Where to eat and drink in Saalbach-Hinterglemm: hut lunches, village dinners
Lunch at a hut on the mountain, dinner in whichever village you are sleeping in. Westgipfelhütte is the lunch to stay late at for the sunset, Pfefferalm the dark, fire lit one, Del Rossi in Saalbach the dinner to book first, Der Jennerwein in Hinterglemm the one for game, and the Maisalm is where the ski day ends.
Saalbach-Hinterglemm eats the Austrian way. Lunch is a long one at a hut on the mountain, schnitzel and Kaiserschmarrn on a sunny terrace, and dinner is down in whichever of the two villages you are staying in. Saalbach is the livelier of the pair in the evening, Hinterglemm the gentler, and each has a dinner worth booking.
Choose the hut by the afternoon you want. Westgipfelhütte, two lifts up from Saalbach at the top of Schattberg West, is at its best late in the day: dodge the lunchtime crush and stay on for the sunset. Pfefferalm in Hinterglemm is the other mood entirely, an old cow shed with an open fire, local schnapps and a terrace that holds the sun, and its regulars are back more than once in a week. If you are skiing the whole circuit, AlteSchmiede at the top of the Asitz above Leogang is the place to turn round, its rooms full of old tools and machinery, with pizzas for the children.
Del Rossi in Saalbach is the dinner to book first: a room that leaves fashion alone, a wine list worth reading properly, and tables that go most days, so ask for an early one. In Hinterglemm, Der Jennerwein is for game and venison, with a mushroom fettuccine for anyone not eating meat, and the bar downstairs makes it a night for a group rather than a quiet one for two.
The ski day ends at the Maisalm, on the last run down into Saalbach. Getting home from it is a flat, easy ski, or a taxi from the door if the evening runs on. Book dinner ahead, and book it in the village you are sleeping in, because after a full day on the circuit the walk home should be short.
Mountain lunch
Three huts, three moods: a summit terrace for the sunset, an old cow shed with a log fire, and rooms full of tools and machinery over the ridge.
Westgipfelhütte
Right at the top of Schattberg West, two lifts up from Saalbach and worth the second one. Several terraces face different ways so there is shelter whichever direction the wind is coming from, and a lift sits beside the door for when you want to go again. It is family run and the owners' children are usually somewhere about. Peak lunchtime fills it and the staff feel that, so come either side of one o'clock, or come late and stay for the sunset, which is what this place is really for.
Pfefferalm Hinterglemm
An old cow shed turned into a hut and barely touched since, dark inside with an open log fire and enough oddities on the walls to keep you looking between courses. This is the cheap one, and a hot chocolate here costs what a hot chocolate ought to cost. The spaghetti bolognese is the surprise order and the local schnapps are the other reason people stay longer than planned. The decking holds the sun until it drops behind the mountain, at which point everybody moves indoors. Regulars come back day after day inside a single week.
AlteSchmiede
At the top of the Asitz on the Leogang side, which is a ski trip over the ridge rather than a drive, and the natural turnaround point if you are doing the whole circuit. The interior is as much of a draw as the food, with old tools and machinery filling several rooms so it reads as a museum you can eat in. Tiroler Gröstl or the BBQ rumpsteak, with the local Asitzbräu beer, and stone baked pizzas for children. Service is quick even when it is full and a table usually appears without a booking. The playpark and the toboggan run are right outside.
Dinner
One in each village: an old school room with a deep wine list in Saalbach, and game and venison in Hinterglemm. Book both.
Del Rossi
Old school in the best sense, a room that has not chased fashion and a wine list with real depth to it. Pizza appears only at lunchtime, so the evening card is the fuller one. It books out most days and the kitchen closes at half past nine, so take an early table rather than a late one. The staff put things right without being asked: a burger that turned up missing its bacon was remade with something extra alongside it.
Der Jennerwein
Game and venison are what to order here, with a mushroom fettuccine for anybody off meat that night, and the quality of the ingredients is the first thing you notice. Service is quick without hurrying you and the staff will steer you through the card if you ask them to. Order your sides and sauces deliberately, because they are charged separately. A bar downstairs means the room carries some noise, which suits a group better than a quiet two. Book, because it fills.
Bars
On the last run down into Saalbach, with an easy ski home afterwards and a terrace that is loud once the music is on.
Maisalm
Just above Saalbach on the last run down, which makes it the natural end of the day rather than a detour. The ski home afterwards is flat and easy, and there is a road to the door if a taxi suits the evening better. Ribs and the strudel are the orders and the wine list is better than an après bar needs it to be. Hot chocolate comes in insulated cups so it stays hot, and there is a lift down to the toilets, which anyone who has walked stairs in ski boots will appreciate. The terrace gets loud once the music starts, which is the point of it.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Opening times and ownership change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.