THE WORLD'S FIRST VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT

In 1898 a restaurant called Vegetarian Home and Abstinence Cafe opened on Sihlstrasse in Zurich. Its name wasn't particularly appealing and, as vegetarians were thought of as cranks at the time, it did no great business. The few customers who visited often scurried in the back door, embarrassed to be seen visiting the establishment.

Fast-forward 124 years and we can only marvel at the foresight. The Abstinence, is now into its fourth generation of family ownership. It's as innovative as ever, and one of Zurich's hippest restaurants. Guinness World Records recognises Hiltl as the oldest continuously open vegetarian restaurant in the world, and how times change: some 80 per cent of its customers aren't vegetarian at all.