Zermatt Mountain Restaurants

Zermatt's mountain restaurants are blessed with a winning combination of great cuisine, majestic views and the authentic feel of charmingly restored alpine farm buildings.

This is the point of coming to Zermatt, maybe even the reason to learn to ski in the first place. There are 38 mountain restaurants, many of them famous for great cuisine, some even with Gault Millau points. Throw in the views (not just of the Matterhorn, but it’s a good starting point) and the authentic feel of many of the restaurants – charmingly restored alpine farm buildings – and you’re onto a winner, whether you’re cooking or dining.

There’s a range of food that includes traditional Swiss dishes, including the cheesy ones, but it’s worth seeking out menus featuring the local fauna and flora. Don’t miss Findeln for a collection of top spots. Lunching on the old terrace at Franz & Heidi’s on a sunny day with the Matterhorn rising majestically as if from the end of your table, the hubbub and the delicious food and wine are an intoxicating mix. The real wonder is that comparable experiences can be had in huts across Zermatt’s entire ski domain. These typically offer well prepared traditional Walliser specialities (lots of home-made soups, cheese plates, salads, breads and cured meats) as well as wonderful bratwurst, rösti and special pasta dishes, the last reflecting the influence – just across the peaks - of Italy.

Some other excellent huts you might try (by no means exclusively) are the Paradies, also at Findeln, both the Zum See and Blatten restaurants in the eponymous hamlets below Furgg, the Fluhalp, just below Unter Rothorn, which often has live music on sunny days, and the famous Simi’s at Furi. At over 3000 metres, you shouldn’t miss the charming Gandegghűtte, above Trockener Steg, which has been going since 1885. And if Zermatt ever runs out (impossible) you can always ski over to Cervinia for some genuine Italian food. Be sure to book unless eating very early or late.