Tips for Dining Out in Switzerland: Reservations, Tipping, Etiquette, and Must-Try Swiss Dishes

Dining out in Switzerland is one of the real highlights of any Swiss adventure, but for first-time travellers, it can also bring a few surprises - especially when it comes to Swiss dining etiquette. 

In this episode, I’m joined by local foodie Kristin Reinhard, to answer the most common questions about eating at Switzerland restaurants and to learn more about Swiss traditional foods like Fondue and Raclette.

Kristin shares practical tips about meal times, dinner reservations in Switzerland, ordering tap water, and the frequently asked question: “Is tipping expected in Switzerland?”

There are also suggestions for what to eat in Switzerland on a budget, how to enjoy the popular tradition of a Swiss brunch, and Kristin tells us about her new Swiss Food Map which features over 200 authentic, local-approved eateries you won’t find on most tourist lists.

Tune in for essential tips to help you dine out in Switzerland with confidence.

Happy travels,
Carolyn

👉 Show notes - Episode 195

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Transcript

Carolyn Schönafinger: Dining out in Switzerland is one of the great pleasures of travelling in the country, but it can also come with a few surprises if you're not sure what to expect. In this episode, I'm joined by local foodie Kristin Reinhard to chat about everything from tipping and tap water to restaurant reservations, opening hours, Swiss specialities, and those little etiquette tips that can make your dining experience much smoother. So whether you're looking forward to trying fondue, planning a meal with a view on a Swiss mountaintop, or are wondering how much to tip at the end of dinner, this episode will help you dine out in Switzerland with confidence. Welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. I'm Carolyn Schönafinger, your Switzerland destination expert and the founder of holidaystoswitzerland.com. Each week, together with my expert guests, I introduce you to the Switzerland that I know and love and share inspiration and practical tips to help you plan your dream Swiss vacation. Before we dive in, a quick thank you to our podcast sponsors, Switzerland Tourism and Eco Rails. If you're planning a trip to Switzerland, you'll know just how much there is to consider. With so many incredible places to visit, figuring out your itinerary, booking accommodation, and choosing the right rail pass can quickly start to feel overwhelming.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So that's where Eco Rails comes in. Their small group rail tours are carefully curated so that everything is taken care of for you. From the moment you arrive at the airport, your accommodation, transport, daily breakfasts and dinners, scenic excursions, and a knowledgeable local English-speaking guide are all included, so you can simply relax and enjoy the journey. If travelling through Switzerland with a small group tour sounds like your ideal way to explore, you'll find more details via the link in the show notes. Along with an exclusive 5% discount code. Now let's get into this week's episode. Good morning, Kristen. Thank you very much for joining me today on the podcast. You are an Australian who has lived in Switzerland for the past 25 years. Tell us, how did your life in Switzerland begin and, and what do you do now to share that love of Switzerland with others?

Kristin Reinhard: Hi Caroline, thanks so much for having me on the podcast again. So I came to Switzerland 25 years ago, just as a gap year from university. And then after a year of being here, I met my husband at a party at the lake to celebrate Zug's 660th or 50th year of joining Switzerland. Then I've never left. So we now have 3 kids, still call Canton Zug home. And so over the years, the most question I'm asked is often related to living in Switzerland, integrating in Switzerland, living as a foreigner in Switzerland. And so then 10 years ago, I started my website, start talking about travelling Europe at first, but then it really honed down into specialising in Switzerland. And that's called Snuni, which is the Swiss word for morning tea or at 9 o'clock. Often people around Switzerland break, not just at school, but at the office or on the construction sites, break for 9 o'clock to have a snack and a chat. And I thought that'd be a perfect name.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So wonderful.

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So your, I know your website, it's got lots of really great information about living in Switzerland, but also for people that are wanting to do some travelling in Switzerland as well. So you cover a broad range of topics on the website.

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah. It's also just like understanding Switzerland as a visitor or as a, as a someone living here, because you know, it's travelling or living here. You need to understand the culture a little bit more to get more out of it. And so I try to like. What I've learned from being married Swiss, living underneath my Swiss in-laws, integrating into my Swiss village, all the festivals, all the little bits and pieces. Yeah, I try to share as much as I can.

Carolyn Schönafinger: That's excellent. Okay. Now food obviously plays a big part in Swiss life. And of course in vacations and many of the listeners of the podcast are planning their first trip to Switzerland. So they may have some concerns or questions about food and particularly about dining out in Switzerland. There's always some little etiquette, ah, tips that people are thankful to be aware of before they get to a country. So could you maybe just run through some of the useful tips about eating at restaurants and cafes and other food stores throughout Switzerland that might be helpful for visitors?

Kristin Reinhard: Well, firstly, I'm a big food person. I book my travels around what restaurants I'll be eating at. And so I totally get what you want to get the best out of the food when you come to a new country. And so like in Switzerland, there's a, couple of things that you should be aware of is first, probably the opening hours. Restaurants for example, will close between lunch, and dinner. Usually the chefs go home and have a little bit of a rest and come back for the evening. So in big tourist areas you might find restaurants that are open the whole day, but most often in smaller villages. Then a lot of restaurants will close between lunch and dinner. But in the Morning you've got cafes and bakeries and they open early. So my local Bakery opens at 6:00am and we can always get fresh bread six days a week. They always have Mondays off. But this is typical also in Switzerland that usually something will have a day off. This really pays to check on the opening hours of where you want to go and especially around that Monday, Tuesday, slower day of the week. That's often when they, these places take a break. Then cafes are the same. They're probably open a little later than a bakery, like around eight, but maybe a little earlier. If, especially if they're on a commuter route. Train stations are your portable any time of day or night or day or weekend. And I think what's probably also good to know is that Sundays here like while we don't have Sunday trading and so a lot of the restaurants around in a big city that are close to offices and stuff, they actually might be closed on a Sunday. We're not talking about main tourist restaurants here, we're talking about more what a general local Swiss person would go to. So it really does pay to look at the opening hours.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. So what about mealtimes? Are the Swiss fairly specific when it comes to what time they eat lunch and what time they eat dinner?

Kristin Reinhard: Very specific, especially at lunchtime. It's 12 o'clock. So yeah, Swiss tummies rumble like clockwork. And at 12 o'clock they love to have lunch. And so this is when they'll have their, often have their main meal of the day. They usually have a lighter dinner. And so that's why there's, you'll find lots of lunchtime menus out in restaurants over Switzerland. This will be like a 2 or 3 course menu, usually with a salad and a main meal. And that's actually one of the best tips of Switzerland is to have to, to look out for having your main meal at lunch and looking out for these deals of a lunchtime menu. I know my husband, he eats out at lunch every day. He would never eat at his desk. It's just not, he really appreciates his break. 45 minutes to an hour, maybe. It's not the same as French of the 2-hour-long lunch. Swiss a little bit more efficient with their eating, but they find it a big important part of their day. Okay.

Carolyn Schönafinger: I'm guessing that if a lot of the workers go to restaurants for lunch, probably, am I right that reservations are not really necessary at lunchtime, but they would be at dinner? Yeah.

Kristin Reinhard: So reservations at lunchtime are a lot more spontaneous. I mean, there are restaurants that you would want to, like there are like gourmet restaurants, like with Michelin stars or Gourmand points, which is the rating system of the gourmet restaurants in Europe. However, lunch can be a little bit more spontaneous unless you've really got your heart set on something and you really don't want to be sent away. Then I would make a reservation even just because then you're just safe. But most of the time you don't need a reservation at lunch. Dinner on the other hand is a little bit different. It's a bit more special to go out for dinner. It's not something that we regularly do. It's not like an every week thing. Or in every, every multiple times a week. And so those restaurants do book up in advance. And it would be wise, especially Thursday, Friday, Saturdays, nights to book a restaurant, especially in peak travel season. So we're in summer at the moment, definitely at the moment. And especially when you're talking about specialised dining. So if you want to eat a fondue in a chalet, in a, in a gondola. At a hotel in, or in a little chalet, that 100% needs a reservation. They book up very quickly.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And I've been finding more and more over the last few years too, anywhere you go in a tourist area, particularly like the Jungfrau region, you really do need to book restaurant reservations because there's so many visitors and they all need to eat somewhere. So if there's somewhere that you want to, want to particularly eat at, it's definitely wise to make a reservation.

Kristin Reinhard: Absolutely. And I mean, Switzerland's becoming more and more popular as a summer destination now. And so those hot travel hotspots are really going to be important to make reservations.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So what about dinner time? What, what's a typical dinner time for the Swiss?

Kristin Reinhard: So the dinner time in Switzerland is not too late. And like it could be anywhere between 6 and 7:30 someone would make a reservation. 6 is not too early here. You might be the first people in, probably 7 is your average. However, people are liking to eat earlier these days. I've noticed around my group of friends and family, but you will notice that the kitchens often close after 9 o'clock. So you really don't want to sit down later than 8 because otherwise you might find it harder and harder to find a table. Of course, this is when you're on the main road in Lucerne, you'll probably always find something to eat. Around 9 o'clock still, but it, it will be, I've been asked to leave at a restaurant at 10 because they're closing up for the evening. So it's, it is a late night kind of place.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So just something to be aware of. I know one meal that's very popular with the Swiss is brunch, a very, you know, a family-oriented thing to do on a Sunday. Can you tell our listeners a bit more about what a Swiss brunch entails?

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah, so, um, brunch is a way to gather your friends and family on a Sunday, and it can take two forms. It could be at home with things like cheese and eggs and Rösti, which is the grated potatoes, and Bircher Muesli, which is the, um, the muesli with the yoghurt mixed together and fruit. But then also many places from hotels to cafes offer a brunch menu on the weekend and It can be as simple as a more styled breakfast, but really in the major hotels or in restaurants, brunch is with breakfast and lunch options. So there will often be a meat option or a more savoury option as well as your typical breakfast items. And yeah, so like my, my, for example, my sister-in-law, she's a huge friend of the brunch and her favourite one is in Lucerne at Richemont. It's a bakery school, which is on the Verkehrsmuseum, the transport museum side of Lucerne. And she, like, for her 50th birthday, there was nowhere else she wanted to go is there for brunch. And so we all gathered there and it was just delicious. Of course, there with their fresh breads from the bakery as well.

Kristin Reinhard: So yeah. And then on the 1st of August, which is Swiss National Day, this is probably the most famous brunch of them all. It's a farmer-style brunch that's put on by farms all over Switzerland. I think there's about 300 farms that take place in celebrating Swiss National Day with a brunch. And this is also your more rustical farmer-produced brunch with the Rösti and eggs, bacon, cheese, of course, cheese, homemade jams, breads, the famous Butterzopf, which is the braided bread. That's the Sunday bread. And yeah, and so they're a great way to celebrate Switzerland if you're here on the 1st of August. But they definitely don't need a reservation. And even now my friends are already reserving theirs for the 1st of August.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Well, what a special way to celebrate Swiss National Day with all the ingredients from the farm at the same time as the, as having the celebration.

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah. And it's a great way to get to know your farmer or the farmer of the region and for them to put on their spread. And yeah, it's really, it's fun, it's a really fun way to start the celebrations actually.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And is there a special website that people can book for those Swiss National Day brunches?

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah, so there's a Swiss Farmers website, which I can send you the link for your show notes. And through there, there's links to all the different farmers and you can see what's still available if you're going to be around on the 1st of August.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Excellent. Okay. So just getting back to typical restaurants and cafes, I think one thing that a lot of travellers are perhaps a bit apprehensive about is, is English spoken or are there English menus? So what is, what's typical? I know in tourist regions, yes, you can find English speakers and English menus, but what about in regular, you know, villages and the cities? Okay.

Kristin Reinhard: In the cities, you're always going to find English. It's almost uncommon now to say that you wouldn't find English in a city restaurant. At least one member of staff would speak English. And if you just say, sorry, I don't understand German, they'll either speak English with you or find someone that can help you. If you, the more isolated you go, the less likely you are to find English availability. But I find that the Swiss are so used to having multiple languages, you know, four national languages. So they're used to communicating in English just to speak with their French counterparts, if that might be the common language. So more often than not, you're not gonna have to worry too much about language there in, especially in, in tourist regions. No problem at all. And usually there'll be someone around or maybe someone at the next table if no one, really the rare occasion where no one speaks English. Maybe I've often jumped in and helped translate for someone or if it was necessary, but it's a very rare occasion.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. Well, that's good to know.

Kristin Reinhard: One tip I use myself when I travel outside of Switzerland to countries where I don't know is I use the Google Translate app. And that has a little camera where you can take a photo of the menu and then it translates in the photo the menu for you. So I find that super helpful when I'm travelling, and I'm sure that's the first thing I'd recommend anyone travelling to Switzerland to download just for those in-case moments where someone doesn't speak English.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Hmm. Okay. Excellent tip. What are some of the etiquette guidelines that you think visitors should be aware of when they're dining out at a restaurant?

Kristin Reinhard: Well, I think the first thing is, don't assume that you can just sit at any table, even if there's no reserved signs on a table. Often restaurants will take reservations and so they might have a plan of where to sit people. So always when you come into a restaurant, you know, just wait to be seated or ask, can I take a, can I sit anywhere? I think that's just the first general kindness you can show to the people in the restaurant. But of course there's exceptions to this. If you're in a bakery, they often don't have reserved seating, so you can just take a seat anywhere in a cafe and similar. For most restaurants, that's the general rule. It's really okay to linger over a meal here. As I said before, someone asked me to leave at 10 o'clock, but that's because we arrived at 6. So it wasn't that we were forced out of the— you're quickly forced out of the restaurant. It can be a little, you might have lose a little bit of patience trying to get the bill. Sometimes it takes a little time. And so, so a little patience when waiting for the bill, but also just you can enjoy yourself.

Kristin Reinhard: You don't have to rush out the door. That's for sure one that I like and that they bring the bill to the table in most cases. That is very, very common. And tipping. Now I think this is the next big topic. Tipping culture is creeping slowly and slowly into Europe. It's not a traditional tipping culture. However, now with the introduction of credit card systems, electronic payment systems, the option to tip is there. And so our family general rule is we round up in a cafe or a bakery, like when we've been served in a cafe. So if it was 6 francs 50, we'll give 7 or something like that. And then in a restaurant, it will totally depend on the service and the food and the quality and it's, so maybe we'll round up the next 10 francs. So if it was a pizza for 28 francs, oh, that's expensive, but yeah, 28 francs for a pizza, then maybe we'll give 30. Of course, in more gourmet restaurants, we might give a little more depending on the service and the quality of the food. However, what has also been creeping into is tipping self-service places.

Kristin Reinhard: Like at the Christmas market, when you're going to get a drink, this is definitely something I and my Swiss colleagues and friends don't like. This is just like something automatically happening on the credit card machines. And I think sometimes they're taking a little bit advantage of the situation. And so feel free in that situation just to press okay or skip over the tip. You've gone to the place yourself to pick up the drinks. So I don't think in that instance a tip is necessary.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. And what about tap water? Because I know in Switzerland there's so many fountains you can take your water bottle and just fill up as you're out and about during the day. But then when people go to restaurants and they just ask for tap water, often they're surprised that, wow, this costs a lot. Yeah.

Kristin Reinhard: So tap water in a restaurant is not common at all. You have to specifically ask for tap water. So in German, that's Hahnwasser. You really have to ask for this and often you will be charged for water. Uh, maybe not as much as bottled water, but if you just ask for still water, it will come in a bottle and you'll have to pay for that. So, uh, if you really want tap water, ask specifically for banavasa. So, and then like the, I mean, the water's really great, but obviously the restaurants base their margins off selling drinks. So that's kind of the reason why water isn't free. Yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So how do mountain restaurants differ from restaurants in the cities and towns?

Kristin Reinhard: I think firstly, you're going to have less variety of cuisine up in the mountains. The mountain cuisine is going to be mostly your hearty Swiss meals, like Rösti, like Alpenmakkaron, which is like a Swiss mac and cheese, a Gehacktes mit Hörnli. This is the minced meat with, with pasta and applesauce. Course, and so you've got these more hearty dishes that you can expect after like a day of hiking or skiing. And so that's the first difference. I think the second difference is you'll find probably more self-service restaurants in the mountains, where you then help yourself, but there's also table service as well. I think another really important point is to always take cash with you in the mountains. While card is more accepted than ever in Switzerland, especially after the pandemic, the use of card really changed here. And especially in the mountains, there are the odd restaurant in the mountains that maybe can't rely on a, on a card system. And so having some cash is definitely helpful for those emergencies. What else? I think also up in the mountain, you're just going to have to expect a little bit more slower service, a little bit more cosy, a little bit more, well, you're on holidays in the mountains.

Kristin Reinhard: Even when Swiss people visit, you know, we go up into the mountains. We're also on holiday. It's not our everyday life. And so it is really a relaxation, a relaxing moment.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So enjoy the slowness and enjoy the scenery and take your time. Exactly.

Kristin Reinhard: And you know, most of these restaurants have an amazing view. So you just, it's just magical. But I will say one thing is don't take a picnic into a mountain restaurant. And I know more and more restaurants are finding this difficult, especially in tourist areas. It's not acceptable to bring your own food and drink into a restaurant that they— these restaurants, it costs a lot of money to get their food and drink and supplies up into the mountains. So they really depend on the constant flow of guests to be able to survive. If you're going to have— if you really don't want to go and eat at a restaurant, take your picnic. There's usually mountain resorts have some picnic tables around the area, but eating in the restaurant itself, you've got— you should eat from the restaurant, drink from the restaurant.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely. Now dining out in Switzerland is expensive. What tips have you got for making a food budget go further in Switzerland?

Kristin Reinhard: Okay, lots of ideas here for you. Um, but the first thing is that it is expensive and it's even expensive. I mean, we earn Swiss francs, but it is also for us expensive. And so there is just a different culture of not going out as much as I would if I was living in Australia. And so to take that in mind when you're on the ground, that it's going to be expensive. I think the first tip is what I mentioned before, is that daily menu in the restaurants. Swapping, it's hard, I know, but swapping your main meal from dinner to lunch can really help your budget. Enjoy the salad or the soup that's offered. And it's often between, you can, in some places you can get a menu for 21 francs, a two-course menu, up to 25, maybe 30 in more touristy areas. But, uh, they're great value and a great way to, um, eat what an everyday Swiss person would have for lunch too. Then you've got your supermarkets. We've got the main two, Migros and Coop, as well as Aldi, Dennar, and Lidl, and Volg. And they all offer pre-made food, so sandwiches, meals, salads, fruit in snack size, cheese in snack size.

Kristin Reinhard: So we'll often go into the Coop when we're going on a hike. And grab all the little snack size, little cheeses already cut up, some meats already portioned to be able to not always eat out in a restaurant. Then there's that app, Too Good To Go. This is a great app. It's against food waste actually. But what they do is supermarkets, restaurants, and bakeries, cafes offer their leftovers of an evening or when they close. So you download the app and you can look at the location near you and find a bakery is giving away a 5 franc bag of bread at 6 o'clock. So, I mean, you have to be a little flexible in this instance. The sushi place in Zug doesn't give their away till I think 10 o'clock at night or 9:30. So you have to, it was like when they're closing, so you have to be a little bit flexible with that app. It's a great way to help reduce food waste and save some money. And I think really bakeries, your friend, uh, when you don't want to eat breakfast out every day. If you're in self-service accommodation, or even if you're in a hotel with no breakfast, hop to the bakery, grab a coffee, grab a Kipferli, which is a Swiss version of a croissant.

Kristin Reinhard: And, uh, they also have little cheese quiches called Käsekuchen. And all those different little options makes it a little bit cheaper than dining in, because the moment you dine in, in Switzerland, I kind of always say the moment someone has to do something, the prices are going to be higher because they have to pay the wages, which are quite high in Switzerland. Markets. So Lucerne has a market twice a week, for example, and eating seasonally at the market is a great way to grab a snack, grab some fruit. The summer fruit at the moment is really great. We've just had an amazing cherry season. And that's a kind of way that how we grab snacks, make sure we're eating seasonally.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Mm. Okay. And that's very big in Switzerland, isn't it? Making sure that you only eat those things when they're in season. So they're, they're at their absolute best.

Kristin Reinhard: Absolutely. My husband will not eat strawberries unless they are grown in Switzerland and in season because they just don't taste the same. It's just not worth it. And but then you go look forward to enjoying them more because they are just perfect in season. And that's also what restaurants do as well. They, restaurants really work with the season, especially in their daily specials or their special— they'll have a specialty menu for the season. So in autumn, it's the game meat with chestnuts and red cabbage, and then there'll be asparagus season and there'll be wild garlic season and there'll be strawberry season. And all these different seasons also permeate through the restaurant menu as well. Yeah.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So it's always something to look forward to, I bet, when you're, when you're there for every season.

Kristin Reinhard: It took a long time for me to get used to that. You can't just buy pumpkin whenever you want, but now I really look forward to pumpkin season.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Right. I think many people listening will be pretty keen to try fondue when they're in Switzerland. So is this something that is commonly served in restaurants? I totally get it.

Kristin Reinhard: Fondue is absolutely delicious. I will tell you it's not in every restaurant. It's not, fondue isn't a meal that we eat every, all the time. Usually a meal that we gather around friends and family around the table, or we'll eat when we're in the mountains. And so a typical Swiss family would fondue often at home or in their holiday apartment or in the mountains. However, of course, when you come into Switzerland, you wanna taste it yourself. So you're just gonna have to be on the lookout for fondue restaurants that offer it. In summer, it's not a typical dish in summer, but we have been known to eat fondue in summer. So it is not a sin. It's not gonna, you're not gonna be banished for having, wanting to have fondue in summer. So you're just gonna have to look, go out and look for it. It's much easier to find in winter. But like for example, in, if you're visiting Gruyère, every restaurant in Gruyère would have fondue on their menu. And if you are in Zurich, like the Walliser Kanne is quite popular restaurant to go eat fondue. There's another one of those in Basel.

Kristin Reinhard: And then in mountain restaurants, you're often gonna find fondue on the menu and you'll find it in different variations. Traditionally it's, we just eat cheese fondue, which is just a different mixture of cheeses. My favourite is the Mottet-Mottet one, which is a mixture of Gruyère and Fribourgeois Vacherin cheese. But then each region has their own speciality of what cheese they mix into. If you're in Appenzell, they'll throw in some Appenzell. If you're in Emmental, they'll throw in Emmental. I'm not a big fan of Emmental, but that's my personal preference. And so our village has a cheese kind of a factory. And they have their own mixture and each tea shop would have their own too. So it's really like, in the summertime, really, you've gotta go out and look for the fondue restaurants. But in winter, much easier to come by. There you've got the many hotels and restaurants do pop-up fondue chalets. Or in Zug where I live, there's an outdoor area where they bought old gondolas and they've put tables inside and you can have fondue in there or in a big chalet outside the ice hockey stadium. And that's when people will like gather their friends for the end of year or like Christmas events or end of year events, often around a fondue pot.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. And is it typically like a dish for two? So if, if a couple are travelling and one of them's not too keen on, on, on fondue, but the other is, is, is it, you know, going to make it more difficult to just get a serve for one?

Kristin Reinhard: I just think that you just think about fondue is a social pot. It's everyone sitting around, everyone sipping. If you absolutely have your heart set on fondue, there may be restaurants that will have a single portion. However, it is much more difficult because just for the quantities for the pot to go. But in more tourist areas, I'm sure they make accommodations for the single person who loves fondue. But the concept of fondue is a social activity. The dipping of the bread, the, oh, did you lose your bread in the fondue? Oh. And then usually there's some personal jokes around. Like if you're at home, if you've— in our family and you lose the bread in the fondue pot, you should go and wash up. You have to wash up the dishes. In the mountains, maybe you'll have to go jump in the snow outside. But within a restaurant, none of those rules apply, of course.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. So what other typically Swiss dishes do you recommend that visitors try?

Kristin Reinhard: Well, the, not the fondue is not the only melted cheese dish you have to try. Raclette is probably up there with the best, with one of the best melted cheese dishes, I think. This is typical from the Wallis region. It's a melted block of cheese that is grated over potatoes and it's just absolutely delicious. Also a very social event. In, in our family. We have a fondue grill, but when you're out and about at a Christmas market, there will be almost always a hut selling the raclette cheese, the potatoes, cornichons, and the pickled onions. And in restaurants, you'll often find this too in single portions. And that's one you can, as a great alternative, if you really would love some melted cheese and there isn't a single portion of fondue on the menu. Then try and look for a raclette. Another one is a Rösti, which I've mentioned a couple of times before. That's the grated cheese, grated potatoes. And it's often served in different ways, often with melted cheese, maybe some ham or bacon and a fried egg on top. It will depend on the region or the menu. Maybe they'll have a couple of different alternatives with the Rösti.

Kristin Reinhard: And Rösti is also served with a specialty in Zurich. Which is the Zurich veal style, which is veal and mushrooms in a creamy sauce. Very delicious. Works well with the Rösti. Best eaten at the Kronenhalle in Zurich for a very fancy meal. Then another one is the Alpenmakronen, which I also mentioned. This is the kind of like the Swiss version of mac and cheese with pasta, cream, potatoes, usually some fried onions on top. Served usually with a side of apple puree. It's really, really good. Perfect for after a hike. And actually one of my favourite things, and not much talked about, um, outside of Switzerland is a dish called Kapuns. And this is a specialty from Graubünden. It's a Spätzle. We haven't talked about Spätzle, but it's kind of like a— Spätzle is this, uh, egg flour kind of thick pasta, cross between a pasta and a gnocchi kind of style that we— you can find in Switzerland. And it's this dough that's mixed with, uh, Salzsitz, which is this kind of salami or Bündner cured meats. And then it's rolled up in a Swiss chard and then put cream on top and then baked in the oven.

Kristin Reinhard: It's really, really great. And every restaurant in Graubünden does it in a different way. And it's, if it's on the menu and I've never tasted it before, I always try it because it's just, it's delicious.

Carolyn Schönafinger: I have to agree. I tried it in Graubünden last year and oh, amazing. I had it numerous times myself. It's, yeah, so tasty.

Kristin Reinhard: It's delicious. And then, um, there's two other things that I personally love that I haven't mentioned yet is the Wickelkuchen from the Mortensee. And this is a type of bread, kind of like a focaccia, and it's a specialty of this region. And it, they put cream and bacon on top and then bake it in the oven. And it's great for, to serve with cheese or with nibbles with a glass of wine or on the side of a salad. And then the other thing is from Appenzell and it's called Schlorzifladen. And this is a pastry. It's like a tart made with dried pear and cream on top and then baked in the oven. And it is so delicious. It's, it's one of my favourite things because it's a bit, it's very sweet, but it's also got the savoury pastry with it. So it gets served along with like, it's a dessert with some cheese. Oh, it's so great. So some other specialties that I love is fried fish. So any lake fish really. So Switzerland is home to many, many lakes. And so we have a variety of lake fish. You've got Forelle, which is trout, Ägli, which is perch, and Felchen, which is whitefish.

Kristin Reinhard: And they are often fried in Fischknusperli, which is like fish and chips.. But also in Zug, we have a specialty called Zuger Aard, which is a poached fish in a white wine cream sauce. Then different lakes will have different specialties and there'll be also different fish during the season. For example, in Zug in winter, we have this special fish called Rotel that only comes up when the water is cold enough. So it's like November and December, and then the restaurants will offer that as a specialty. And one other thing, and this actually comes under probably a little bit of a budget tip is what's really popular in Switzerland is poulet en crêpes. So this is half a chicken cooked and then served in a basket with a side of chips and a sauce in the bottom of the basket. You eat it with your fingers and you can find this in many little restaurants all over the place. And I mean, I am always on the lookout for a great poulet en crêpes. It's definitely one to recommend.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay. Well, that's a new one to me, so I'll, I'll be looking out for that one. Now I'm regularly asked for restaurant recommendations for Switzerland, but as I only visit once a year, my, my recommendations are quite limited, but I'm sure that you get asked this all the time. And I was really pleased when I noticed that you've just released a Swiss food map. So can you tell everyone about that?

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah, so, uh, just a few weeks ago I launched my first digital product, which is, as you said, the Swiss Food Map. And it came about from my own desire to eat well in Switzerland. And whenever I travel or whenever I hear of something, I'd always been saving ideas of what to try and where to go. And then more importantly afterwards, I would make sure I'd keep the ones I really liked and made a little note about it. And so over the years, friends have asked for recommendations and I thought, well, why not put all of them together and, uh, and sell it as a product to help visitors find places that we who live here would eat at. It's a passion of mine, food. I love food. Whenever I travel, I'm always trying to figure out where the best places to eat. I don't want to waste calories or money on bad food. And, uh, so I just wanted to help take away a little bit of the anxiety or decision fatigue about Wedi.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So how does it all work and, and, um, how have you selected the restaurants and the eateries that you've included in the map?

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah, so it's a link to a Google map where I've noted all the restaurants that at the moment there's about 220 on the list, but it keeps growing as I experience, uh, new restaurants. And you get the link, you can download it, you can add it to your own, save it to your own Google, um, Maps, and you can always refer to it when you're out and about or planning. So it's in your Google Maps, so it's going to work in Apple, Android, on your laptop at home when you're planning. So it's really easily accessible. Within each of the places, I've made a little note if I personally have recommended it. It will say Znuni recommends and why I recommended it, what I ate there, what was great about it. And if you, if there's anything special you really need to know. And then I have some locals recommend, and these are from people who live in the area. Who have recommended things to me. So those are the ones I personally haven't visited, but they are from local friends and colleagues who really live in the area. So I have currently Schaffhausen is filled with local recommendations and they were the places I would go to also straight away.

Kristin Reinhard: As soon as I get there, I would refer to those.

Carolyn Schönafinger: You said that these are the places that the locals would go to, but if visitors are coming to Switzerland and they're going to the main tourist areas, uh, are there recommendations for there as well? Yeah.

Kristin Reinhard: So in Lucerne, and there's plenty of recommendations in and around Lucerne, in Zurich, in Lugano, in— there's a couple in Zermatt. I think we've got 4 or 5 now, and it will keep growing as the recommendations go. We also go to Lucerne. We also go to Zurich, but maybe we're just not eating in the tourist restaurant on the main road. So it's this just giving you alternatives because the tourist restaurants are really easy to find. You don't need help finding those. So hopefully these just give you some alternatives.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And is there a range of price points and styles of cafes and restaurants?

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah, so I've really kept a huge range. So I've also labelled each place as, is it suitable for dinner? Is it special occasion? Is it a cafe, a bakery? I've even started adding markets, food markets in, because I stumbled across a food market in Biel when I was visiting there last summer, and it was a fabulous market that I'd never heard of before. And we were sitting in the cafe having breakfast, which was great for people watching, but extremely busy and slow on a Saturday. So I noted that in the recommendation as well. So all those little tips and little niggles as we As I explore and visit myself, all those thoughts go in the map too. Okay, great.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So once someone has bought the map and then you update it, they get access to all the new additions.

Kristin Reinhard: Is that right? That's correct. So last week I went to a restaurant for the very first time, loved it. It was called Birdy’s in Brunnen. This is a bit of a special experience, but a worthy one. And I added that to the list straight away after my meal. And that will just pop up straight in the list for anyone who already has the list.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, fantastic. So what does the Swiss Food Map cost and where can people get it?

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah, so it's 19 francs for the map and that includes, um, the map, the link. I also have a PDF that goes with it that explains how to use the map and it has in 4 different cities my highlights, what I personally go to straight away. As well as a little sneak at the back. I've added a template in English, German, French, and Italian to help you email a restaurant if you want to make a reservation. Just, uh, yeah, it's not always possible to reserve by email, but sometimes just having the template to do that just takes away a little bit of the hesitation of making the reservation.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, that's, that will be very, very useful.

Kristin Reinhard: And I, however, for your podcast listeners, I would love to offer a discount. If they add PODCAST20 at checkout, they'll get 20% off.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Great. Thank you so much. And what, what's the web, web address where they can get that Swiss food map from?

Kristin Reinhard: So, it's z-nuni.com/map.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Excellent. And that link will of course be in the show notes as well. All right. So before I let you go, what's one tip that you would give to a visitor about Swiss cuisine or dining out in Switzerland?

Kristin Reinhard: What I actually suggest is that you do a little research. Have a couple of favourites that you hope to visit, maybe make a reservation or two, check out the local specialties of the area going, because it really does change from location to location. But also give a little bit of freedom into your itinerary for you to explore too, because while I've got great suggestions, you've got great suggestions, there's also excitement in finding new things when you're out on your own. And let me know if you find anything great. I would love to hear it.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, that's a great idea. I mean, there's nothing more special than just, you know, wandering down a back street and finding this cosy little restaurant, and then you go in and you have the most amazing meal that, yeah, was totally unexpected.

Kristin Reinhard: Absolutely. And they're out there ready to be discovered.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Fantastic. And they're ready and waiting to be added to the Swiss Food Map if they, uh, if they, um, meet the standards.

Kristin Reinhard: Yeah, absolutely. I would love to hear, I love hearing about little backstreet places. Wonderful.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Thanks so much, Kristin. I'll include those links, as I said, in the show notes for this episode. And, uh, yeah, we'll remind people that if they mention the code PODCAST20, they'll get 20% off. So thank you for that wonderful offer. You're welcome. Thanks for having me. I hope this episode has answered your questions about dining out in Switzerland and given you the confidence to enjoy everything from a cosy mountain restaurant to a more formal dining experience. No doubt Kristin's money-saving tips have been helpful too. You'll find a link to Kristin's Swiss Food Map and that discount code in the show notes.. And let me know if you make use of it. I've already bought my copy to use on my upcoming trip to Switzerland, so I'm looking forward to trying out some of the amazing restaurants that Kristin has recommended. If you know someone who's planning a trip to Switzerland, I'd love it if you shared this episode with them. Thank you very much for listening today. Until next time, when I'll be back with more Swiss travel tips and inspiration. Tschüss!