Having waited an age for our obviously unoccupied table, which I had dutifully booked well in advance as is the Swiss way, we couldn't understand why the man who greeted us at La Barillette wouldn't let us sit down. It was only when a try-your-luck foursome tried to snaffle it that we had to jump in and claim it.
Then they wouldn't give us any menus so I grabbed them myself. Now we were getting somewhere.
We grabbed the attention of one of the four serving men (what had they done with the women, I wonder?) but just as we were gearing up to give him our order, oh no, something else caught his attention and he wandered off to the other side of the terrace with not so much as a backward glance or a reassuring "j'arrive". Fortunately one of his colleagues saw our hunger-pained faces and took over.
At last we were able to savour the spectacle of the Alpine panorama, which draws hikers, cyclists and petrolheads (the road up there is very bendy) in equal number to this lofty Jura spot.
The fact that it is only open in summer is slightly at odds with the hearty menu, which is a feast of fondue, steak, sausages and the like, albeit wth a salad and a charcuterie platter thrown in. Despite the 30° heat, Monsieur Gourmand helped my mother devour a fondue (it's not often she gets the chance) and by all accounts it was most enjoyable. My stepfather and I had viande sechée and a green salad each, which would have been easily big enough to share. All very well if you've cycled 12 km uphill but I felt a bit guilty eating so much having whizzed up here on petrol power alone.
Yes, the service is excruciatingly slow and it's a tough place to reach without a car, but we should be grateful I suppose that views like this can be enjoyed somewhere rustic and relaxed rather than overpriced and pretentious.
Restaurant La Barillette, Route de la Dôle, CH-1276 Gingins
+41 (0)22 360 12 33; www.restaurant-barillette.ch
Then they wouldn't give us any menus so I grabbed them myself. Now we were getting somewhere.
We grabbed the attention of one of the four serving men (what had they done with the women, I wonder?) but just as we were gearing up to give him our order, oh no, something else caught his attention and he wandered off to the other side of the terrace with not so much as a backward glance or a reassuring "j'arrive". Fortunately one of his colleagues saw our hunger-pained faces and took over.
At last we were able to savour the spectacle of the Alpine panorama, which draws hikers, cyclists and petrolheads (the road up there is very bendy) in equal number to this lofty Jura spot. The fact that it is only open in summer is slightly at odds with the hearty menu, which is a feast of fondue, steak, sausages and the like, albeit wth a salad and a charcuterie platter thrown in. Despite the 30° heat, Monsieur Gourmand helped my mother devour a fondue (it's not often she gets the chance) and by all accounts it was most enjoyable. My stepfather and I had viande sechée and a green salad each, which would have been easily big enough to share. All very well if you've cycled 12 km uphill but I felt a bit guilty eating so much having whizzed up here on petrol power alone.
Yes, the service is excruciatingly slow and it's a tough place to reach without a car, but we should be grateful I suppose that views like this can be enjoyed somewhere rustic and relaxed rather than overpriced and pretentious.
Restaurant La Barillette, Route de la Dôle, CH-1276 Gingins
+41 (0)22 360 12 33; www.restaurant-barillette.ch
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