Eating Out in Switzerland

Douglas Adams once wrote "Here's what to do if you want to hitch a ride with a Vogon: Forget it!" and honestly that advice applies pretty well to Swiss restaurants.

Of course we have to eat, so next best thing is go next door to France, Italy, or Germany.

I came to terms with the fact that everything in Switzerland is ridiculously expensive, however I could never reconcile that going to a restaurant once a week for a month cost the same as a weekend getaway to somewhere like Paris, and that the food was mediocre at best.

Here's a quick example. Pizza restaurant in Geneva, puzzas were okay, nothing to write home about, and the equivalent of US$25 each. Technically the restaurant should provide tap water in a caraf but they rarely ever do this. If you read the fine print on the menu, you will see it says that there is a US$5 surcharge for having a meal without ordering drinks. You guessed it, small bottle of water is US$6.50!

So that pizza now runs $30 and thats really cheap. For Geneva. A steak is usually over $50. Heck they cost $65 per kilo at the supermarket.

Really, the only thing worth having is a fondue for the novelty value, but you can get that in France too for a fraction of the cost and frankly with better service. Some people call the French rude, and maybe in Paris some waiters are. What they are not is somehow racist against tourists. They treat everyone the same and it boils down to two things in my experience. For one, they are busy, so they want to keep it snappy. Two, it's France and although they probably speak some English they do get irate when people just start speaking a foreign language without even saying "bonjour". So my advice is, say hello in French. It's polite and they will realise straight away you are foreign by your accent, and more than likely speak English with you after that to take your order.

So anyway, back to the Swiss. They are racist, 72% of criminals are foreign, and 95% of those are tourists.

The French vice consul general told me one frenchman is setup and severely beaten by Swiss police every week. It's only a small chance it happens to you, but why pay the price premium and take the risk as well?

If you want to know more about the nasty stuff that happens to foreigners in Swirzerland yet goes unreported you can read all about it here

Bon appetit!