The story
Gasthaus zum Kreuz, at Stettlistrasse 3 in Dallenwil, is a modern cuisine restaurant that won one Michelin star in 2026. The kitchen mixes Classic Cuisine with Asian Fusion ideas, built on Swiss ingredients from the surrounding valleys.
Dietmar Sawyere, formerly of The Chedi Andermatt, runs the kitchen and keeps the stoves lit on Sunday evenings. His menus move between European and Asian-inspired flavours. Angus beef entrecôte comes from Hof Holzen in neighbouring Ennetbürgen, served with Alpine chimichurri and Jerusalem artichokes from the farm next door.
Brüggli char is cooked slowly at 48 degrees, so the flesh stays tender and moist. The bread, called Huusbrot, is crisp outside and soft inside, and the chef says baking it is his own job. A potato tower topped with caviar and smoked eel strips makes a memorable extra course.
The Stübli serves a five-course Menü #31 for 160 francs, and guests can add courses. Nicole Sawyere leads the front of house and pours Swiss wines from producers in Uri, Graubünden, Geneva and Valais. Gault&Millau gave the restaurant 17 points in 2026, praising the Sunday dinners and the warm, unfussy welcome.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
High quality cooking
Although the world is currently splitting into irreconcilable camps, culinary harmony still reigns at the «Kreuz» in Dallenwil. Even in the «Bijou», the cozy second restaurant with just five tables, proprietor Dietmar Sawyere impresses with his blend of European and Asian-inspired cuisine, offered as a six-course menu for 220 Swiss francs or an eight-course menu for 300 Swiss francs. A premium price for a remote country inn – but the chef pulls out all the stops, delivering excellence from the amuse-bouches and sweets right through to offering freshly baked bread as a farewell gift. The impressive opening featured a magnificent yellowtail (hamachi), which the chef himself finished at the table with freshly grated wasabi and bergamot. Also outstanding was the two-toned asparagus duo served with chawanmushi (Japanese steamed egg custard), ikura (salmon roe) and miso. Guests then cracked open the perfectly cooked lobster themselves with a small hammer from a little clay vessel, before the dry-aged duck with eggplant, laksa soup (coconut milk) and paratha (unleavened Indian flatbread) drew the next round of applause. “Euro-Asia at its best” also aptly described the main course: suckling pig with foie gras, shiitake and enoki mushrooms, and a subtle touch of kimchi. Verdict: Spectacular culinary entertainment is served in a small room, and the service team led by hostess Nicole Sawyere is performing at the top of their game. An attractive wine list.