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Der Fondue Chessel
Category: Restaurants Steakhouses Steakhouses [Edit]
21996 Highway 6Keystone, CO 80435
(970) 496-4386
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
7 reviews for Der Fondue Chessel
7 reviews in English
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Review from Scott M.
Los Angeles, CA
12/25/2010
Some of the upper end restaurants at Keystone aren't necessarily great choices for large groups or kids, but Der Fondue Chessel is great for both. The atmosphere is festive and boistrous and about as close as I have gotten to Swiss dining this side of Murren. There is also great German/Swiss entertainers.
My favorite part of the meal was the raclette, which is so hard to find outside of Switzerland! When my kids were younger, they got a charge out cooking their own meals and I think secretly they still do even though they are all out of college now.
The cheese fondue for an appetizer is wonderful, just the right bite to it.
The main course is like a free for all as people spear the meats for cooking and you mix and match with the others at your table or party and you get rosti potatoes an plenty of bread too. Just an amazing experience that we love coming back to over and over. -
Review from Tom P.
Longwood, FL
1/20/2012
First; we have done the gondola ride up at night in the past when we went to Alpinglow Stubbe some years ago. The second time it loses its magic. For those who have never taken that ride; it is enchanting. Great for romance and I am sure the children would get a great charge out of it. So for those that think they might enjoy the ride; then this may well be worth the price of admission.
As a resterant the Fondue Chessel is housed in what is the mountain top cafeteria during the day. It is a nice structure for a cafeteria. The entertainment is a constant of polka and bavarian/ austrian music (I am no expert on music, but I believe that conveys the genre). I though it would be irritating, but it was the best of the services provided. The service was beer hall esque. No one filled you glass or poured your wine. In fact they did very little except smile when they came to the table. I think we left a sixty dollar tip on a three hundred dollar bill for four.
The food was prepped in the kitchen (ie cut into pieces). They had no need for any real cullinarily skilled people in the kitchen as you cooked it yourself. The quality of the foodstuffs was what you might get from a local discount supermarket.
I was a bit irritated when we arrived at the appointed time and we were put off from being seated. There were lots of places with perhaps thirty people seated and enough room to seat another two hundred. They had a makeshift bar with no amenities( like a place to sit).
So we could either stand and wait for the wait staff to do?? Or stand by the bar and wait for the wait staff to do??We ordered a bottle of Pinot Noir and it was very good.
I must say the wine remained good the whole evening. That and our friends were the best part.
So if you want a beautiful ride up the mountain to drink good wine in the cafeteria at the top of the mountain and to listen to the band; then this is the place. Just be prepared to pay as if you had actually gotten a good meal too. -
Review from Ben K.
2/9/2010
There's obviously a certain premium you expect to pay for things when you're in a ski village. There's a slightly higher premium you expect to pay for things when you're physically on a ski mountain. This is OK. You know this coming in, and you are ready for it. If you're not, you don't go.
The Der Fondue Chessel experience is both unique and awesome. From the nighttime gondola access to the absurdly boisterous and jovial atmosphere inside the lodge, the whole thing is just FUN! Everybody is raucous and having a good time, there's a german musical trio ambling around entertaining, and the service is extremely friendly.
On to the food. The caesar salad is pedestrian at best. The cheese fondue is perhaps not the best I've ever had, but let's be honest, the degree of variability here is moderately low. The mixed grill is extremely enjoyable. I really enjoy cooking each piece of meat individually. For those calling for oil fondue cooking method, the only reason I can come up with is that liquids boil at lower temperatures at high altitude, and so might not cook meat properly.
The dessert fondue was probably the best part of the meal. I personally am more for savory than sweet, but I have to say I was blown away at the fantastic array of dessert dippers and the deliciousness of the chocolate fondue itself.
The meal was an awesome experience. I don't know if I need to come back and purchase that experience again (at least for a long while) but I am very glad I came. -
Review from Katherine W.
Foster City, CA
7/28/2008
You're decidedly happy when the attendant by the Gondola hands you a blanket for your ride from 9,400 feet to 11,600 feet. And then you walk across a mountain top to board the next gondola which whisks you to the next mountain top. It's all part of the adventure of dining at der Fondue Chessel.
The big cavernous log and stone room has a definite Bavarian Beer Hall feel. Guests are seated at long plank tables and the roving Polka Band plays lively tunes to accompany your meal. Select a main item from the menu and then be prepared for a long evening of feasting and fun. You'll start with a delicious cheese fondue into which you can dip bread, apples and asparagus spears. Caesar salad comes next and then the instructions for how to manage the Raclette process. A platter of main dish items as well as assorted cheeses to melt on the little wooden paddles and drizzle over roasted potatoes or bread. Grill your shrimp, chicken, steak, scallops, sausages, or other choice of items on the grill and dip in an assortments of sauces.
When you think you can't eat anymore, out comes the grand finale; a huge pot of chocolate fondue in which to dip bananas, cookies, cake, apples, strawberries..... Yikes!
Favorite Dish: Naturally it's the chocolate fondue which grabs the attention of my daughters and myself. I'm told that Bavarians never have chocolate fondue and think it odd. There are places in Switzerland that have added it to their menus to appease American travelers. Smart move, I say! -
Review from Nicole F.
New York, NY
2/5/2009
Maybe I dont get this whole fondue thing... but why am I paying to cook my own food?
Well besides that and taking the chance on sleeping up here due to high winds... mmm mmm mmm burnth cheese and ceasar salad...
I can not find another place that makes a ceasar salad this good... mmmm
oh and the dark chocolate covered strawberries... -
Review from Mike S.
Columbus, OH
1/14/2007
Great setting, the view as you ride the gondola up North Peak to the restaurant is amazing, however the food quality did not match the ambiance. While flavorful, the cheese fondue was too chunky and the electric cooking surface for the meat did not generate enough heat for grilling the chicken and beef (why not oil for cooking the meat fondue-style?). The potatoes had an odd taste (nothing I interpreted as authentically Bavarian), and the accompanying vegetables were raw and seemed out of place with the rest of the meal. The desserts were probably the highlight, as was the music and incredible views and vastly impressive dining hall. Give it a chance, the menu selections may be better than the fondue meal, and it's certainly worth a visit to take in the view.
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Review from A Y.
Petaluma, CA
3/19/2008
i just got back from a week at keystone snowboarding. we went to this place one night and i was totally disappointed. the prix fix menu (or the bavarian equivelent) was totally expensive ($87after tax and their imposed gratuity) and i didn't think it was worth it at all. seriously...the cuts of meat were small for the price. not really a problem with that as i think americans need to eat less anyway, but it was a total rip-off IMHO. perhaps i'm not into the whole "cook it yourself" concept... i dunno. i love cooking, but i thought the space was cramped, the utensils weak (not providing separate utensils for pork/chicken was lame) and having to reach over the noxious smelling candle was nauseating. also, i had to ask for another fork 'cause our table was missing one and our waiter never brought one. i eventually had to get up and go to another table and pilfer their supply. totally lame. ...and the jerk-ass waiter saw me do this and didn't even say shit when he came back to the table like "oh, sorry about that..." or whatever. on the upside, the gondola ride was nice, albeit cold. however, i don't need to freeze my ass off, cook my own food, have shitty service and get dizzy from fumes AND pay $87 . fuck that!
