Switzerland: Vevey, Neuchatel, Bern, Wengen, Zurich area restaurants
 

We have our basic itinerary planned and the hotels booked. Now for the details!

Anyone have any great restaurant/cafe recommendations in/around Vevey, Neuchatel, Bern, Wengen, and Zurich? Or on roads in between? Special meals you suggest at these restaruants?

Thanks!

Suspire, you have already seen my list for Zurich recently. Some suggestions for the other places on your itinerary are below.

1. Road between Zurich and BO/Lake Brienz Area

If you are driving to the BO from Zurich, on the road between Zurich and the Jungfrau, try to stop and have lunch outdoors on the terrace of the wonderful Gasthaus Brunig Kulm restaurant which hangs off the cliff with a great valley view. This is one of the last places I know of other than the Villa d'este that will prepare crepes suzette at your table. You can also shop for antiques (and cowbells!) at the little shop just which is just before the restaurant. The restaurant is just after the top of the Bruning Pass, on the left, you will pass the Brunig train station and the Brokenhaus (second hand shop), and a small collection of shops just before the restaurant. (This is well after Lucerne, and you will climing uphill, it’s about 1.5-2 hours from Zurich.) The shops are open on Sundays, one of the few exceptions to the Sunday closure rule in Switzerland.

Gasthaus Brunig Kulm
Brünig Passhöhe
3860 Brünig
Tel: 41 (0) 33 971 17 08
www.bruenig-kulm.ch

In the Brienz/Interlaken area, I have eaten at the following hotels and thought both had nice aspects in terms of views and location and good food:

Hotel Lindenhof
Lindenhofweg 15
CH-3855 Brienz
Phone: 41 33 952 20 30
http://www.hotel-lindenhof.ch

Grandhotel Giessbach
3855 Brienz, Schweiz
Switzerland
Phone 41 33 952 25 25
http://www.giessbach.com

2. Wengen

Hotel Caprice
Tel: 41-33-856-0606
http://www.caprice-wengen.ch/

IMO really the best restaurant in Wengen, with a deck with great views. The other restaurants in town have perfectly OK food, but not really what you would call gourmet dining, they tend to have more Swiss-German heavier fare, and stuff geared toward tourists like fondue (which most Swiss don’t eat between about May 1 and end October). If you go to Caprice, definitely make a reservation for dinner as the restaurant is not large and they have half board for their guests; this is a good spot for lunch as well.

Hotel Eiger
(http://www.eiger-wengen.ch/)

Has a nice stubli restaurant, if you are going to have fondue, this IMO is the best place to have it (the best place to have fondue is in your own house but this is second best...).

Mary's Café - Häxehüsli
Tel.: +41 33 855 25 75

This is at toward the end of an excellent walk out from Wengen which will give you fantastic valley views and views of the trio of Monch, Eiger and Jungfrau. The restaurant is a little cabin in a lovely setting, they have an outdoor deck with views. This is a perfect spot for lunch. I believe they will take a booking for outdoor tables, have your hotel call to enquire.

Alpenrose Hotel
Tel. 41-33-855-3216
(alpenrose.ch).

Good basic Swiss standards, very charming little hotel a bit out of the main area.

3. Vevey/Neuchatael Area

I can’t speak for right in Neuchatel, as I have only day tripped there mostly as part of walking trips in the Jura, but in that area, esp along Lake Geneva, I would recommend as follows. IMO its very hard to have a bad meal in this part of Switzerland (or in Switzerland generally):

L'ermitage
Rue du Lac 75 - CP 345
Clarens- Montreux
Tel: 41-21- 964-4411
http://www.ermitage-montreux.com/

Michelin 1-star in a lovely lake-side setting. Also quite a nice hotel. Just on the edge of Montreux, outside the noisy downtown part.

Auberge du Raisin
(http://www.relaischateaux.com/raisin)

Michelin 1-star restaurant. Cully is a very, very charming village with a good-sized and extremely well preserved old town, parts of which are medieval. It is further down the lake than Vevey and Montreux so its Alp aspect is not quite as gorgeous but it is still very beautiful, and you can get up into the vineyards from here.

Au Major Davel
Place d'armes 8
1096 Cully
Téléphone: 021/799 94 94

On the lake also in Cully, a bit less expensive and less formal than the du Raisin, but very good too. Nice for lunch.

Hotel des Trois Couronnes
49, rue d'Italie
Vevey
http://www.hoteltroiscouronnes.ch
Tel: 41 -21 923 32 00

This is right on the waterfront in Vevey, they have a good and expensive formal restaurant, but I actually like their outdoor pool deck restaurant for lunch as the views are so wonderful right on the lake and with the Alps in the background.

Hotel Les Negociants
27, rue du Conseil
Vevey
http://www.hotelnegociants.ch/francais/index.htm

Right in the old town on a little cobblestone street, nice and not too expensive restaurant.

Le Mirador Kempinski
Mont-Pèlerin (Vevey)
Tel: 41-21- 925-1111
http://www.kempinski.com/en/index.htm

The hotel sits high above Vevey in the vineyards with absolutely stunning views. You take a funicular from the town to the hotel. They have a very formal restaurant (excellent, expensive rates 16 GM points) and also a more casual less expensive (its relative) pool-terrace restaurant that would be very good for lunch and maybe for dinner. This area has some great walks, and you can take the elevator/cable car up to Mt Pelerin as well from this area.

Restaurant Denis Martin "Le Château"
2, rue de Château
Vevey
Tel: 41-21-921-1210

A kind of spectacular restaurant, with vaulted stone dining rooms, and a nice outdoor terrace with lake views. Continental food.

Le Mazot
7 rue du Conseil
Vevey
Tel: 41-21-921-7822

Not expensive, casual place, like a neighbourhood bistro.

La Pinte de l'Hôtel de Ville
19, rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville
Vevey
Tel 41-21-921-7880

Nice casual bistro, serving German/Swiss fare. It also has sandwiches and light entrees, is good for lunch.

Brasserie du Château d'Ouchy
Place du Port 2
1006 Lausanne
Tel: 41-21-616-7451

Elegant décor and nice lakeside location. Good French food.


Le Vieux Manoir au Lac
Rue de Lausanne, 18
Tel.: : + 41 (0)26 678 61 61
http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/sea...t/vieuxmanoir/

Very good restaurant, they have a pretty terrace or glassed–in restaurant overlooking the lake which has very nice views of the lake and the Jura mountains. I have to say that Murten totally underwhelms me. You can literally walk the entire town in under 15 minutes. The main street is pretty and arcaded, but I found it disappointing that it was filled with hardware stores, souvenir shops and a Manor Department store. The lake is OK, but not anywhere near as beautiful as many many other lakes in Switzerland, i.e. there no snowy Alp vistas. The best part of the trip here is the boat trip to/from Neuchatel through canals and over the lakes. Lunch at the restaurant above may be the saving grace....

Hi suspire,

Wow, what a great list by Cicerone. Here are my suggestions --

In Vevey, try to Hostellerie de Geneve, right on the center place. Great Italian food, and usually packed.

In Montreux, I really enjoy the lakeside cafe at the Royal Plaza hotel, almost in Clarens.

In Wengen, I really enjoyed the restaurant in the Hotel Silberhorn.

Have fun!

s

Cicerone -- Could you add to this good restaurants in Lauterbrunnen and the Pontresina/St. Moritz area? I would be very thankful for tips.

What month is this trip? I ask because I have had some very special meals in various Vevey restaurants that vary by season... venison stew, cabbage sausage, etc. only in the fall.

That said, in Vevey I like to eat at one of the places right along the quai that serve 'filet de perche', little fresh lake-fish served fish & chip style.

There is a nice fondue place on the main street (look for lace curtains).

For lunches check any of the normal cafes with their chalkboard specials listed on the sidewalk. These are dotted in and around the pedestrian walking street in the central part of town between train station and lake. There is a set price for a certain dish each day, as a leftover tradition from 'workmens lunches'. Very reasonable prices.

L'hermitage was wonderful for a fancy meal. Also some high-end places up in the vineyards above the towns.

suspire~ Sorry my recommendations are all very vague, but hopefully give you general ideas for Montreux/Vevey area.

Wow!! Thank you all, with special thanks to Cicerone! Though you all are such fonts of wisdom in general that I should extend special thanks to each of you.

Suze, this is in August.

Also, does anyone know the hours of the Vevey Farmer's Market on Tuesdays? Try as I may I just can't seem to find information on that. I must be searching wrong. :(

Thanks!!

Hi suspire,

May I piggyback for a moment? I'd like to ask Cicerone a question about the Grandhotel Giessbach. I'm glad to see it on the list, as I was thinking of a sidetrip there for lunch on our transit from Luzern to Grindelwald. We'd stow our luggage in lockers in Brienz (I hope).

Question for Cicerone, then---would reservations be necessary for lunch at the Grandhotel Giessbach on a Thursday in June?

I'm not cicerone, but I've found that simply making a reservation at lunchtime for a dinner slot works. That way, you can walk to the restaurant and check out the menu 1st. Half the time, I find that a different restaurant catches my eye that I'd prefer to eat at, and then I simply make my reservation there.

I can answer about the Vevey market...

It's EARLY morning (I think maybe opening at 8:00am?).

On Tuesday it is on the pedestrain street that curves thru old town. And on Saturdays it is located in the parking lot that gets closed offo n the main square just in off the lake.

Best of all for Suspire in August, the Sat AM market features "Marche Folklorique", where different wineries host tastings each week along with all the regular market goings-on. The guys with the Swiss horns usually show up. Sometimes other kinds of orchestras, bands or music are featured.

Suze - 8 a.m. would be perfect, actually! When traveling I like to get an early start so we can get a lot into the day. I can sleep at home! Unfortunately we'll be there for Tues not Sat market - do you know if they do any wine tasting on Tues?

Thanks!

And Enzian, you are welcome to piggyback on my messages anytime! How are you? :)

Hi suspire---I'm fine! And looking forward to our trip. We are going late June/early July, earlier than you. Sounds like your plans are coming along well!

Nope, I'm pretty sure the official wine fete is only the Saturday market, and only for 6 weeks mid-July thru August (or thereabouts). But there's no shortage of places to have a quick sit and a small carafe of wine (i love the local whites myself). Either right there near where you will be shopping, out out on the quai (lakeside promonade).

The Tuesday market is a bit smaller. less vendors, but sweet, the way it is laid out along the pedestrian streets.

Don't miss the bakeries in the area, they are all wonderful. Say if you need food for the train, they have great sandwiches ready to go. Even from the shop right at the train station is good.

I got nervous after my snappy reply about Tues market times in Vevey, and have an email out to my friend there to confirm what I said is true
:-)

Suze - thank you for being so conscientious and thorough!!

It's official/confirmed :-)

Vevey market Tues 7:30-12:00

Difference being the location, it is a bit smaller, and even in summer no wine served (like Folklorique on Saturdays).

Suspire- we did not care for the dinners at Caprice in Wengen. I wish we had tried Hotel Belvedere. There are some gorgeous photos of the Belvedere in the coffee table book The Hotel Book -Great Escapes Europe but I didn't actually see the Belvedere while we were there so I can't comment on its location.
The bakery on the main drag of Wengen furthest away from the Caprice had great stuff incl sandwiches.
The Eiger's fondue was mediocre and their chicken was so salty it was inedible (5 of us concurred).

The food at Trois Couronnes in Vevey was excellent (both breakfast and dinner) and attire in the evening was a mix of jackets and jeans on the outdoor patio where everyone was dining in the summer.
The best meals we had in Switzerland were in the Ticino and the lakeside Restaurant Murtarol at Plaun de Lej ouside of Sils-Maria.
The scenery in the areas you are visiting is wonderful- I'm sure you'll have a fabulous trip. We also loved the ease of Switzerland and are looking forward to going back sometime soon.

We were at the Vevey market last September on Tuesday and there were stands in the main square. I remember this because we had the most amazing cheese tarts. They were so good in fact that we went out of our way on Saturday to go back and get some for our breakfast.

The baker (with portable ovens) is located on the far left of the market--if you're standing in the parking lot w/your back to the water. They make trays and trays of them and locals were lined up at 7:30 to get the first ones. Sorry to go on and on but they were really that good! Perhaps Suze, or her friend, can shed light on these delicious concoctions.

you bet ya!!! they are called "salet" although I am not sure of the correct French spelling. they come hot or room temp and are... well i'm speechless, but they are really GOOD.

thanks so much for the correction about the Tuesday market being in the same place as the Saturday one - the main square between the train station and the lake... not on the pedestrian street (which it had been at least some times in the past, i know since i was there -lol!). complicated, non?

Hi Suze, that's them! On your next visit to Vevey, please have one, or two, for me.

Suspire, enjoy your trip, Switzerland is beautiful~

Oh, my! Cheese tarts at 7:30 it is!! How lovely!!! Thank you all for your input!