Apart from chocolate and cheese, Switzerland isn’t really known for their epicurean offerings. This really isn’t fair, just because it doesn’t have an overly distinct cultural culinary identity doesn’t mean you can’t get a memorable meal. Truthfully, Switzerland has some amazing food, with a multi-cultural Alpine flare. It isn’t just reserved for the $60 a plate fine dining option either. Some of our favorite meals were the opposite of fine dining. Which leads to the point of this blog, how the heck did we manage to keep food and drink costs down while eating out in Zermatt? Echoing this entire series, Zermatt isn’t cheap and that is apparent with the cost of eating out or grabbing a drink at the bar. We are here to share with you tips and tricks to saving money on meals, while still being able to enjoy some Swiss cuisine. Let’s be honest, we were on vacation and cheated a couple times, so we’ll also throw in two restaurants we tried for the first time that aren’t quite cost effective, but well worth saving your pennies to try.
We’ve referenced this in previous blogs, but we love good food and drink…. And it’s even better when it’s cheap. Cheap isn’t a negative in our eyes either, especially when you find those hidden gems. During our first trips we weren’t too savvy when it came to staying to a trip budget while still enjoying ourselves. We found that food and drink were usually the aspect we overspent on. Then in later trips to make up for it we tried to really stay lean with this budget. While this is a good practice, our execution wasn’t the best. Over time we have learned easy ways to save money without feeling like we’re depriving ourselves.
One of the easiest and painless ways to save some dollars on your food budget is to…. not eat out for every meal. Cooking in your hotel/Airbnb (*another reason we love Airbnb’s is because of the full kitchens to cook in as needed) isn’t glamorous, but it also doesn’t need to horrible either. We make it a rule that we have at least one meal a day that we cook ourselves. It can be either a picnic style lunch that we take with us on a hike, which we have done many times, or dinner at home while watching a Disney movie with Baby A. If you don’t like to cook, the Zermatt supermarket, just like the US, do have plenty of premade meal options, from pizzas to pastas, or full protein and veggie options. If you’re really bent out of shape that we are suggesting you cook on vacation, supermarkets abroad are so much fun, and it gives you a chance to check out items that you might have missed otherwise. Look at it as an experience. You may find a treat you’ve never seen, a wine you’ve never heard of, or a sandwich that makes you think, why haven’t I thought of that. Some of our favorite finds are a result of stopping at the grocery store and taking the plunge and buying because we need something for lunch, dinner or snacks. For example, paprika chips in Switzerland are incredible. They’re our favorite Swiss find; they taste like really good BBQ chips without the overly fake sweetness. This trip, we ended up eating most of our dinners at home, just because Baby A wasn’t really used to the time change and her nap schedule was off and would become a monster come 7/7:30ish. We decided it would be best for everyone if we limited our later nights. Were we bummed that we couldn’t spend a lot of nights out? Of course, but it was so much fun spending time together at the Airbnb as a family and it was so less stressful. Plus, we saved so much money. We were lazy and did salads, pasta, sauce, and schnitzel. Dinner for the two of us ended up coming out to less than $20 CHF. That is a steal! Grocery prices are comparable to what they are in the US, with some things a little cheaper. We found a 2 pack of whole chickens, about 10 pounds, for about $10 CHF, so a little cheaper than it is here. You could easily feed a family of four for dinner for less than $40 CHF, comparing that to a restaurant in Zermatt, that would easily put you at around $150 CHF on the low end if you get drinks as well. You can take that $110 CHF per dinner you just saved and use it for experiences, like lift tickets.
Another way to save is to find places that locals frequent. Usually those are delicious and affordable. This is how we find a lot of our favorite places. In Zermatt, we went to our favorite local cheap eats spot, Soupi more than once. Soupi is right on the main drag and is perfect for a quick but filling lunch. They make all their soups in house. They offer two traditional soups, potato leek and tomato, and then a special soup that changes weekly. Each soup comes with a slice of rustic bread. You can get about an 8-10oz portion of soup for $9CHF. So, lunch for the family after a morning of skiing could cost you under $50 CHF including drinks. Another cheap eats that we enjoy while in Zermatt is Stefanie’s Crêperie, which is also on the main drag right next to Little Bar. You walk up off the street to a window and order your crepe. Then you get to watch the magic happen as they make this delicacy right in front of your eyes. Stefanie’s Crêperie has both sweet and savory crepes, meaning you can go there for dessert, snack, or a meal. The crepes range from $8CHF to $14 CHF for some of the savory selections. The crepes are delicious and very filling, so one is usually good for a person. A great place if you want a cheap, quick meal. Our last cheap eat in Zermatt is Metzgerei Bayard which is a charcuterie/ butcher shop also on the main drag. In the winter and summer, they have a stand right outside in the alley that grills up a couple different varieties of their sausages. They are $6 CHF. They also sell beer and soda at this stand. One thing to note about all these locations is because they’re right on the main drag that means that indoor seating is minimal, if not existent. Which is fine because there’s outdoor seating everywhere. Or you can just take it on the go, while you explore the town. Some of you might be thinking, these don’t sound all that cheap, but the truth is, a lot of restaurants are double to triple the price. For comparison, the busy Sunegga Buffet on the ski runs, a schnitzel with fries is upwards of $30 CHF. Don’t get us wrong, we stopped there, to take a break from skiing and have a drink because the view and weather was amazing, but if you eat lunch there daily, a family of 4 could be spending $120 CHF or more.
Now moving over to the fun part, where to drink. Anything on the main drag, hotel bars, restaurants right near train stops or big lifts are going to be more expensive, so go to where people aren’t. The Zermatt valley is filled with hamlet villages that have unique pit stops. As you’re skiing, hiking, exploring, keep an eye out for these. One of our favorite stops was the Tufternalp. Old school place with a limited menu that had beer, wine, tea, coffee and other beverages, including a patio with a view you’ll never forget. That’s what we are looking for while we are out traversing the mountains, just a local stop to rest for a bit. No need for fine dining. For $7 CHF, you got a half liter beer, which was half the price of some of the main stops near the end of the busy runs. Another aspect to look out for are some of the outdoor bars in village. A few of them sell a variety of drinks, like Gluhwein, beer and mixed drinks. One of these outside bars is located right outside the Walliserkanne restaurant in the middle of the main drag that we stopped a few times as we walked around. They had their Gluhwein and beer for $5 CHF, as well as other drink options. These prices were noticeably cheaper than most of the local bars. Truthfully, as the end of day neared, we were able to enjoy a round or two outside, taking in the sun, letting our little girl run around and people watch skiers coming off the peaks.
Another option, if you’re looking to save some dollars on booze is stopping at the local grocery store Migros to pick up some local beer or a bottle of wine. We found really great local wines for $8-$12 CHF. Switzerland again doesn’t get the wine respect of France or Italy, but it’s fantastic. For $8-12 to get a full bottle, compared to the $7-10 CHF a glass at the bar, it’s worth the purchase. We also found a 6 pack of local beer for $10 CHF compared to $7 CHF for one 12oz beer at a bar.
Again, we’re not saying to spend all your time holed up in your Airbnb or hotel eating and drinking because you shouldn’t spend money on these things, but if you’re looking for ways to cut some costs in this category, these are some easy ways to do so and it can help you fund parts of your trip that you were looking forward to like lift tickets, rentals or a special night out.
Bonus section! Yes, we did live a little and wanted to share some of our favorite meals in Zermatt for those looking for a bit higher end and aren’t friendly to your wallet, but so worth it. Usually on our trips we plan to have one to two nice dinners, hence why we try to make smarter food and beverage choices for the remaining options. A local favorite we have enjoyed a couple times is Restaurant Schӓferstube. This family run hospitality group knows their way around sheep. In fact, they raise their own and you can immediately tell if you do order any of the lamb dishes. Which you should. We found it our first time in Zermatt and enjoyed it so much we returned the next time we made it to Zermatt. It’s delicious, so stop by. They cook all their meats over open flame, which is adds a great finish to the meat. We highly recommend the lamb chops as well as the lamb carpaccio. It is the cleanest tasting lamb we’ve ever eaten.
This time around we did a little bit of research to determine where we would get our fancy meals. We settled on Zum See Restaurant and Elsie’s Bar. We found out about Zum See Restaurant from a book that we found this past year called Alpine Cooking by Meredith Erickson. We’re embarrassed to say that we had never heard of it before, but it’s a well-known gem in Zermatt. The restaurant is in Zum See, hence the name, and can either be reached from the ski pistes or from the hiking trails. The hike from Zermatt to Zum See is about 30 minutes and not too strenuous, but just difficult enough that you will work up an appetite. It essentially makes up all of Zum See. There are a couple of other huts/cabins and homes, but it’s basically the restaurant. The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating. Even in the winter people were wanting to sit outside. The day we went it was sunny and the temperature was in the 40s and would have been perfect to be outside, but we were seated in the winter garden which is a room fully enclosed in glass. It was still great, and made you feel like you were outside without the full chill. A little after we sat down an older gentleman came up and greeted us. We later found out that it was the chef and owner. We were so bummed that we haven’t tried our food yet, because we would have told him how delicious everything was. Okay, okay, now to the food! We ordered the foie gras which came with house made brioche and an apple chutney, creamy barley and root vegetable soup (don’t sleep on this, it was the best thing we ordered!), pasta with sweetbreads in a morel cream sauce, bread with melted Alpine cheese and bacon on it and finally a pastry cream and apricot tart. All of that with a bottle of local Petite Arvine came to $185 CHF, which for us is a pricier meal, but it was well worth it. Everything was phenomenal. The food is simple, honest, and incredibly delicious. No frills, which is our favorite kind of eating. It is the best meal we’ve had in Zermatt and would highly recommend this to you.
The second restaurant that we splurged on was Elsie’s. We have frequented Elsie’s many times, but it was strictly to sit outside and have a drink but were never able to get a reservation. This time around, we were proactive and made a reservation early. Elsie’s is a little restaurant off the main street across from the church in town. It’s quaint, unassuming and has a great staff, including the owner. She is so wonderful. We opted for the après ski menu as we weren’t looking to get a full sit-down dinner. It was a great option for us as it had more “munchie” sized portions, which helped with us giving our little gal a taste. We again ordered a bottle of Petite Arvine because when in Switzerland you must drink as much as possible, an order of escargot (6) in a luxurious garlicky butter that came with rustic house made bread, veal tartar with chopped up gherkins mixed in, that again came with rustic house made bread and lastly a trio of hummus. Again, everything was so delicious and worth a trip back. Our meal/snack/whatever it was came out to $95 CHF. Which is a little pricey, but we knew we were splurging on these two meals, so we planned accordingly.
Zermatt, and Switzerland in general, can be quite a pricey place to visit, but it really doesn’t have to be. If you’re smart and plan ahead, you can easily save a good amount of cash. A good way to do so is to get a little smarter on your food budget. Don’t deprive yourself but plan your meals in a way where each meal isn’t a splurge. Then you can save those extra dollars for one fabulous meal instead of a couple mediocre, yet expensive experiences. If you have any questions, or want restaurant or bar recommendation, please message us!