Marküs opens in Zurich after Stoeckle's years at The Fat Duck

Marküs, chef Markus Stoeckle's new restaurant, opened on September 8 in a Zurich old-town building dating back to the 1260s. Marküs Zurich now occupies the site of Kaisers Reblaube, a historic address that closed in 2021 after decades of service.

Stoeckle spent five years cooking at The Fat Duck under Heston Blumenthal before returning to Switzerland. He built his name in Zurich earlier at Rosi and Gül, both known for pairing technical precision with playful references.

The tasting menu at Marküs runs to 266 Swiss francs and threads together Stoeckle's Bavarian upbringing with techniques picked up in Japan and regional Spanish cooking, alongside the multisensory tricks he learned in Bray.

Marküs cooks Bavaria through a Japanese and Spanish accent, with a wink back to Bray.

A dish that nods to Bray

A “Jelly and Cream” course draws a direct line to Stoeckle's time at The Fat Duck, a dish Gault Millau's reviewer called “very British” in an otherwise Central European menu. Early notices have called the opening a “kleine Wunder,” a small miracle, for how quickly the kitchen found its rhythm.

Stoeckle designed the space to keep much of the building's original stonework and timber, seating guests within a structure older than the Swiss confederation itself.

Zurich's old town gets a new address

The site had sat empty since Kaisers Reblaube's closure, one of several historic addresses in Zurich's Niederdorf district that have changed hands in the past five years as the city's fine-dining scene consolidates around a smaller number of ambitious kitchens.

Stoeckle has not said whether he is chasing a Michelin star with Marküs, but the price point and the technical range on show suggest he is not ruling it out. Zurich's dining scene, like Milan's recent run of designer-house openings, keeps drawing established chefs into landmark addresses rather than blank slates.

Reservations at Marküs are currently booked out several weeks ahead, according to the restaurant's own booking page, and Stoeckle has said he plans to keep the dining room small rather than expand seating to meet demand.