After Seven — Restaurant in Zermatt

I visited After Seven about a week ago right before Christmas and didn't love the experience. Having been to other Michelin starred restaurants I was expecting compelling food, excellent service, and some sort of concept/pov about what the restaurant's take on contemporary gastronomy is. For me, the experience fell flat for a few reasons:

Unbalanced flavours (some ingredients were way too overpowering (the green foam with the caviar) - and some dishes way too salty (the soup) which I get is subjective, but overall it just felt like random dishes with amuse/palette cleaners in between without rhyme or reason. I think it would help if you provided a printed menu that explains the food which is also a nice memento of the meal. Esp. with wine pairings I think the type of people attending a tasting menu like this want to know what they're eating and the story you're telling. For me, there was just too much happening at a very weird pace to enjoy the food.

Operational Issues that really threw off the total experience: The main issue I had was the length of the service - I chose the 2 hr tasting menu with wine pairing as I needed to meet friends who were arriving that evening. I had asked when selecting my number of courses if the time estimates were correct, which I was told they were.

The meal ended up taking over 3 hours and I even skipped the cheese course because I was really late. I think the main culprit is because they don't have uniform and set seating times for guests, and different numbers of courses you can choose, which makes coordination between FOH and BOH complicated and challenging. As a result, i saw a couple tables waiting for food or bills looking a bit displeased, and for me there were times when I was just sitting with no food. And because there were a lot of small bites served between courses I couldn't tell if my meal was ending soon. I think After Seven is ambitious in offering 3 menu options (ranging from 2-4 hours minimum) but definitely kinks need to be ironed out to deliver on the experience.

Bright spots in the evening: I loved the wines that were paired. All Swiss from the Valais region and very nice. The front of house team were really good and did their best to manage various tables at various stages of their meals.

As an aside, I also had dinner at the Dinner Show and that was really fun. More of a relaxed affair and it was nice to have some live music during a meal which I've missed...

Dining at After Seven was a wonderful experience.

We were lucky enough to have reserved a table for two, and as described by others, we were greeted with three “greetings from the kitchen” in rapid order right after arrival. Maybe a little more breathing space would have been at order, but it was fun for sure.

Some people complained in reviews about the length of the meal. This is not a place to be in a hurry or have an appointment afterwards. However, I have never eaten at a Michelin star restaurant were food was served for the impatient. We are here to enjoy life! Just to be clear, the four course meal is not done in two hours as listed on the menu. So just forget about the time and enjoy the culinary delights, of which there are many.

The way it works: you chose the number of courses and should you dislike any of a list of ingredients presented on a board, let the waiter know. What comes after is a surprise, and for each course there is a little taster before the actual course.

Since you will spend the whole evening here, it might be a good consideration to order more than the minimal four course menu. Not that we weren’t fully satisfied with four courses, but since every single course was wonderful, it is a shame to miss out on some of them. And the additional money per course is about CHF 20, well worth it.

Everything is presented in the most beautiful way, every dish a work of art, a feast for the eyes and the palate.

The service was exactly the way I like it - the waiter knew his stuff and was a joy to communicate with. We did not order the wine pairing but went for amazing organic white wine by Retro Müller instead, which was recommended by the sommelier. It was a revelation and I will definitely try to find that wine again!

The one downside that should be easy to change: there is a fireplace and as the evening advanced, it simply got too hot in the room. We should have asked for some fresh air, but instead simple went outside a couple of times.

Finally, regarding the money spent: Switzerland is never cheap, and Zermatt twice so. The quality of service and quality of the food was excellent. Complaining that it is expensive etc is like complaining that gold is expensive, or first class flight tickets. That’s a given, not news.

For us, it was a wonderful experience and well worth the money spent. I for one am sure to reserve a table at After Seven next time I am in Zermatt, and I am already looking...

I came here with a group of friends and we reserved months in advance, as it was the day before New Year’s Eve.

They were very accommodating to some food allergies and the staff is very friendly.

I read the restaurant had two Michelin stars in 2019, but now only has one. Honestly, if it had two now, I would be a bit surprised.

We all had the seven course meal and three of us had the wine pairing. The first two wines were not my favorite (I especially disliked the orange wine - it was served in a black glass but I hate orange wine so much I immediately knew it was that.). The rest were ok - all from Wallis region.

I was super confused that we would already start to get Amuse-bouche after sitting down and not even receiving the menu. We didn’t even get our champagne yet and we already had three amuse-bouche. Everyone at the table was confused and though the restaurant already pre-selected the menu for us without asking, as the staff kept coming with various appetizers.

There were always appetizers served before the main courses, so by the time the meal ended 4+ hours later, you were full. I think the staff would have explained the food a lot more if they spoke to us in German versus English - the eloquence in describing the dishes in English was missing. You don’t only come to a Michelin star restaurant for the food, you come for the experience.

The menu was different with a lot of Asian inspired dishes. Very good as an average. The cheese tray at the end was delightful! So was our waitress!

Price wise, I’m a bit disappointed. I went to Pavillon in a Zurich (two star Michelin) and only paid a couple hundred more for a completely elevated and better experience.

The restaurant is a nice visit if you are in Zermatt, but I wouldn’t come here again.

One thing that put me off, was that me and the two other girls couldn’t figure out how to turn on the faucet in the washroom. It turns out it was broken. We kept having to sneak into the mens washroom to use running water to wash our hands. Pretty disappointing for a Michelin star restaurant.

Also the pumpkin and lavender dessert did not match well, at all. I believe no one at our table enjoyed it, but the dinner...