Restaurant Whymper-Stube

This place was recommended by our hotel concierge as being the best Swiss Cuisine in the city. Especially if you want to get fondue. So we went for it on a Thursday night. We had to make a reservation, which was a first for Zermatt.
The place was packed at 8 pm. No open tables. Menu was confusing and the waitress was little help. Three women are running the place and are sprinting Around with boiling pots of cheese and broth. Beware, the prices are per person. Usually around 40 franks per person.
The food itself was great. They give you a bunch of fresh veggies and sides to go with your meat. Four dipping sauces to choose from. It’s a great experience, just a tad pricey.

Really nice meal here!
First things first…
«Fondue» just means dunking your food in something else. That is my loose, bastardized interpretation.
So you can order cheese fondue or a set fondue dinner:
Beef cooked in oil– 44 Swiss Franks
Beef and veal cooked in broth– 44
Filet in broth– 48
Comes with carrot salad, cucumber salad, tomato salad, frites (I think it sounds so much fancier than fries lol), fruit, and some pickles.
It’s a good amount of food and was very satisfying.
We also ordered the raclette, which is a Swiss specialty. They take a giant wheel of cheese, brûlée the top, scrape it off, and serve it with potatoes. Yom.
Drinks are about 4.5 SF for non alcoholic.
Overall a great meal. The accompaniments are quite simple, however, and likely nothing I could not prepare at home with ease. Still I recommend it!

Wonderful dinner in Zermatt. We had the meat fondue, cooking the meat in oil at your table, and enjoyed a half portion of the meringue with ice cream for dessert– I recommend the half portion. it was still plenty for 2 people to share! Staff was very friendly and spoke english very well. Highly recommend!

Wonderful and amazing fondue in a homey and intimate atmosphere. Suggest reservations (I would say the are required), as this restaurant fills up fast in the evening. We also enjoyed the raciette, which completely satisfied our appetites. English-​only speakers are not a problem.
Don’t forget the apple strudel.
Enjoy!

great fondue. This is a homey little place and worth walking up to. we had the cheese fondues as the chocolate is only served in the summer. The owner recommended the fondues based upon having kids and she was right on.

Food was amazing! Try the cheese and pear fondue and the apple strudel, you can thank me later. The service was great. Thy spoke English and were VERY helpful and friendly

The raclette was a creamy combination of gruyère and emmenthaler– salty, zesty and perfect with a glass of Fendant. A cozy, little Steube with just the right ambience for apres ski. Delicious!

Recommended by guidebooks and locals alike as the best place for fondue in Zermatt, Whymper-​Stube perhaps only disappoints due to American misconceptions about what traditional fondue is (e.g., apparently and perhaps unfortunately, chocolate dessert fondue ain’t the real thing, folks).
Whymper-​Stube is named for the first person to summit the Matterhorn. It is adjoined to the hotel from which Monsieur Whymper set out on his successful venture. The restaurant is a cozy nook consisting of two small rooms so reservations are definitely required. There are seatings at 18:30 and 20:30, and getting a reservation on the day of is fairly easy though you might not get the slot you want. Also, the restaurant is fairly flexible, allowing you to arrive close to 19:00 if you have the 18:30 seating, which allows you to begin and finish within an hour and a half without any feeling of rush.
The cheese fondue is the only fondue available for one person. It comes with bread and potatoes. You can get additions such as mushrooms and pears for a small additional charge. Also, the dried meat carpaccio appetizer pairs well and provides a more well-​rounded meal. The pork cordon bleu is awesome, but the fries that accompany it are not good at all. I would recommend just asking for vegetables instead, and your request will be happily accommodated.
The servers are quite busy and occasionally must be hailed down. The prosecco, at 8 CHF a pop, was quite good for the price. There is one and only one beer («Cardinal»). It is pilsener style and good.
The raclette looked and smelled delicious but after eating an entire bowl of cheese fondue myself (our waitress was impressed), even after a day of skiing, I could eat no more!
Reservations are required. Expect dinner for two to run in the 100 CHF range before tip.
I originally wrote this review in January 2012 and returned to the restaurant in January 2013 and had an identical and equally satisfying experience.