Where to eat and drink in Lech: long lunches, booked dinners
Lunch on a terrace, dinner in the village, and Zug for the night that matters. Rud-Alpe has the sunniest terrace, just above Lech, Hus Nr. 8 is the dinner to book first, Skihütte Schneggarei is the pizza night, the Rote Wand Chef's Table is the occasion, and Flexenhäusl beyond Zürs is the afternoon party.
Lech takes its food seriously, and a long lunch on a terrace counts as much of the day as the skiing does. The huts on the mountain have proper kitchens and terraces that fill on a bright day. Down in the village dinner is the evening, from wood panelled rooms doing Käsespätzle and schnitzel to a chef's table out in Zug, and the best weeks mix a grand night or two with plenty of simple ones.
For lunch, Rud-Alpe is the hut to know. It is an old log building a short way above the village with the sunniest terrace in the ski area, and the Käsespätzle is what to order. Get there early or late, because the middle of lunch is when the terrace is full.
Hus Nr. 8 is the dinner to book before you fly, an old timber house in the middle of Lech with low light and the hardest booking in the village. For a change of pace, Skihütte Schneggarei beside the main piste does wood fired pizza, takes more care over the wine than a hut has to, and works straight off the slopes. The Rote Wand Chef's Table in Zug is the occasion: Julian Steiger does the cooking and the hosting, and the seats are few, so book it as early as you can.
Lech's après is mostly a glass on a sunny terrace, with the odd loud exception. Flexenhäusl, a small hut on the Flexen road beyond Zürs, ends the afternoon with the tables cleared and the room on its feet. Book it, and book dinner too: the better rooms fill in the peak weeks, and Zug and Zürs are about ten minutes out on the valley bus. Mornings start at Cafe Gotthard, with the Sachertorte.
Mountain lunch
A short way up from the village, the terrace that gets the most sun in the ski area, and Käsespätzle to go with it.
Rud-Alpe Gastronomie
The old log building just above Lech, seven hundred metres from the centre, with the sunniest terrace in the ski area. Go early or leave it until after one, because the half hour from half twelve is when a table is hardest to find. Käsespätzle is the dish, with the roast pork, red cabbage and bread dumplings behind it and the Frittatensuppe to start. Book unless you are there before the rush. Two mains, a Kaiserschmarrn and two beers run to about seventy euros, which is what a hut in Lech costs.
Dinner
The most atmospheric room on our list, wood fired pizza beside the main piste, and a chef's table out in Zug for the night that matters.
Hus Nr. 8
An old timber house in the middle of Lech, all warm wood and low light, and the most atmospheric room on this list. Book well ahead, because tables here are the hardest to get in the village. The cheese soup and then the roast pork is the traditional route, and the steak on a hot stone is the one to order if the table wants something to do. Fondue and schnitzel are both on. Portions are big enough that dessert becomes a decision rather than a formality.
Skihütte Schneggarei
Beside the main piste in the village, so it works at the end of the skiing and again at eight. The wood fired pizzas are the thing, the Pizza Schneggarei above all, with the truffle pasta if you want something richer. At lunch it is the goulash soup and the mixed salad with the house dressing. There are proper vegetarian dishes and the wine list is a good deal better than a ski hut needs. Without a booking you will be asked to wait at the bar, which is not the worst outcome.
Rote Wand Chef's Table
The occasion dinner on this list, out in Zug and priced accordingly at over a hundred euros a head. Julian Steiger cooks and hosts it himself, so it is an evening rather than a meal, and you book a seat rather than a table. Take the wine pairing, or take the juice pairing, which is the one worth talking about afterwards. Very few people sit down at once, so reserve as far ahead as you can. Dinner only, and there is no quick version of it.
Bars
Out past Zürs on the Flexen road, a small hut where you eat first and end the afternoon standing on the furniture.
Flexenhäusl
A small hut out on the Flexen road beyond Zürs, which is about ten minutes from Lech on the valley bus, and it exists for the afternoon party. The shape of it is this: you eat, then at some point the tables get cleared, the music goes up, and the room is standing on the furniture. It is loud and it is tight, and that is exactly what people go back for. Book, because there is not much of it. Go for the afternoon rather than for a quiet dinner.
Cafes and quick bites
Sachertorte and a big cappuccino in the middle of Lech, with local chocolate and beer on the shelves for the presents.
Cafe Gotthard
The pastry counter in the middle of Lech and the place to start a morning. You order at the desk and they bring it to your table, inside or out, with the mountains in front of you. The Sachertorte is the one to take, with the strudel behind it, and the cappuccino comes in a properly large cup. There is local chocolate and locally brewed beer on the shelves, which solves the presents problem on the way home. A slice of apfelstrudel sits around seven and a half euros, which is what Lech costs.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Opening times and ownership change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.