19. January 2015: Restaurant Guarda Val Sporz
After a nice tea in the sun it was time to go one floor up to the restaurant for lunch. I went for rather typical dishes from the region and started with a “bread soup from Sporz with sour cream, boiled fillet, and horseradish” (CHF 18.00). The soup was served in an old jam glass which already made it eye-candy. However, the portion was rather small for the price but I must admit that it was also very delicious. The taste of bread was very subtle and a bit overwhelmed by the horseradish and the boiled fillet added up nicely to the overall combination.
As a main course, I decided to go for the course called “Schweinerei” which is German for “swinishness” but is actually “pata negra, salsify, green beans, celery, and quinoa” (CHF 51.00). The meat is incredibly tender and aromatic. What makes the whole thing truly outstanding though is the combination with the various other flavours you can find on the plate. There is basically everything from the sweet side up to the salty side. The combination of flavours really makes it a great dish.
To finalize my lunch, I decided to go for the “cheese plate from the Maiensäss (fresh, hard, soft, blue)” (CHF 18.00) which consisted of raw milk cheese made of three different kinds of milk from the Piedmont, Roblochon, goat cheese in ash, blue cheese and Grisons mountain cheese. The selection was quite fitting – ranging from the incredibly soft raw milk cheese which was so smooth you just wanted to have more and more to the more intense blue cheese and finally the Grisons mountain cheese.
The dishes were definitely all very exquisite but none of them managed to blow my mind. All in all, it is absolutely worth trying the Restaurant Guarda Val as the food is absolutely great and even the prices are quite fair for what you get. With regards to the beverages I’d say a “double espresso” for CHF 5.90 is fine but 1 L of water for CHF 13.00 is quite expensive.
Once you have placed your order you get bread and butter. Pretty regular one would say. But frankly speaking, the bread I’ve had here definitely belongs to the best bread I have ever had in a restaurant – so incredibly yummy!
The place is great with regards to atmosphere – it is like in an old Swiss mountain chalet where you get to enjoy and relax and …
… if you are lucky enough you get to sit by the window and you got a great view onto the Swiss Alpes. Incredibly relaxing and lovely to sit by the window for lunch (especially if you have lunch all by yourself).
The service is close to flawless – the glass never empties, there is always someone there and all the personnel is incredibly friendly. To sum it up, I can absolutely recommend to eat at the Restaurant Guarda Val in the Guarda Val Hotel in Sporz. Although it was lunch on a Monday the place was almost full – therefore, I would highly recommend you to book a table in advance!
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Guarda Val
Maiensässhotel Guarda Val
Via Sporz
7078 Sporz (CH)
Tel.: +41 81 385 85 85
E-Mail: hotel@guardaval.ch
Homepage: http://www.guardaval.ch
About the Author: Sven
I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org.
Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City. 
