“This is not a museum.” Well, Kronenhalle, located in Zurich Switzerland, practically is almost. But its grandeur doesn’t end there. Although my hubby, Javi, and I went with the intention to feast on local fare, Kronenhalle enthralled all our senses and had us feasting on so much more.

Let’s start from the beginning. We were first whisked into their bar-room, a space which captured all my interior-design passions, and where I would have willingly kept myself hostage. In this “magnificent microcosm,” I felt the glow and cordiality of a classic American-style bar and where I began to realize this was no ordinary bar. Not only did Picassos, Mirós, and Paul Klees grace our company but everything from the lamps to the cocktail glasses had art in their essence. The polished green leather couches and stools, together with the mahogany-paneled walls and ceiling, gave me a dangerously sexy sense of being in an old Bond film. Equal in status — and Bond-worthy thrill — were then artful (and award-winning) Christian Heiss’ meticulously concocted cocktails. I sipped ecstatically away as the light fixtures allowed these starry Old Masters to begin the show.

Once we floated into the dining room, we beheld, awe-struck again by, Chagall’s village scene, Miro’s suns and moons, and Braque’s mesmerizing skies. The familial and humorous treatment of our server made us giddy, until sinisterly giddier when we demolished a morel-and-foie-bathed veal with spaetzle.

Do, I insist, make a trip to the loo where I had the unparalleled honor and opportunity to leave my own humble artistic mark among these larger-than-life Masteries. Whether it’s a mindless doodle or a witty commentary with which you embellish the caboose that hangs in the bathroom stall, make sure you don’t forget to take a snapshot as a prized memento.

Behind the legendary Kronenhalle experience is the legendary visionaire and founder herself, Hulda Zumsteg. In 1924, she magically transformed a once-rickety hotel into this formidable one-of-a-kind dining institution. Her entrepreneurial spirit and passion are distinctly felt as you take in every detail and every moment, with every one of your senses.