Fiescherblick

High quality cooking

Alongside Grindelwald’s church, greatness is taking shape in the restaurant of the Chalethotel Fiescherblick. Aurélien Mettler, not yet thirty, cooks with the assured mastery of a seasoned veteran and the curiosity of a young wild spirit. Even one of the amuse-bouches is a knockout: a crispy mini-gyoza stuffed with quail, served with a bold, lemony beurre blanc; for this, the chef boils lemons repeatedly, confits them, and purées them. Summer-fresh, the cucumber variation with dill and fermented sheep’s fresh cheese arrives at the table – for the central element, a spoonful of cucumber sorbet, jalapeño provides the heat. From the non-alcoholic beverage pairing, there’s a verbena highball with verjus as an acid kick – a “perfect match”. The warm starter offers a richer profile: three preparations of pea (crispy skins fried in horseradish oil, marinated) with fava beans, green beans, smoked egg yolk cream, arugula, and shallot essence. To the glassy slice of Rubigen salmon trout, the chef serves salmon trout roe, braised cabbage with chili and lemongrass, and a foamy sauce with curry leaves; alongside it sits a small plate of endive salad with an Asian-spiced patty made from the fish trimmings. The main course features a rabbit duo: the juicy pan-seared loin and the crispy ribs, accompanied by a braised onion stuffed with rabbit forcemeat, a pickled onion, and a superb rabbit jus. Simply serving cheese on its own is too mundane for the head chef. Instead, he presents foam and shavings of three-year-old mountain cheese with apple pieces, potato crisps, and parsley oil. After the pre-dessert of verbena and lemon, wild strawberries gathered in the surrounding mountains, along with strawberry whey infusion, ricotta, and dough squares in the style of Swiss carnival fritters, deliver an impressive finale. A convincing performance from A to Z, and thus our only criticism remains: We would have gladly eaten more of every course; the portions are truly at the lower limit. On the plus side, the service is just as attentive as it is warm, and the mountain panorama in front of the house is beautiful.