Vincafe la barca — Restaurant in Lucerne

We just happened to discover this restaurant on our very last day in Lucerne. It's located on a street called "Unter der Egg" which is a pedestrian walkway along the Reuss River in Old Town. This restaurant has a large covered terrace overlooking the river. The building appears to be part of Old Town's medieval history, but I haven't been able to verify that. Nevertheless, it has a very charming atmosphere.

The greeter and server were both very welcoming. I think we were the first to arrive for lunch, so finding a seat with a view was not too difficult. The view was exceptional, and even on a rainy day. We knew exactly what we wanted when viewing the menu earlier that morning. Benjamin was also helpful in giving us a description of the Cheese Fondue Moitié-Moitié. It's a blend of Gruyere and Vacherin Fribourgeois cheese with wine & rubbed garlic. It comes with bread cubes and boiled potatoes. We also added the pickled onions & cornichons which provided a little acidity to balance out the richness of the cheese. It was quite an experience. The only other time I've had fondue was at the Melting Pot. This one was very different than the American version. The cheese had a sharper taste. It was different in a good way. The boiled potatoes made it more filling. The fondue was creamy & satisfying on a cold rainy day.

We liked it so much that we stayed for dessert. Autumn is the perfect time of year to try anything made with chestnuts. We decided to try the Coupe Nesselrode which was basically a chestnut puree in the shape of vermicelli noodles on top of ice cream and a meringue. It was good. I've never seen anything like it before. It was a new experience.

The service, ambiance, and food checked all the right boxes for that one last hurrah in Lucerne. We won't talk about the price. It's comparable to any other restaurant with fondue in Lucerne. I also can't complain about the weather. We had 3 out of 5 beautiful and unseasonably warm days. It was still a memorable lunch with a...

Very, very disappointed and insulted by a rude male service staff named Kai. No customer deserves to be treated like that.

1. We came to try the fondue as a pre-dinner snack, and we had asked for Tap water. When the bill came, we were charged CHF 3.50 for 2 glasses of water and Kai said “THIS IS NORMAL, DON’t YOU KNOW?” Is that really normal? We did not dispute and accepted it.

2. During payment, Kai loudly asked “Tips for service??” Honestly, with his crude tone and poor personal hygiene (he was having a runny nose and spits as he speaks) - we did not feel serviced, but while we were considering, he repeated loudly again “TIPS FOR SERVICE”? We understand tipping is optional and would tip appropriately, but this was unacceptable.

When I said we might come by again tomorrow for a full meal with tips, he smirked, mimicked my laughter in a sarcastic, MOCKING manner and threw our credit card back on the table after payment was done. That was extremely rude and uncalled for.

Regardless of the value of the meal or eventual tipping, a truly hospitable dining establishment takes utmost care and pride towards every customer. This experience really left a bitter taste in our mouth, and our hearts.

There were similar comments about poor staff behaviour below and I wonder if it is the same staff - if not, this is concerning for Barca (although there was a friendlier male crew with curly hair).

The fondue was priced at CHF 31, not the most affordable but it was reasonable as compared to its neighbours along this stretch.

Note; our friends came by 2 days ago for the fondue as well, and were NOT charged for water. Some staff’s integrity and attitude remains...

Super Fondue! Super Flammkuchen! Feines essen! Danke! We are from Switzerland and came with friends visiting from Austria! I wanted since a long time myself to eat a Fondue at the river in Luzern, which is a very tourist thing to do! :) Unfortunately you can not reserve a table there at the riverside, but you can reserve one under the arcade or inside. But someone was leaving at the riverside and we could get that table! I recomend maybe going at a time inbetween lunch and dinner, because then there are less people, maybe it’s more likely to get a free spot. Under the arcade it’s a bit a dark atmosphere… maybe nice in winter..

The Fondue, I as a swiss really liked! I saw that someone left a bad review saying they ordered Fondue and it was with no meat😂 and not the correct thing. But it is the correct Fondue here! And very good! Fondue is a melted cheese “soup” and you eat it with bread and potatoes! No meat! 😅 if you want “meat Fondue” look for a place that makes Fondue Chinoise, that is basically Hot Pot but the version that the swiss people eat (that has no cheese).

The Scenery there is so nice next to the...