I am travelling to Zermatt with my family in December and am looking for advice and recommendations for restaurants for dining (evening and on the mountain).

I have never been to Zermatt so any advice will be welcome. For restaurants we are looking for establishments with character and good food. We'll be there for at least 5 nights.

Thanks

Its been a few years since we were in
Zermatt and in the times we were there
ate at the following which bear to mind.
THE BAHNHOFBUFFET, was exceptionally good the couple of times we were there.
Another excellant one was the grill room of the Cervin. The Seilerhaus was
very good the first time we dined there
but was slightly disappointed the second
time, mainly with the service. The MARIO and the STUBI of the Schweizerhof
were both just above average, however was throughly disappointed with the
schnitzel at the stubi on the last visit. Last but not least a change from
Swiss crusine was the China Garden in
Zermatt. Did throughly enjoy lunches
at the HOTEL SCHWARZEE, mainly because \
of its close up view of the Matterhorn.
Food offered at Gonergratt was acceptable...Richard of LaGrange Park, IL.

Hello Kludger,

Ahhh, Zermatt. A favorite city, to be sure!

One of our favorites is Walliserkanne, a lovely restaurant right on the main street. Taking a right from the station, it's a short five-minute walk. We've enjoyed their schnitzel, kase spatzli and kasefondue, but the one dish we come back for is the lamb with gratinated potatoes (many times the menu of the day). Absolutely delicious! We took my folks their this past summer, and when my dad (usually the picky eater) tasted the dish, his only words were "Now that's good!", a real comnpliment from him.

The menu runs around 33 CHF, but includes a delightful salad and ice cream dessert.

It fills up quickly in summer. Not sure of the crowds in December.

There's also a popular pizza place. I'm sure someone will remember the name. On the main drag as well.

Happy travels!

We have been to Zermatt several times during the winter and I would definitely recommend Le Gitan for an excellent meal. It is in the Hotel Darioli on the main street - very popular so reserve in advance. The Hotel Julen has two restaurants, one in the main dining room, but the Stubli below the hotel has more atmosphere in my opinion. On the mountain below the Sunniga(sp) restaurant there are two excellent chalet restaurants - Chez Vrony and Franz and Heidi's.

Here would be some of my favourite places for lunch and dinner. You haven't given a price range, but this is Switzerland where really nothing is cheap. You may find menus with prices posted on some websites. On the mountain, you are going to pay more (just like skiing anywhere):

1. On the Mountain – Gornegrat

Rifflleberg Cafeteria
At the Riffleberg stop on the Gornegrat train

Great for lunch, they have a very large outdoor terrace in the sun with a great Matterhorn view. An easy meeting place if your group is spread out on the Gornegrat in the morning. Bratwurst, soups, hamburgers, sandwiches. Inexpensive by Swiss standards. Non-skiers can get here by taking the train, and walking down hill about 25 yards. There is some very good winter walking in this area and a sledge run (runner sleds) as well, so this is a good choice to meet non-skiers as well as skiers.

Riffelberg Hotel
At the Riffelberg stop on the Gornegrat train

Nice restaurant with indoor and outdoor areas with Matterhorn view. For non-skiers, this is a bit more of a walk downhill from the Riffelberg stop (and a bit more of a walk uphill after lunch back to the train) but is doable; also can access walks and the sledge run from here. Go to http://www.matterhorn-group.ch/en/ri...ants/index.php for info on the hotel and the cafeteria and restaurant.

Kulm Gornegrat
Gornegrat Station

Cafeteria and sit-down restaurant. Views are only good if you are at the windows. The cafeteria has a small outdoor area in the sun. The restaurant tends to get quite smoky (a problem with many restaurants in Switzerland in winter.) Go to http://www.matterhorn-group.ch/en/go...ants/index.php for info. A bit of a pain to get to and from with ski boots, as it involves some stairs and uphill walking.

Riffelalp
Rifflealp 2222m Hotel
go to www.zermatt.ch/riffelalp
Rifflealp stop on the Gornegrat train

Several restaurants, pricey but very good food. Great outdoor restaurant with perfect Matterhorn view (and heaters), two good indoor restaurants including a stubli/fondue restaurant. The outdoor restaurant would be very good for lunch or for après ski to watch the sun set behind the Matterhorn, once it is dark you can take the train down into town from the Rifflealp station. The outdoor restaurant is my second favorite on the mountain after Chez Vriony (see below). The fondue restaurant or their more formal restaurant would be nice for dinner, especially on a clear evening with a moon, you could take the little train up from town, have a walk through the woods to the hotel and get some good views of the town below and the Matterhorn by moonlight before and/or after dinner. Their formal restaurant does not require a coat or tie. (Check last train times down the mountain however.) Take a look at the website for info on the hotel and their restaurants. I highly recommend the hotel if you have not chosen one, esp if you want ski-in and ski-out (very hard to find in Zermatt) and can pay 5 star prices.

2. Sunnega

Chez Vrony (41-27-967 2552)
Findelen
http://www.chezvrony.ch

Without doubt my favorite place for lunch in Zermatt. This is a trailside restaurant in the charming hamlet of Findelen, reached from the Sunnega ski area. Definitely make a reservation. Great fondue on their outdoor terrace, some of which have lounger seats to really relax and take in the superb Matterhorn view. This would be walkable for non-skiers, I believe you could get there from the Sunega underground train; however, I don't know the difficulty of the walk, your hotel may be able to rate if for you.

3. Zermatt Village

I agree that the food in the Mount Cervin Hotel is good (assume that is the hotel which Richard is referring to), I think you would be generally OK with any Seiler hotel, take a look at www.seilerhotels.ch

Zum See
Tel: (0041) 967 2045.
http://www.zumsee.ch

Below the Furi cable-car. Asian fusion and continental, all very good. Website has some English, mostly French and German, has menus but no prices.

Rua Thai
Hotel Albana Real
Schluhmattstrasse 19
Tel: 27 966 61 71
http://www.hotelalbanareal.com/

Very good Thai food. (They also have a Japanese restaurant)

4. Cervina - On the Italian Side

Chalet Etoile
Plan Maison Lift
tel: 39 0166 940220

Italian. On a sunny day there is nothing better than sitting outside and having some of their great soup and pasta. I would definitely recommend making a lunch reservation, as it gets very crowded. They have a large outdoor seating area.

I'm with Kopp - the Walliserkanne is my favorite place in Zermatt. I like their raclette, rosti and pizza.

The pizza place Kopp refers to is the Broken Pizzeria, which is also very good.

Have fun.

Thanks to all of you for your comments! I have just returned from our week in Zermatt and will post this for the benefit of those who come after.

First off, you should know we were a family group of 22 people (my parents, brothers, and families). We stayed at the Alfa, which is part of the 4 star Metropol. Spectacular views of the Matterhorn from the balconies that all but 2 of us had (singles on the other side).

A few of us went for a quick snack at a charming little spot called the Cafe Fuchs.

Our first evening we went to the Bahnhofbuffet. A great place - easy to get to and (on Christmas eve at least), not crowded. Several of our group of 22 returned there through the week. Very reasonably priced.

Second night - Before coming to Zermatt, we had not expected to dine together every night, so we did not have reservations for the second night. The Seilerhof Restaurant was able to take us. The food was fine, but there was only 1 waitress for a group of 18. I did not get a glass of wine until 30 minutes after sitting down (after others had finished their appetizers) and it took over 45 minutes for all the entrees to be delivered (one of the pizzas burned, apparently).

Third night - On the way back from skiing on day 2 the bus went by a place called Max Julen's. They were able to accommodate us the third evening and it was absolutely delightful. Exceptional service (2 waiters helped at times by a third and at times by the manager himself), great food - and perfect ambiance for 22 (including 12 kids aged 11 to 25). Several groups returned there later in the week. Although the price was on the high side, we were extremely happy with this place and I strongly recommend it.

Third night - the Casa Rustica. We had reservations and our own room, though cigarette smoke from the main dining area kept wafting in. As at the Seilerhof, we were given only one waitress for our group (now all 22 of us were there). One of my brothers got tired of waiting and actually went to the bar for a beer, where the manager asked him to return to his seat where the waitress would help him. My brother pointed out that the waitress was far too busy and he wanted his beer and was willing to get it himself if the owner did not want to give us service (she got a little bit of help after that). The food was good, but when service is poor it really ruins the experience. A couple or small family would probably have a great time there, but for a larger group, I do not recommend this place. The price was as high as Max Julen’s but we did not feel it was worth it.

Fourth Night – We had reservations for the Waliserkanne restaurant. In all the confusion of reservations, they had us down for the third night but kindly accommodated us for the fourth night. They have fixed seatings at 18:30 and 21:00 – we were there at 18:30. A busier place than the Rustica, and they seated us in the main dining room on 3 large tables. Two excellent waiters kept the food and drink flowing smoothly for 2 hours. Great food (and lots of it) and a great place for Fondue (I think we had 4 orders of meat fondue.) A great place! Excellent food, reasonably priced, and I strongly recommend it.

Fifth night – I got the night off (as dinner organizer) - each family fended for themselves.

Sixth night – Our last night in Zermatt was spent at the Restaurant Spycher. Expectations were high but we were not disappointed. They accommodated us in a charming room in the back of the restaurant with no smoke except from the flaming entrees and desserts. Two (and sometimes three) waitresses provided delightful service. Food was excellent and plentiful, even for the teenage boys. The flaming dishes added spectacle to the experience and many ended the night with the Chocolate Fondue.

One general comment: If you are a group of 22 (actually any more than 12) you are going to have trouble getting good service unless you order in advance. Many of the restaurants are small operations and simply can’t deliver 22 entrees at once without advance notice. We were asked to provide advance notice of our entrees to the Casa Rustica (where it did not seem to help at all) and at the Spycher. One thing that made Max Julen’s so impressive is the way they orchestrated our meal when we arrived – everyone ended up selecting from one of 3 or 4 entrees that we selected from their menu and we all got the same salad and vegetables.

On the mountain there are many places to eat. We had our first lunch at the top of the Rothorn outside (this was the only day warm enough for that). On another day we got the two non-skiers to the top of Gornergrat where the whole group had lunch in the hotel restaurant. But the most charming place was a tiny “bar” on the Italian/Cervinia side just past the base of the Tramway to Plateau Rosa (named Laghi Cime Bianche on the map). (At least I think that is where it was it was foggy so we were not exactly sure where we were). It was classic – great Italian skier-food (pasta & variations) was served almost as soon as it was ordered. One warning – the outhouse there is rather primitive. Another great stop was on the way down from Rothorn just down from Patrullarve, and we had our last great lunch on the mountain at Stafelalp at the foot of the Matterhorn, below Schwarzee.

Thanks to everyone who contributed comments – they were very helpful!