Interlaken is a tourist town, so its main streets are lined with restaurants aimed at visitors, but the food of the Bernese Oberland is hearty, comforting and well worth seeking out. Cheese from the high alpine pastures, potatoes, cured meats and freshwater fish are the backbone of the menu, and a long day in the mountains is the perfect excuse for a fondue. This guide covers what to try, where to look and how to eat well without spending a fortune.
What to try
Cheese fondue, a pot of melted cheese and white wine into which you dip cubes of bread, is the classic dinner and is usually ordered for two or more people. Raclette, melted cheese scraped over boiled potatoes with pickles and onions, is its close cousin. Rösti, a crisp cake of grated potato, comes on its own or topped with fried eggs, cheese or bacon, and is the standard side dish across the region. Älplermagronen, the herdsman's macaroni baked with potatoes, cheese, cream and onions and served with apple sauce, is the mountain comfort food you will find in alpine huts. Look also for perch or whitefish from the lakes, game dishes such as venison in autumn and meringues with double cream, a speciality of the Bernese Oberland.
Unterseen, the old town
Across the River Aare from the Höhematte, Unterseen is the older and more local side of Interlaken, with historic houses around the town square and several traditional restaurants serving fondue, rösti and Swiss specialities in panelled dining rooms and on summer terraces. It is generally a better bet for a traditional dinner than the restaurants closest to the stations, and it is only a short walk from the centre.
The Höheweg and the centre
The promenade between Interlaken West and Ost has cafés, hotel restaurants and terraces facing the Jungfrau across the meadow. Grand Café Schuh, on the Höhematte, has served Swiss dishes, cakes and chocolates since the early nineteenth century and is a pleasant stop for coffee and pastries. Interlaken also has a good range of international food, including Italian, Asian and Middle Eastern restaurants, and plenty of vegetarian options.
Dining in the mountains
Many of the region's best views come with a meal. The Piz Gloria revolving restaurant on the Schilthorn turns a full circle while you eat; the panorama restaurant at Harder Kulm overlooks both lakes and the Jungfrau; and Jungfraujoch, Kleine Scheidegg, First and Männlichen all have restaurants and self-service cafés. Alpine huts and farm restaurants along the hiking trails serve simple plates of cheese, sausage and rösti, often with produce from their own pastures. Prices at altitude are higher, so many people carry a picnic and buy a drink or a slice of cake at the hut.
Drinks
Local beer from the region's breweries is widely available, and Swiss wines, mostly from the western and southern cantons, are rarely exported and worth trying by the glass. After dinner, a glass of kirsch or another fruit schnapps is traditional. Tap water in Switzerland is excellent and free, so refill a bottle from the many public fountains marked as drinking water.
Keeping costs down
Switzerland is expensive, and eating out is one of the biggest costs of a trip. Supermarkets near both stations sell good bread, cheese, sausages, salads and ready meals for picnics; bakeries are ideal for breakfast and lunch; and hotel half-board rates can be good value in the villages, where choice is limited. Lunch menus are often cheaper than dinner, and service is included in Swiss restaurant prices, so tipping is simply rounding up or adding a few francs for good service.
Booking and timing
Reserve a table for dinner in summer and during the ski season, especially for fondue on weekend evenings. Kitchens often close earlier than in big cities, and some restaurants in the mountain villages shut between seasons in spring and late autumn. Our three-day itinerary shows how to fit a mountain lunch into each day, and our where-to-stay guide notes which hotels have their own restaurants.
Cheese, chocolate and food experiences
The Bernese Oberland is dairy country, and several farms and workshops near Interlaken offer cheese-making visits and fondue classes, where you can see how alpine cheese is made and learn to prepare a fondue at home. Interlaken also has chocolate shops and workshops, and the Ballenberg open-air museum near Brienz has demonstrations of traditional crafts and food production in season. On the lake, some operators run fondue boat trips or floating hot tubs with food, a fun way to combine a meal and the scenery.
