"There are at least 3 Biner cafés in different parts of Zermatt, all based on a bakery foundation but with slightly different atmospheres and menus. This review is of the little Biner’s café down by one of the little river crossings (I think the address...is Uferweg 1). So this is not the one near the railway station or the one in the centre of the village. This simple little café by the river is conveniently located between the busy railway and old village areas, and it’s a wonderful place to grab an inexpensive lunch or mid-afternoon snack. The menu is simple but the food is very tasty (their own pastries, breads, soups, pizzas, etc and it’s a good price for Switzerland. There are a few simple tables outside (with gorgeous views of the Matterhorn). Inside, just past the bakery area, there are small café tables. The atmosphere is cozy, with tables fairly close together, but it feels authentic, like a place where locals and workers grab a bite, not just tourists. And, interestingly, although the vibe is homey, there are obvious remnants of the grander European tea-room tradition. For example, some might find the décor of burled wood and matching framed mirrors rather dated, but for me it suggested an elegant history. And, believe it or not, I saw something I’ve only seen years ago in very elegant tea-rooms in large European cities like Salzburg: a shaped rack for holding the old wooden spools that newspapers used to be provided on for customers to read at their leisure while they had their afternoon tea and pastries. (I know: everybody has a tablet or smartphone nowadays for instant news, but I loved seeing this reminder of a less frantic and more gracious past –and at least one of the spools did have a paper on it It seems a popular place and it’s often busy, so don’t expect fancy service, but we’ve eaten lunch and mid-afternoon snacks here a few times (soups, pastas, pastries), and I’ve been impressed by the fact that even an inexpensive cup of tea came with one of their own chocolates on the saucer."
