We will be in Zermatt at the end of our next Swiss trip. We are a family group of six, with parents, three young adults, and a teen (with very sophisticated tastes). We have been to Switzerland before, but never to Zermatt. We will have an apartment and enjoy cooking together, but would like to go out at least one night, possibly two. I've read a thread from late 2005, titled "Dining in Zermatt" (sorry, I don't know how to connect to the link for the thread), but I'm wondering if you have more suggestions to add?

Hopefully, not somplace in all the guidebooks with the menu in 6 languages. In fact, 2 (German and French) would be just fine.

We prefer casual to formal, and enjoy locals' favorites. We love deck dining, but I don't know if that is realistic for dinner in Zermatt (we tend to eat late, around 8-ish). We would like to be able to make reservations a day or so in advance. Italian or Italian-inspired food would be best, but good Swiss cuisine, with the wonderful fresh ingredients, is fine too. At this point in our trip, we will have had our fill of Rösti, and 3 of us do not eat Fondue (not that it is available in the summer, anyway).

Price is not a consideration (this is our celebratory meal for our trip), but expensive hotel dining rooms might not have the casual atmosphere we seek. We would be happy to ride a train or lift up somewhere (Riffelalp?) as long as the lift or train runs late enough to get us back home. Otherwise, we could walk anywhere in the village, or on the edges.

Thank you!

Where are all my fellow Swiss-o-philes?????

Enzian, unfortunately the only places I have had dinner in Zermatt were in hotels!

Once, while staying down in Brig i took the train over to Domodossola where I had one of the very best Italian meals ever but that's obviously too far for you to travel.

Hopefully, someone else wil post with a suitable recommendation.

Hi Dukey---thanks--maybe a hotel dining room would work---I just would like it to be a casual one, not white tablecloths, etc. Is there one in particular you could recommend?

I mainly mentioned "Italian" because somewhere I saw a nice pizza/pasta place mentioned for Zermatt, but I can't find it anywhere now.

ttt

I don’t think there is a lot of outdoor dining in Zermatt itself, as the town is quite tightly packed. There are one or two restaurants along the main street near the train station which have terraces fronting the street, but I can’t recall their names in particular. There are also some apres-ski places at the edge of town at the bottom of the ski trail leading into Zermatt from the Schwarzsee paradise ski area (i.e. the Matterhorn) that have large outdoor terraces and which would be walkable from town in summer, I don’t recall names either (apres-ski is a blur to me after one gluwine...) A good restaurant with a terrace in that area which I can recco is:

Zum See
Tel: (0041) 967 2045.

This is just below the Furi cable-car almost below the Matterhorn. Asian fusion and continental, all very good. They have pastas, I don’t recall a lot of other Italian, however the food is all very fresh, so it would probably fit all your other requirements. It is in a charming wood chalet, and has an outdoor terrace.

You might also try the restaurant in the Monte Rose hotel which us really lovely view, it is a little more formal, but very nice I think for a celebratin, and the food is really excellent. Take a look at http://www.seilerhotels.ch/. I am not sure if they serve on the terrace in summer, if they do, this would be a very nice option.

Otherwise, I think you have to go up the mountain to get an outdoor terrace. The Riffelalp has a lovely outdoor terrace with a stunning Matterhorn view, take a look at www.zermatt.ch/riffelalp. The Riffleberg, further up the hill is a 3 star hotel with a good restaurant with an outdoor terrace that would be nice as well, take a look at www.matterhorn-group.ch. The one drawback is that the trains do not run particularly late on the Gornegrat even in summer but take a look at http://www.ggb.ch/.

If you can at all work out the travel times, I would very strongly suggest a meal in Saas Fee at the Fletshchorn Hotel. Really, if you like good food, this is the place to go. I dream of their cheese tray. . . . Take a look at http://www.fletschhorn.ch/english/hotel/hotel.html. With public transport, this probably would not work for dinner, as I believe the last bus between Saas Fee and Zermatt departs from Saas Fee at like 8 pm, but may work for lunch. If you have a car, then dinner would work well of course. Saas Fee is a very charming little village and there is some very good walking either up in Saas Fee or in the valley below in Saas Grund, so lunch may be a better idea anyway, you could spend the morning walking in the area and seeing the village and reward yourself with a great lunch on their lovely terrace with the terrific mountain view. This restaurant is excellent, certainly one of the best in Switzerland and would fulfil all your requirements (except they don’t always have Italian on the menu, but certainly fantastic Valais cuisine).

Thank you, Cicerone. I had seen you recommendation for Zum See on the previous thread, and it looks like a good choice. Our apartment is at that end of town, and if they have outdoor dining that may just settle it! Perhaps we can enjoy one of the other (Riffleberg or Rifflealp) at lunch?

We'd love to go to Saas Fee--I had a hard time choosing between the two (Zermatt vs. Saas Fee) for this trip---but as we are there only for three full days and plan to hike our legs off, we will just stay around Zermatt. I will save your Saas Fee recco's for the next trip. . .

Oh absolutely, the Rifflealp or Riffleburg are perfect for lunch, you can walk back down into Zermatt from either (or UP from Zermatt if you are really wanting a good walk..). If you want a great lunch and walk, then go to Chez Vrony in Findelen, either take the Sunegga undergrond Funicular or walk from the Gornegrat area. Chez Vrony would be great for dinner, but the funicular does not run at night and while it is light until late, I don't think you want to hike back that late. Go to http://www.chezvrony.ch for info. My top favourite place of all time in Zermatt really. Stupendous view and just a great outdoor terrace and good Swiss food.

I'm no help. We were there in 2002 for a night. Armed with an article entitled "Cheap Eats in Zermatt", we walked all over and found we could only afford ... McDonalds!

My God, McDonalds is so expensive in Switzerland!!

I've stayed at the Mt. Rosa Hotel and it was very plesant however...my most favorite meal was at the top of the tramway overlooking the Matterhorn. A public cafeteria style restaurant where you could sit in lawn chairs, keep your wine cold in the snow and eat a big bowl of soup! Then again I loved the cemetary with all the climbers who didn't make it. Eating simple in Zermatt is like eating the Perch in Montreaux. Fantastic!

Thank you all---I think we'll give the MickeyD's a miss (I've never eaten at one even in the US).

Cicerone---I'm intrigued by the Chez Vrony idea---it looks wonderful. I'm looking at the very basic panoramic map that comes with my Zermatt guide from the TI, and it shows a "Gourmetweg" going directly from Winkelmatten (where our apartment is) to Findeln. It looks like it climbs through forest and tops out on a bench, where the restaurant. No way to tell how long or difficult the hike from this map. We are strong experienced hikers, with a bit of adventurous spirit, and wouldn't mind returning by flashlight/torch/headlamp for a special experience, so long as the path is reasonable to negotiate after dark. Do you have any estimate how long the walk would be? There must be some way to do it after the Sunnegga funicular closes---how else can they serve dinner up there?