Expect the unexpected as you take your seat at Michel Péclard’s just-opened Alpenblick Arosa. After a two month hiatus and complete refurbishment led by set designer Raphael Otto and his firm Atelier 72, the eccentric Swiss restaurateur finally ventured outside of his home base of Zurich. Located at 1,951m above sea level on Hörnli mountain, this ideally situated chalet-restaurant has been turned into a cosy, all-wood, picture-perfect Swiss eatery, dominated by a massive open fireplace where the young team prepares Buurebratwurscht (local sausages) or Schwiins-Baby-Ribs (suckling pig spare ribs) and delicate Mischtchratzerli, a four-week-old chicken roasted on a special rotisserie, created exclusively for the dish.

Driven by Péclard’s passion for regional simplicity, you will find a fresh vegetable basket or Wienerschnitzel on the menu – though you’ll probably miss the country’s almost compulsory cheese fondue, a fact which – on the bright side – allows guests to wholly take in the succulent scent of the century-old, sunburnt spruce wood that has been used for the floors and walls to create an authentic, Alpine atmosphere. So whether you arrive by ski for an extended piste break or atop a horse-drawn carriage (just a 10-minute ride from town), expect to be thoroughly taken in by the set, 5-course dinner dictated by what’s on offer from the local butcher and an air of Gemütlichkeit that’ll make it exceptionally hard to leave.

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