Pre-Christmas cheesy cheese experience: Chalet au Lac @ Baur au Lac (23. December 2017)
Each year, the Hotel Baur au Lac erects a small wooden house in their beautiful garden called ‘Chalet au Lac’ and it does not only look very pretty, it is also quite comfortable inside. You get a menu for CHF 115.00 which includes a starter, main and a dessert although the concept is rather freely interpreted as you can get more than one starter and the selection of your main is also a floating concept as you can kind of switch in between.
As the official starter, we went for the “Swiss meat plate, farmhouse bread with butter” which was a lavish selection of different cold cuts – all of good quality – but with not too much bread to combine the meat with.
Although we have had ordered only the cold cuts, we were offered yet another starter, i.e. the “Lamb’s Lettuce Mimosa” and it was great and way lighter than the meat selection which made it the perfect foundation for the cheese fondue and the raclette à discretion.
The “fondue with Vacherin Fribourgeois & Gruyère à discretion” was rich and with an intense yet enjoyable flavor. Suddenly, we were offered “raclette with cheese from Bagnes à discretion, potatoes, pickles” on top which was actually another main course. I mean, I’m not complaining here, that was actually amazing to be able to switch between raclette and fondue in the same meal (a first for me), but it was definitely unexpected.
Our waitress, Leonie, did an exquisite and absolutely outstanding job – she was friendly, jovial, helpful, smiley and generally attentive. The dessert, a “meringue with vanilla ice-cream and Gruyère double cream” was good but after all the cheese somewhat too much.
The prices for the beverages are definitely on the pricier side, i.e. a bottle of 0,75l Rhäzünser accounts for CHF 13.00, a double espresso for CHF 9.00 and a Kirsch or a Williams for CHF 20.00. The bottle of “Grüner Veltliner, Federspiel” (CHF 89.00) on the other hand is relatively okay in terms of price.
The place is truly gorgeous and it really puts you in a Christmas mood – just perfect.
All in all, the Chalet au Lac is a great place to enjoy a lovely dinner in a Christmas atmosphere with great fondue and raclette and lovely service. However, you have to be aware that you are on the rather pricey side here as you easily end up with CHF 200+ per person plus you need to book way in advance as the place is not really that large and it was fully booked when we went there.
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Contact Details:
Chalet au Lac @ Baur au Lac
Talstrasse 1
8001 Zürich (CH)
Tel.: +41 44 220 50 66
Fax: +41 44 220 50 44
E-Mail: banquet@bauraulac.ch
Homepage: http://www.bauraulac.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. 
