food, please throw on some form of hat or hairnet or something!

Pictured below: a cheeseburger and fries from The Hamburger Foundation.

Luigia - a couple of new dishes added to the menu

Well what can I say, Luigia has pretty much been my favorite restaurant since it first opened its doors in 2010. They've recently added a few new dishes to their menu and they are certainly worth checking out - I would especially recommend the sausage and eggplant paccheri.

Pictured below: a four-cheese gnocchi dish, sausage and eggplant paccheri and a cheesecake.

Table du 9 - again!

I like going to Table du 9 every so often, though theirs is a small menu, they do change it on a regular basis, I also like the location and I like the restaurant itself. This last visit took place a couple of months ago but the duck breast was cooked to perfection.

Pasta d'Oro

Some restaurants look fairly nondescript from the outside, places you probably wouldn't really think of visiting if someone didn't take you or if you didn't read a good review. Pasta d'Oro looks like a very ordinary Italian restaurant from the outside, but apparently it's quite popular with a lot of Genevans. A friend of mine recently suggested we meet there for dinner, and I quite enjoyed my meal. It's probably not one of those places I'd want to go to every other week, but I definitely thought it was worth checking out.

Pictured below: gnocchi gorgonzola

Bat Dat

Bat Dat is a Vietnamese restaurant located in Plainpalais. I kept hearing good reviews and though I never really went out of my way to have a meal there, I knew I'd definitely want to give it a try when I got the chance. Such an opportunity recently arose and I immediately seized it! And though I went there for dinner and Plainpalais turns into something of an unsavory neighborhood at night, I would definitely recommend Bat Dat. However, lunch might be a wiser option.

Now, to be honest, I was not familiar with Vietnamese cuisine. I've certainly had my share of Japanese, Chinese and Thai food, but Vietnamese flavors would certainly be a new - if welcome - experience to my taste buds. And let me tell you, it was an experience that did not disappoint! The ingredients used were fresh and the food was amazing, in fact I can't wait to go back and sample a few more of Bat Dat's dishes!

Pictured below: Bo Luc Lac, a delicious beef dish that had strong lemon and cilantro flavors (I cannot overemphasize how much I love cilantro but I know a lot of people think it kind of tastes like soap) and a side of rice noodles. I think Bat Dat tends to serve Bo Luc Lac with steamed rice, but I just felt like having noodles.

Maison de Corée

Left to my own devices, I would probably mostly go out to have Italian, French and Chinese food and every now and then I'd throw some Middle Eastern, Thai and Japanese meals into the mix. But sometimes you want to try something slightly more exotic and I find it is often a pleasant surprise when you do!

That is probably the kind of mood I was in when I decided to enjoy a Korean meal with some of my friends recently. I asked around, and was told the best place to go in Geneva is Maison de Corée, located near Quai de Seujet... and I thought "pourquoi pas??"

Well, the food was good, the staff was friendly and we had a great evening!

Pictured below: Japchae, a noodle dish I had already tried and thoroughly enjoyed at Bamboo Garden, followed by Bibimbap, a traditional Korean dish, which includes rice, vegetables, an egg and beef.

Mamounia

Mamounia is a Moroccan restaurant located in Plainpalais, just as you cross the bridge. I hadn't been to the restaurant in probably over a decade and we thought we would go check it out on a rainy Saturday evening - we've been experiencing a lot of those recently, haven't we?

I don't think much has changed over the years, Mamounia still makes a good couscous, which is what we wanted to have anyway.

Pictured below: couscous Mamounia, which includes semolina, merguez sausages, lamb, chicken, meatballs and various vegetables.

Café Universal

Café Universal is one of Geneva's better known restaurants. Located in Plainpalais, it's been around for a while, but I only recently had my first meal there, and though I had heard mixed reviews, I quite enjoyed it! My only complaint is that I asked for a medium rare ribeye steak and it came a little rare to my liking, but this is Geneva, and I think I've said this before, they hardly ever get the doneness right here. Oh well.

Pictured below: a ribeye steak with sides of vegetables and fries followed by a nutella crème brulée I would definitely recommend and if you like nutella!

Mediterranean Grill

Constantly finding new restaurants you actually want to try in Geneva can be a bit of a challenge. But when I recently got my hands on some vouchers for the Mediterranean Grill, located in Plainpalais, I thought "Why not?" It turns out the Mediterranean Grill is actually a Turkish restaurant run by a very friendly gentleman.

The vouchers entitled us to a mixed appetizer platter and one of the specials as the main course. That day, the specials included lahmacun, a Turkish-style pizza, which we ordered mostly just because we wanted to taste it - but we were also drawn to some of the other items on the menu, so we ordered a couple of other dishes and paid the difference. The menu led me to believe there would be a few more veggies in my köfte dish, so that was a bit of a letdown but overall I enjoyed my meal at Mediterranean Grill and would definitely go back, though if a delicious Turkish meal in Geneva is what you're looking for, Sofram certainly comes to mind as a worthy contender.

Pictured below: lavash, a Turkish flatbread, assorted appetizers, lahmacun, and finally, köfte served with bulgur, one of my favorite Turkish dishes. Oh and by the way, the zucchini fritter in the appetizer platter was absolutely amazing!