Upon arriving in Geneva last month I felt like a “fish out of water” in regards to restaurants and bars. Visiting a city for work is very different than for pleasure or when you live there full time. The restaurants which are popular for work dinners are normally ones aren’t conducive for a relaxing Saturday night dinner date or a girl’s night after work on Tuesday. Yet here I was living in a new city and the only restaurants I knew were inside hotels or tourist spots. I longed for the familiarity of the New York City restaurants where I could recommend a spot in almost any part of the city. Instead of being overwhelmed, I took this as a fun challenge.
Each week, before our Tuesday dinner, I email the group of girls asking if they’ve heard of any “new to them” restaurants, consult co-workers and turn to Yelp. This week, Yelp recommendations introduced us to what will most likely become a new favorite spot for our group. You know a restaurant is a winner when a day later we’re still texting via What’sApp about the meal and value!
Tucked away in the Old Town section of Geneva, Chez Ma Cousine specializes in serving delicious, moist, rotisserie chickens which are farmed outdoors in Switzerland and fed all natural feed.
In the Yelp reviews many people made a point to call out the lack of atmosphere but our group found the atmosphere to be exactly what we wanted. The bright interior was far warmer than the gray, rainy evening outside and the service was very friendly. No one cared that all our group wanted to do was linger and laugh for a few hours. Unlike the United States, we never once felt rushed.
Their drink menu is larger than the dinner menu, offering a full range of beverages including liquor. We split two bottles of wine, one red and one white, during the evening. We’ve found that in Geneva, like most places, this is a far cheaper option than ordering individual glasses.
While they do actually offer a few other dishes including multiple salads, our entire table of six hungry ladies ordered the house specialty. For 14.90 Swiss Francs (~$15) we were served a half rotisserie chicken, wedge potatoes, salad, and bread. This chicken was so unbelievably juicy and flavorful! I swear they rubbed salt, pepper and garlic under the skin to help the flavor permeate. Every single one of us stated that we want to come back again and bring others with us whether out of town guests or significant others. The whole experience was so relaxed and enjoyable that it made me feel as if I was back in Savannah dining at my family’s favorite barbecue restaurant.
I won’t talk about every dining experience I have in Geneva on the blog as I realize it isn’t exactly relevant for most readers. But, if you want to follow my reviews, check me out on Yelp! I’m making it a point to review our European spots so I’ll be able to share with friends and family in the future who are visiting.
Last night as we devoured these salted wedge potato fries a few of us started talking about our favorite type of French fry. I absolutely love perfectly salted Chick-fil-A waffle fries especially when paired with a Diet Coke. How about you?
You’ll probably discover this the longer you live in Geneva, but it’s definitely a European custom to not rush customers and to only deliver the check when the customers ask for it. I also loved the rotisserie chicken when I lived in Paris, but it was more of a street food that you pick up to go and eat at home, which probably explains why your meal was so cheap!
They sell the chickens at the farmer’s market in Geneva but they are 9-11 Swiss francs which made this meal seem like an even better deal!
But that’s for a whole chicken, right? My point was mostly that you weren’t exactly ordering haute cuisine! But I have heard that Geneva is particularly brutal on the wallet, so hopefully you find some more cheap eats!
Every time Zach and I drive by a chick-fil-a I always ask to pull over and get their fries with their dip. He never does. . . dang it. I’m glad I’m not the only one that love them!
I love Chick-Fil-A fries as well, but hands down my favorite fries are Chickie & Pete’s crab fries. Crinkle cut fries seasoned with Old Bay and swerved with a cheese sauce. Perfection.
yummmm! so glad you enjoyed it so much! it is indeed fabulous!
I have to go with Chik-Fil-A waffle fries, too. I can’t get enough of them. I maybe would say Whataburger fries with the fancy ketchup, but they are hit or miss lately.