Food is not an especially high priority in Interlaken, and much of what’s on offer is fairly basic, unadventurous fare. Migros restaurant opposite West station has self-service staples (closed Sun).

Cafés and café-bars

• Balmer’s Herberge (see “Accomodation”). The sociable travellers’ bar attached to this busy hostel serves up cheap beer nightly to its backpacking clientele.
• Brasserie 17, Rosenstrasse 17. Loud central bar, beneath the Happy Inn hostel, with cheap food and big beers.
• Café Runft, opposite West station. A cosy tearoom, snackerie and bar open daily until 3am.
• Goldener Anker, Marktgasse 57. Local pub crammed most nights with young people hanging out and shooting pool. The food is cheap and simple (menu Fr.14), and occasional live bands fill out the atmosphere a bit.
• Panoramic Café, top floor of Hotel Metropole, Höheweg 37. Fifteenth-floor views out over the town and lakes, with an outdoor terrace.
• Positiv Einfach, Centralstrasse 11. Popular crowded little DJ-bar in the centre of town.
• Schuh, Höheweg 56. A tearoom-cum-restaurant on the corner of the Höhematte, refinement in the midst of kitsch-souvenir hell. The supremely elegant interior preludes equally elegant tea-and-cakes, or Swiss cuisine (plus veggie options), helped down by the cocktail pianist tinkling away in the corner.

Restaurants

• El Azteca, Jungfraustrasse 30 (033/822 71 31). Attractive little Mexican place on a side street, with menus from Fr.13 and live mariachi (Fri & Sat). Closed Wed in winter.
• Hirschen, Hauptstrasse 11, Matten (033/822 15 45). Traditional, rustic old wood-beamed inn serving up huge portions of steaming Swiss fare, with menus from Fr.25 or so. Closed Tues.
• Matahari, in Hotel Lötschberg, General-Guisanstrasse 31 (033/822 25 45). Quality Indonesian cuisine, including rijsttafel, a sample of many Indonesian dishes, filled out with a range of Indian dishes, with plenty for vegetarians. Menus around Fr.22. Closed Tues.
• PizPaz, Centralplatz (033/822 25 33). Pleasant but generic pasta, pizza and fish dishes for Fr.16 upwards, on a central crossroads. Closed Mon.
• Spycher, in Casino Kursaal, Strandbadstrasse 44 (033/827 61 00). Just one part of this entertainment complex, housing a casino, bars, cafés and a formal garden, this restaurant is dedicated to touristic dinner-plus-folklore shows. They run three to six nights a week (May–Oct), and you can just watch the dancing and alphorn blowing for Fr.16, or choose from five menus of typical Swiss fare for Fr.40–60, which include the show.