HR Giger - Bar & Museum — Restaurant in Gruyères

The location does not make any sense, the service is terrible, there is not enough seating, the menu is not that great, and I absolutely LOVE IT.

This bar was designed by H.R. Giger, the Swiss artist best known for creating the visual design of the Alien in Ridley Scott’s 1979 Film ‘Alien.’ It looks like the interior of the aliens’ spaceship and is full of the biomechanical art style that Guger pioneered. Vertebrae designs arch across the ceiling, pod swivel chairs sit along the bar, a metal alien hangs from a wall, and bones are ingrained in every direction - the design transports you right into the Alien universe.

You can find this alien-themed bar right in the middle of the medieval walled city of Gruyeres, Switzerland. It’s at the end of a cobblestone historic road that cars cannot travel down, right before the castle. Why here? No idea. But it’s worth the visit.

Trust me, I was a total skeptic. I wanted to experience the medieval history and Swiss culture during my limited time here, so this was not on my list. But I am so glad we stopped.

The service was horrible. And the drinks menu sucked. But a glass of the bright-green Grand Gruyère went perfect in this setting. Highly...

So after driving quite a long way to visit this, not really a Giger fan but wanted to see the alien bar, arrived just as the sun was setting. Managed to get a space in the car park which is large but quite full. Then wandered up to the town. The town is worth a visit on its own. Is a lovely, car free town square with restaurants and shops all around and a lovely little chapel.

Then hidden away at the top of the town is the museum and bar. The museum is a great space and we managed to sneak in just before closing. Took about half an hour to walk around. Is a testament to this rather disturbed artist. Some great Alien stuff in the museum as well as the rather darker stuff. Some of his private collection is interesting.

Then wandered over to the bar when I had a green beer and sat in a chair designed for aliens. It was a great place to visit and would...

The bar and the interior are impeccable, but the waitress couldn’t care less about the customers

Edit: 1 star for service because the waitress refused to take an order well before 20:30 (19:45) because she wanted to go home and said that she doesn’t have to explain anything (i.e. doesn’t have to do her job?). And yeah, that’s all literally what she said. In general she was very rude and just not approachable: no greeting, no announcement that the bar is closing, no attention to the customer at all. I understand that we’re all people and hence not perfect, but this is downright unacceptable. You can see when the person is not even trying. Would‘ve given zero, because it really...