Switzerland Restaurant Tips by Tripack Top 5 Page for this destination

Le Restaurant du Château de Villa: Specialities of the Valais

At the restaurant, guests can enjoy the best known specialities of the Valais region. Pride of place is given to cheese dishes, with a raclette prepared with five AOC mountain products of choice – but there are also aromatic dried meat dishes, brisolée d’automne (roast chestnuts) and a great many traditional seasonal recipes. The Château has several rooms suitable for receptions and a large shady terrace which is open to visitors in summer.

Open daily, 10.00 to 23.00 hr

Favorite Dish: Do not miss the Oenotheque

500 selected wines and the know-how of more than 70 winegrowers are brought together in an exceptional cellar, offering a complete panorama of wine production in the Valais region. Visitors can taste different wines each week and buy any of the wines presented to take home. The oenotheque also offers wine lovers a choice of fine eaux-de-vie made in the Valais region.

Open daily, 10.30 to 13.00 hr, 16.30 to 20.30 hr

Address: Rue Sainte Catherine 4, 3960 Sierre

Comparison: about average

Phone: 027 455 18 96

Price: US$21-30

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.chateaudevilla.ch/

Marché Movenpick: Restoroute du Grand Saint-Bernard

If you're travelling by car to/from Valais take a break here to relax and enjoy a meal. This place has a small supermarket with many local culinary specialties and souvenirs, an information center, fuel station and a great restaurant.

Le relais du Grand St-Bernard is located on the lake Rosel banks, also a famous spot for windsurfers. There you could enjoy a meal on the terrace or walk along the lake, while your children discovered the playgroung.

Favorite Dish: Enjoy the fresh selection of the market: home made pasta, vegetables of season, fresh salads, grills, fruits, cakes and desserts. Take the special of the day at an attractive price and assist to the quick preparation of your favorite dishes.

Open daily from 6AM to 11PM

Address: A9 motorway

Comparison: about average

Directions: Direction Martigny/Grand St-Bernard/Sion/Simplon just 1km before the Martigny exit.
Direction Vevey/Lausanne 1km after the Martigny exit

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 4

Theme: Autogrill/Rest Stop

Website: http://www.moevenpick-gastronomy.com/RestaurantDetails/mm_martigny/fr/Welcome.htm

La Brisolée experience

Favorite Dish: Formerly the sweet chestnut was a vital element for the family food. Cooked with water, it was consumed morning and evening during all of long winters. Today, in autumn, one eats in very many places brisolée, this tasty dish with sweet chestnuts.

So be tempted by this old Valaisan tradition which offers the perfect pretext for a joyful get-together in a restaurant with family and friends for a "Brisolée". Roast chestnuts served with a variety of alpine cheeses, neither too young nor too dry, and a glass of "moût" (young wine that has not completely fermented). Different regions also add apples or grapes.

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Say Swiss Cheese Fondue

Favorite Dish: Here you will find the secret Swiss recipe to make your own Fondue or just go to a traditional Swiss restaurant...

You need a special pot called a "caquelon" to prepare a fondue. Once the fondue is ready, the caquelon is set up on the table on a small burner. Keep the fondue on a constant heat, but make sure it does not overheat. We use special forks with long handles to dip the bread in the molten cheese.

Ingredients (for 4 cheese amateurs):

* 1 clove of garlic
* 800g of cheese mixture (400g Gruyere and 400g Emmantaler, for the classic “moitie-moitie” (half and half) fondue.) You may also vary the mixture of cheese depending on your taste.
* Dry white wine, such as Fendant du Valais
* Freshly ground pepper
* Flour, maizena or potato starch
* Bicarbonate of soda
* Kirsch Liqueur
* French bread cubes, about 1 inch in size with crust on at least 1 side.

Preparation & Service

1) Rub a clove of garlic against a fondue dish (you can leave the garlic in the fondue dish).
2) Add 4 dl of dry white wine and let it warm at a low temperature. When the wine boils, put 800g of grated cheese and mix it continuously at a medium-high temperature until it reaches boiling point.
3) Let this mixture cook for another minute or two and then add the binding agent (see below).
4) Season with pepper and serve as soon as possible. Be sure that the cheese is kept warm at a low temperature while serving.

To bind the fondue:

1) Mix the following ingredients in a glass: 4 or 5 teaspoons of maizena, potato starch or flour.
2) Add one teaspoon of Kirsch (1 teaspoon = 1 person) and a pinch of bicarbonate of soda.
Once the cheese mixture is finally mixed and melted, pour it slowly into the fondue pot and serve.

Important steps:

* You must put 1 dl of white wine per 150-200g of cheese.
* Be sure to cook the cheese properly before adding the binding agent.

Bon appetit !

Comparison: less expensive than average

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Experiment La Raclette

Raclette is the traditional and most typically Valaisan cheese dish which is now well known far beyond the cantonal borders. Traditionally, the raclette is scraped off a large cheese over a charcoal fire and served with potatoes and a sparkling glass of Fendant.

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 5

Theme: Local

Website: http://www.raclette-du-valais.ch/