Limmatstrasse 273, 8005 Zürich, 044 271 0277 (www.mauris-larocca.ch)
Located just across from the Säulenhalle club, be sure to make a reservation at this rather upscale, pricey Italian eatery. Cool, stylish place with semi-open kitchen and a specialty of meats off the coal-fired grill the friendly chef was working at. Service was prompt and friendly, and we were given as much of their delicious olive bread with butter as we could eat. Our salads both were very fresh and good, with a delicious vinaigrette sauce. For entreés, Phil had Sagne Pugliesi (rolled noodles from the Puglia region in Italy), covered with a tomato sauce and an egg-plant mousse, the sauce being good but not superb. I had some of the best ravioli I have ever tried: Doppio Ravioli (each ravioli contained two pockets), absolutely delicious. Should have probably eaten something from the grill, but we both had just had chateaubriand steak for lunch.
The desserts -in particular the homemade panna cotta- looked scrumptious, but we were already too full to enjoy one. All in all there were only two downsides: The wine we ordered (we told the waiter to bring us two glasses of a full-bodied red) was -especially considering it was 9 CHF per glass- horrible. It tasted like someone had mixed sparkling water with a cooking wine. We kind of got the feeling that the waiter summed us up as not knowing what good wine is, and thus sold us the left-overs. In addition, they played some loud music, even though the place was full and people were engaged in loud conversations. This affected what could have been a comfortable atmosphere. All in all Mauri’s La Rocca is a place I would recommend to someone looking for something above the great pizzeria, but make sure you personally consult the wine list and avoid the house wine! Rating: 
