We went up to Basel for the weekend to see the Basel Tattoo (see earlier post here).

We came upon Zum Schmale Wurf (“ZSW”) by chance and were pleased with our meal.

ZSW is an Italian restaurant in a row of restaurants located on the Klein Basel side of the Rhine.

It is at a rather touristy location that is also popular with the locals. People come here to get into the river here for a swim. The current is strong here enough for one to rent an inner tire and float downstream along the river.

The restaurant has a street entrance on Rhinegasse but we entered from the side that faces the river where they had outdoor seating (but it was full at the time).

Our server was extremely attentive. When I ordered the Spaghetti alle vongole, she went to check with the kitchen before she would accept my order as she suspected that they had used up all the clams.

Giant and tasty bruschette.

I was lucky as I had the last portion of clams for that evening, and it was a huge portion. Notice that the dish is not shallow, rather it has a sunken “basin”, the edge of which was completely obscured by the overflowing pasta. There was a lot of food.

Look at the amount of empty shells in the bowl !  – while it is not uncommon to have so much mussel shells but …  not clams from a single portion ? Not even in the US. I enjoyed it very much and Sue liked her pasta dish too.

The restaurant apparently hosts artwork by local artists. One can buy the pictures on the wall.

This artist is very fond of naked ladies and skeletons.

Like many houses in Basel, to impress tourists or to outdo a neighbor, the year in which a house was built (we assume) is written on the front of the house. The restaurant is situated in a site or a house that dates back to 1450.

Recommendable for pasta. Good value for money in an expensive city.