The Japanese by Chedi at Gütsch, by Dietmar Sawyere, is located at 2340m is a one-Michelin starred restaurant that is “Switzerland’s highest altitude Japanese restaurant”.
We were in Andermatt for a few days for Alpenbrevet, and it just so happened that Nespresso Gourmet Weeks was running the same time (my husband drinks an insane amount of their coffee), so we decided to plan a visit.
Getting to Gütsch
It takes a little (fun) effort to get to Gütsch. You can take Gütsch Express from Andermatt to Gütsch – stay in the cable car past Nätschen, and then exit at Gütsch. Tickets are available underground in the Andermatt station. Apparently the last car down is around 4pm, and if the weather is bad, the cable car doesn’t run, so I would try to go on a clear day.
Alternately, if you’re feeling ambitious, you can hike up from Andermatt which takes around 2 hours. I highly recommend the hike, but I would do it on a separate day from eating at the Japanese restaurant…
The space and view
The restaurant is located in the area immediately at the exit of the Gütsch express. There are two restaurants in the building, open for lunch and also additional drinks on the terrace:
Restaurant Gütsch – Swiss by Markus Neff, 1 Michelin star, 16 Gault Millau points
The Japanese by Chedi at Gütsch – Japanese by Dietmar Sawyere, 1 Michelin star, 17 Gault Millau points, located in the same building as Restaurant Gütsch, atop Gütsch
(Additionally, in Andermatt at the Chedi, there is The Japanese Restaurant at Chedi also by Dietmar Sawyere, 1 Michelin star, 17 Gault Millau points, which is open for dinner. I’ve never been but the kaiseki looks incredible and is on my list of places to try.)
There’s a terrace with excellent views, if the weather is nice I highly recommend sitting here. They have blankets if it gets cold, although the sun does make it feel warmer.
The Food
We ended up here because we were in Andermatt for a few day for Alpenbrevet, and it just so happened that Nespresso Gourmet Weeks was running the same time (my husband drinks an insane amount of their coffee). The kaiseki menu at the Japanese Restaurant in the Andermatt has been on my list to go to for some time and I didn’t realize that there was also a Japanese by Chedi up here although I had passed by the building on a hike a few weeks before.
The did also serve the regular menu when we were there, but we went with the Nespresso menu which had a few dishes created specifically with coffee, all done in a subtle way. Everything was delicious.
LUTERSEE WALK
Afterwards, if you have time, I recommend the walk from Gütsch to Lutersee while up there. It takes a little over an hour round trip and regular tennis shoes are fine (no more than 50m elevation difference).
Additional details:
Restaurant: The Japanese at Gütsch – The Japanese by Chedi at Gütsch
Location: Gütsch, Andermatt
Date of visit: 2 September 2022
Notes: Reservations recommended – they are apparently quite busy in winter