The restaurant opened its doors for the first time in the seventies, surrounded by beautiful greenery. Back then it still had an outdoor petting zoo, until Josef Diekmann took over the premises in 2000 and turned it into the Chalêt Suisse. The petting zoo became a beer garden with a playground and raised beds and bees were soon to find a permanent home here. The Châlet offers a place to escape year-round. In winter, the open kitchen welcomes you with a country-style open fire, immediately transporting you to a Swiss winter vacation between warm light and rustic wooden tables. In summer, the beer garden breaks up the refined kitchen concept: Neuland meat from the open-air grill, trout from the smoker, hearty burgers, and home-baked fruit tarts — served (of course) with draught beer. The dining area inside is also a hot spot: In the summer of 2022, the family business introduced open-fire cooking offering authentic Swiss cuisine with a modern twist, including special stews from the fire oven. From cheese fondue to sliced Zurich veal with crispy rösti to pulled mushroom with ember eggplant or smoked duck breast, the team uses regional ingredients to create the kind of dishes I can never get enough of: familiar rustic meets exciting new, traditional cuisine meets modern experimentation. If you can’t leave town over the Easter holidays but still fancy an outdoor experience, then this is the place to be. Between chopped firewood and dense greenery, the Châlet Suisse offers the perfect setting for a long-awaited break over the holidays, right in Berlin.
Text: Robyn Steffen / Photos: Châlet Suisse, Robyn Steffen
Châlet Suisse, Clayallee 99, Im Jagen 5, 14195 Berlin–Dahlem; map
@chalet_suisse_berlin
