Berggasthaus Uto-Staffel

Honestly, in my 32+ years of working in the travel industry, I cannot remember being so stunned as to the rudeness of the owner of this restaurant. As we were hiking along this lovely Mountain Trail, we diverted to look over the edge to enjoy the view of Zurich. The obese cochon found it necessary to shout out of his upstairs window that we were trespassing on his property. He then accused us of opening a gate to access the area. We politely notified him that we did not open the gate, there was no indication that we should not enter and enjoy this view, and that he was welcome to visit us in our country at any time. What an amazing example of the contrast between the lovely Swiss people and the occasional pig. There are a number of delightful restaurant stops on the Utleberg trail. Avoid this one at all costs.

Honestly, the best part about this restaurant is it’s location. Getting there was a pleasure. The walk up to the restaurant from the Uetliberg station was lovely in the dusk as well as after dark on the way back down. There’s a beautiful green sloping meadow in front of the entrance with cows grazing. I grew up in hectic cities so picturesque serenity of it all was definitely a treat for me.
Now onto the restaurant itself. We bought an online voucher for Cordon Bleu dinner for two and made the reservation via email (got a confirmation). Upon our arrival, there was some confusion regarding our reservation as one waitress had to talk to another about it. After the little cloud of confusion cleared, the second waitress showed us to our table, which already had a sign with our last name on it. Giving them the benefit of the doubt (maybe the one who wrote the card left for the day?), we sat down and ready to enjoy our dinner. After a few minutes, the (not so friendly) waitress came back and asked if we wanted something to drink. I smiled and asked if she spoke English. I got a stone-​cold stare from her before she asked again in English. I looked around the table and there was no menu card or drink list so I requested one. Again got a flash of the stone-​cold stare before she turned and walked away without a word. She returned moments later with the menu and flipped it directly to the page where the drinks were. I gave it a quick once-​over and selected the Rioja, a safe bet. I pointed to red wine section on the menu as well as saying it out loud. She returned with a white wine and started pouring. I stopped her mid-​pour to say I would like to have the red one instead and the stone-​cold stare turned frosty and she shot back with a «RIOJA IS WHITE!» I don’t even recall seeing a white Rioja on the drink menu! Keeping my calm, I said that I pointed to the Rotwein section when I ordered it. Without a word, she grabbed the flask and the glass and stormed away then returned with my Rioja ROT couple minutes later.
When the Cordon Bleu arrived, my husband and I looked at each other like «REALLY?!» It was straight up fast food style with a clunky piece of thickly breaded meat, frozen fries, and worst of all… frozen mixed vegetables! I could not believe that what appeared to be a fine dining traditional Swiss restaurant served up this supermarket frozen dinner. Then the frosty waitress returned and slapped two big plastic squeezy bottles of ketchup and mayonnaise on the table. My heart sank as the prospect of a delicious gourmet meal vanished with the sound of the plastic bottles hitting the table…
We will not be dining there again. It’s a pity really as the setting of the restaurant was most pleasant and earned this place a 2^nd star for my review. At least the Rioja was enjoyable, after I got the correct one.

Food is very good. Salad was a bit overdressed but overall very tasty. The food also arrived quickly after we ordered. Only problem was that we sat for 30′ in front of dirty dishes and waited. 20′ to pay. Wait staff is incapable of working together/​efficiently. Too bad — I won’t come back.

Wow wow wow. This place was magical. Honestly!
Bf bought a coupon off a website for this place– fondu for 2, for 40CHF… not a bad price at all.
We got there by the Uetliberg Bahn and then from there we had to walk about 15 minutes. It turned more into a 30 minute walk because we were surrounded by so many beautiful sites! The walk is truly amazing. It’s December so all the trees surrounding us were covered in snow. Every other second I was taking a picture of another awesome thing. It’s quite a romantic walk even though it’s bloody cold. There are also lights along the pathway, so it’s quite easy to find the restaurant.
Towards the end there is a fork in the road, up further to the left is a hotel, and down to the right you’ll find the restaurant. There were also several people taking the train up here to go sledding. Just a minute or two into the walk there was a sledding pathway on the left.
From the restaurant you can see all of Zurich, it’s quite a site. The waitress was sweet and put us at a table with a very nice view. The feel of the restaurant was so cozy and wonderful. The interior was wooded with a large fireplace and a massive gingerbread house at the front. For some reason I kind of felt like home.
The fondu was delicious. It came with bread, onions, pickles, baby corn, and potatoes! We were always taken care of, and the waitress even offered to take a photo of us! It was sweet.
Everything was wonderful, but the 5^th star comes from the fabulous walk to the restaurant. I’ve never seen snow that beautiful!
Dieses Restaurant ist perfekt. Mann musst durch eine Strass fur 15 Minuten wandern. Es war sehr schon. Alles Baumer sind mit Schnee schmuckt und es war SEHR SCHON! Ich hatte ein wonderbar Zeit mit meinem Freund. Der Fondu war mega fein auch und wir haben gern geschmekt.

After a train ride up to Uetliberg, and a wander around on a cold November evening, my partner and I enjoyed our first experience of Fondue in this log-​cabin-​styled restaurant. For Switzerland, the value was pretty reasonable, the service decent and unproblematic. Worth a trip, while you’re visiting Zürich, I’d say.