Is there such a thing?? I am leaving in 8 days for Zurich. Then heading west to the Gstaad/Saanen area and doing day trips from there for a week then back to Zurich and home.

My budget has been diminished due to some unforseen expenses here at home. I need to tweek my trip budget a little, and figure that maybe I can save a little in food costs. Any suggestions? Where are some great "homey" places to eat that don't cost an absolute fortune (yes I realize Switzerland is an expensive place to dine).

Someone told me "eat like the locals"... well, where do they do that?

Thanks in advance.

Susie

In large cities, one of the bst value meals can be had in restaurants/cafeterias arrached to supermarket chains like Migros. Also for lunch many places do a plat du jour (Tagesgericht) at a good price. Then there are fast food places, esp pizzas and kebabs.
It will be more difficult eating cheaply in smaller places, and often taking a demi-pension (Halbpension) in your hotel offers best value. If all you want is snack food, there are Schnellimbisse (snack stalls) selling a variety of roast meats, sausages and fries, to take out. You can econmize by buying picnic provisions in a supermarket. Local restaurants usually serve reliable local fare, for fully inclusive price and no tips expected. You can just have a single course.

Are you used to large sit-down dinners or can you have a large lunch instead and a sandwich-salad for dinner? I bought bread, cheese, wine, veggies, fruit in a Co-op, they seem to be everywhere, and picnicked on the hotel's balcony.

Breakfast buffet was included. I don't advise to steal food, but eat a lot!

You can bring snacks from home like energy bars if you're used to snacking between the meals. I had ice-cream instead - the best in the world!

The tap water is great everywhere in Switzerland, so no need to buy it. Just bring a bottle from home and refill in the hotel room.

Most restaurants have their menu outside, so you'll see the prices and make your choice.

Migros, Coop and Manor restaurants! They are self-service and offer a nice variety.

For picnic lunches, pack some wonderful bread, cheese and Landjäger or Bündnerfleisch and eat along the way. You can eat this on the train.

Menu lunches are usually cheaper than dinners. Try to make lunch your big meal. Definitely take a look at the menu outside.

Bring warm clothes! It's been cold here. (Although check the weather forecast because you never know when a warm front is coming in.)

No there is no inexpensive food in Switzerland, at least outside of supermarkets. Of course it depends on what inexpensive means to you but i've found Switzerland extremely expensive eating out - McDonalds fare even costs about three times what it would at home. Migros, Coop are cheaper places and very nice but in no way cheap in the American sense. Supermarkets often have take-out deli fare and salads and everyplace in Suisse makes a lovely picnic venue. But a restaurant meal outside McDs and Coop and migros is extremely expensive in my terms. Right up there with Scandinavia. A great country i love to travel in, great people, etc. but so expensive!

That's one reason why we like to base ourselves in one area and do the apartment thingy. I love it when my wife cooks while she's on vacation -- just kidding.

Nothing like bringing back a nice roasted chicken right off the spit, and eating the leftovers for breakfast/lunch.

I think the key thing is what you mean by inexpensive. If you're used to small town prices it will be a bigger sticker shock than if you're from a city. Switzerland is not cheap - but there are cheaper options - as mentioned above.

And actually we have found that going into casuale local places - they really cost litle more than they do at home.

Hi SusieChef,

Great suggestions here, and I'll add that you can save by having your big meal in the middle of the day. Eat a prix fixe menu for lunch then have cheese & fresh bread for dinner. Look for restaurants on the sidestreets, too, and always go in if you see men in dustybcoveralls!

s

oops. Should be "dusty coveralls" of course. Hard to type and pet a purring cat at the same time . . .

s

i don't remember the exact prices we paid for meals (i was last there last year), but it is not shockingly expensive if you eat in standard restaurants. this was in and around klosters (i haven't been to zurich in a long time ...and only when i was on expenses so i didnt note the costs). the class of restaurants that i ate in followed a very similar formula --cozy, run by an older woman, usually quite small, full service, table with tablecloth, etc).

the menu was quite simple with things like meat dishes, mushroom dishes, rosti, etc. a meat dish with rosti salad and beer or wine costs no more than what you would pay in NYC, boston or london.

if you live somewhere where the tax and semi-mandatory tip are not included in the menu price, beware that this can add 25% or more to the cost of a meal. in switzerland, what you see on the menu is what you pay. most people know this but don't consider it when they are shocked by menu prices in europe.

don't worry, the reports of swiss expenses are exaggerated here, IMO.

walkinaround, that's a good point. Tax & tip here in the States could add as much as 25% to the cost of the meal.

Eat like a local:

Take advantage of the workmen's lunch specials. Go into cafes (on side streets as mentioned above) that have a chalkboard outside showing what is on offer that day. They aren't hard to spot, look for places with old men sitting around drinking wine mid-morning.

Migros is an excellent suggestion, a chain of grocery stores but with many items ready to eat.

My best idea... Find out the day(s) and location of the open air farmer's market each week in the town you are visiting. There you will find along with all the fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, pastries savory and sweet, cheese, cured meats, flowers, etc.

Except in self-service restaurants $4-5 for a cup of coffee is no exaggeration - but you do usually get a small cookie with it!

How could I forget? Bakeries!! which often have prepared sandwiches along with bread and pastries.

The only two things I found shockingly expensive in Switzerland were: one Chinese restaurant and a couple fast-food places.

Otherwise we ate at the Mom & someimes Pop kind of places Walkinaround describes which were fairly priced. Also good luck with Italian restaurants. If you drink wine, definitely go with the "house" carafe.

My experience is in the french-speaking region but hopefully this information holds for german-speaking too.

Believe it or not, one of the cheapest places for coffee is McDonald's: and it's good! The rest of the food there is expensive.

Lunches at cafes is a very good idea too!

Yavole (sp!!) yes good old McDonalds for coffee and ice cream cones and sundaes which are also a great value - as are the toilets. It was in environmentally conscious Suisse that i first encountered the ice cream sundae edible cup - rather than using plastic the sundae was in a cone-like material that you ended up eating. Haven't seen this recently in Suisse however. Hotel breakfasts in Suisse are also great - usually buffet eat as much as you want and i eat a lot to last the whole day!

Susie----look into half-board (Halbpension) at your hotel---it is usually a very good value, and the food is excellent. Last summer we were paying CHF 30 for very nice 4-course dinners at our hotel in the Valais region (wine was extra). With breakfast and dinner covered, we only needed small snacks from the grocery store, and ice-cream (of course!) for lunch.

Fondue and raclette are usually not super expensive at Swiss restaurants, along with rosti (the best potato dish in the world) depending upon what they come with and the size of the order.

Check out the street food if there are any special events going on. I've had fabulous "sausage" (i.e. hot dog) at music festivals, fireman's fund raiser, and street fairs.