Where to eat and drink in Grindelwald: lunch under the Eiger
Lunch on the mountain under the Eiger, dinner in the village. Bergrestaurant Kleine Scheidegg is the lunch that stays open on a bad day, Brandegg is the stop for apple fritters, Barrys is the fondue to book, Onkel Tom's is pizza and Swiss wine for the night off fondue, and Avocado Bar is where the locals drink.
Grindelwald eats the Swiss way and does it well: fondue, rösti, soup with mountain cheese in it, and portions meant for people who have been outside all day. Lunch is the meal to plan, on the railway down from Kleine Scheidegg. Bergrestaurant Kleine Scheidegg is the station restaurant on the pass, all wood and sheepskin, and the Grindelwalder potato soup is the order. Part way down, Brandegg is a ski in or a step off the train, and the apple fritters with vanilla sauce are why you stop. Order them at the bar.
Dinner is in the village, and most of what we would book is on Dorfstrasse. Barrys is the fondue house, and the fondue is served upstairs, in the older and more local of its two rooms. No dining room in the village is busier, so book, and go in straight off the mountain rather than late in the evening.
Sooner or later somebody will want a break from fondue, and Onkel Tom's is the answer. Low beams, one pizza oven and a long wine list that is mostly Swiss; a large half and half beats two small pizzas. The oven sets the pace, so go early or ring ahead.
Avocado Bar is where the village drinks, with a fire inside, a deck facing the mountain and an amber on draught worth trying. For a slow morning, Café 3692 on the Terrassenweg does breakfast and brunch with the Eiger in front of the patio, and the baking is worth the walk up on its own.
Mountain lunch
Both on the railway down from Kleine Scheidegg, one in the station on the pass and one part way down, so nobody needs skis to get to either.
Bergrestaurant Kleine Scheidegg
The station restaurant on the pass, which on a bad day is the only thing open up there and on a good one is still the easiest table to find. The Grindelwalder potato soup with mountain cheese is the order, and the daily menu comes with a side salad and a dressing worth the trip on its own. Inside is wood and sheepskin, with big windows onto the railway platform and the peaks behind it. Pizza is the other thing it does properly. Prices are reasonable for the altitude, which is not something you can rely on where there is no competition.
Bergrestaurant Brandegg
Straight off the platform at Brandegg on the Wengernalp line, part way down from Kleine Scheidegg, so you can ski to it or step off a train into it. The apple fritters in batter with vanilla sauce are the reason to stop and they are what people plan the descent around. There is a house speciality coffee to go with them. The terrace looks straight at the Eiger and there is a playground for children who have had enough of the train. Order at the bar rather than waiting at the table.
Dinner
Fondue upstairs in the older room at Barrys, and pizza from a single oven with a long, mostly Swiss wine list at Onkel Tom's.
Barrys
The fondue house, and the detail that matters is that fondue is served on the second floor, which is the older and more local of the two rooms. The first floor is modern and does the rest of the menu. There are several fondues to choose between, and a rösti with a big piece of veal and a proper gravy if cheese is not the plan. Book, because it is the busiest dining room in the village. Come down off the mountain straight into it rather than saving it for late.
Onkel Tom's Pizzeria und Weinlokal
Low wooden beams, a small kitchen and one pizza oven, which tells you everything about how to use it. Order a large half and half rather than two smaller pizzas, because the dough is thin and crisp and the toppings are generous. The wine list is the other half of the business, long and mostly Swiss, and there is a hot chocolate with rum to finish on. Go early or call ahead, because when the room is full the pizzas run to the best part of an hour. It is family run and it feels it.
Bars
Where the village drinks rather than the visitors: a fire indoors, a deck facing the mountain, and the beer on draught as the thing to order.
Avocado Bar
The local bar rather than the tourist one, with a fire inside and a deck outside facing the mountain. The paninis are the food and they are better than bar food needs to be, with the pork one the pick. Draught beer is the strength and the amber is the one to try, with a cocktail list if beer is not the plan. Live music on Thursday nights fills the room even out of season. The staff will check gondola times for you, which tells you what kind of bar it is.
Cafes and quick bites
Breakfast, brunch and baking up on the Terrassenweg, with the Eiger in front of the patio and toys inside for children.
Café 3692
Up on the Terrassenweg above the village, a short bus ride or a walk uphill, with the Eiger straight in front of the front patio. Breakfast and brunch are the strength: an omelette, a platter of egg, cheese and cold cuts, and a cheese quiche unlike anyone else's. The baking is the other half of it, and the apple lemon pastry and the gooseberry cake are both worth the climb on their own. If you want a plate rather than a pastry, the deer burger comes with a blackberry barbecue sauce. Bruno and Myriam run it, the story behind it goes back about forty five years, and there are toys inside for children.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Opening times and ownership change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.