Schmitte

Is Schmitte worth booking in Grindelwald?

Yes, if you want a Michelin-recognised modern cuisine restaurant inside a mountain resort setting at a €€€ price point. Schmitte, located within the Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof, has held a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, which places it among a small group of consistently recognised dining options in this part of the Bernese Oberland. For returning visitors who already know what Grindelwald's dining scene offers, Schmitte is the most direct answer to where to eat well without committing to the higher spend of a four-symbol venue.

Portrait

The Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof address tells you something important before you even sit down: this is a hotel dining room that takes its food seriously. The setting inside Swiss Alp Resort, Grindelwald, positions Schmitte as an anchor restaurant for resort guests and destination diners alike. The spatial experience here is shaped by the alpine hotel context, meaning the room carries the warmth and considered scale you would expect from a Romantik property, a Swiss hospitality group known for placing its hotels in buildings of architectural or historic character. That physical context matters for how the meal feels: you are eating inside a space designed for lingering, not turnover.

For a repeat visitor, the question shifts from whether to go to what to focus on. Schmitte's category is modern cuisine, and within the Swiss Alps dining context that typically signals technique-driven cooking that respects seasonal and regional ingredients without being rigidly traditional. Two consecutive Michelin Plate recognitions indicate the kitchen is performing at a consistent standard: the Plate is awarded to restaurants offering good cooking, and retaining it across two guide cycles reflects kitchen stability rather than a one-season peak. If you are returning after an earlier visit, that consistency is the most reliable indicator that the experience will hold.

On the question of tasting menu architecture: modern cuisine restaurants at this price tier in Swiss resort destinations tend to offer either a structured multi-course tasting option or a shorter carte format, and sometimes both. The progression of a tasting menu at a venue like Schmitte is worth considering as a format choice rather than an automatic upgrade. In an alpine resort context, where guests often arrive after physical activity and have an early start the following morning, the pacing and length of a tasting sequence matters practically, not just gastronomically. If you visited previously and ordered à la carte, a return visit is the occasion to try the tasting format, which in a Michelin Plate kitchen typically demonstrates the chef's current thinking more completely than individual dishes selected in isolation.

Grindelwald sits at roughly 1,034 metres in the Jungfrau region, and the restaurants that hold Michelin recognition here are competing not just against each other but against the gravitational pull of casual alpine dining: the fondue restaurants, the mountain huts, the hotel buffets that fill up on ski season demand. Schmitte's repeated recognition means it is earning its Michelin standing in a market where most diners are not seeking fine dining at all. That is worth noting as evidence of genuine kitchen ambition rather than a default at the leading of a thin field.

Among the internal Swiss comparison set, Schmitte sits below the ceiling of what Switzerland's dining scene offers. Restaurants such as Hotel de Ville Crissier in Crissier, Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in Basel, and Memories in Bad Ragaz represent the starred tier of Swiss alpine and urban dining. Schmitte is not in that category by award level, but it is the most credentialled option for serious eating in Grindelwald itself. If you are travelling specifically for fine dining in the Swiss mountains, 7132 Silver in Vals and Da Vittorio - St. Moritz in St. Moritz offer starred experiences in comparable alpine settings. If you are already in Grindelwald, Schmitte is the answer.

Booking difficulty is rated Easy. In a resort village with seasonal peaks around ski season and summer trekking, that accessibility is a practical advantage. You are not competing with a six-week waitlist. For groups, the hotel restaurant format typically accommodates larger tables better than a smaller independent restaurant would, though confirmation of group capacity should be made directly with the venue. For a special occasion dinner in the Jungfrau region, Schmitte is a credible choice at €€€, especially compared to the cost of travelling to Interlaken or further afield for a comparable meal.

For context on where Grindelwald dining sits within the broader Swiss scene, see our full Grindelwald restaurants guide. If you are planning a wider stay, our Grindelwald hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the full picture. For modern cuisine benchmarks at the global level, Frantzén in Stockholm and FZN by Björn Frantzén in Dubai represent the upper ceiling of the format if you want a point of reference.

Ratings & Recognition

• Michelin Plate 2025
• Michelin Plate 2024
• Google Rating: 5.0 (5 reviews)

Booking

Booking difficulty is Easy. The venue is located within the Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof at Swiss Alp Resort 1, 3818 Grindelwald. Reservations can be made through the hotel directly. No online booking link is listed in our database; contact the hotel by phone or email to confirm availability and to make group or special occasion arrangements in advance.

Practical Details

FAQs

• What are alternatives to Schmitte in Grindelwald? The closest alternatives at the same price tier are Fiescherblick and GLACIER, both €€€. For a higher spend, 1910 Gourmet by Hausers is the €€€€ option. Schmitte is the only venue in Grindelwald with current Michelin Plate recognition, which makes it the default choice if credentials matter to your decision.
• Can I eat at the bar at Schmitte? Bar seating details are not confirmed in our data. The venue is a hotel restaurant, which typically means the primary dining experience is table-based. If bar seating or informal dining options are important to you, confirm directly with the Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof before booking. For casual drinking and bar options in the village, see our Grindelwald bars guide.
• Is Schmitte good for a special occasion? Yes. The combination of Michelin Plate recognition, a hotel setting with appropriate formality, and Easy booking availability makes Schmitte a practical and credible choice for a birthday dinner or anniversary meal in the Grindelwald area. The €€€ price point is manageable for a one-off occasion dinner without requiring the commitment of a full tasting-menu-only restaurant.
• Can Schmitte accommodate groups? Specific group capacity figures are not in our database. Hotel restaurants generally handle groups more comfortably than small independent venues. Contact the Romantik Hotel Schweizerhof directly to confirm room layout, minimum group size, and any set-menu requirements for larger tables.
• Is Schmitte worth the price? At €€€, Schmitte represents fair value for a Michelin Plate kitchen in an alpine resort. You are paying for consistent, technically considered modern cuisine in a setting that most Grindelwald restaurants do not offer. If you are comparing it to 1910 Gourmet by Hausers at €€€€, Schmitte is the better value choice unless that venue carries a specific credential or recommendation that outweighs the price difference.
• What should I order at Schmitte? Specific menu items are not listed in our database. As a Michelin Plate modern cuisine restaurant, the kitchen's strongest work is typically in the more structured multi-course options rather than individual à la carte dishes. Ask the team what the kitchen is currently focused on and whether a tasting format is available; that is usually where the kitchen is working at its most purposeful. Do not arrive expecting a fixed menu without confirming first.
• Is the tasting menu worth it at Schmitte? If a tasting format is offered, it is likely the better way to experience the kitchen's current direction. Two consecutive Michelin Plate years indicate a kitchen with a point of view, and tasting menus in this context are typically where that point of view is most fully expressed. At €€€, the price risk is lower than at starred venues. Confirm availability and format when booking, as menu structure in alpine hotel restaurants can vary by season.
• What should a first-timer know about Schmitte? Schmitte is a hotel restaurant, so the atmosphere is different from a standalone destination restaurant: expect a degree of hotel-guest traffic alongside destination diners. It holds a Michelin Plate for both 2024 and 2025, which means the cooking clears a quality threshold worth knowing about. Booking is Easy, so you do not need to plan weeks ahead. Arrive with a clear idea of whether you want a structured multi-course experience or à la carte, and ask the team on arrival what the kitchen's current focus is.