Close Menu
  • City trips
  • Destinations
    • Africa
      • Botswana
      • Egypt
      • Mauritius
      • Morocco
      • Namibia
    • Asia
      • China
      • India
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Maldives
      • Oman
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
    • Australia
      • New South Wales
      • New Zealand
      • Queensland
    • Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Bulgary
      • Croatia
      • Cyprus
      • Czech Republic
      • England
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Iceland
      • Italy
      • Lithuania
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
        • Azores
      • Russia
      • Spain
        • Ibiza
        • Lanzarote
        • Mallorca
      • Switzerland
    • South America
      • Argentina
      • Brazil
      • Chile
      • Mexico
  • Hotel tipps
  • Swiss hiking
Recent Posts
  • Istrian Gourmet Experiences: 3 Stellar Restaurants + Our Wishlist for Next Time
  • What to Do Around Trieste: From Fairy-Tale Castles to Spectacular Caves, and Slovenia’s Capital
  • What to Do in Trieste: Explore Italy’s Coffee Capital One Cup at a Time
  • Madeira, the Island of Flowers: 19 Tips for Activities and Attractions.
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS
  • Home
  • About us
  • Media kit
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy
travelmemo
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest
  • Home
  • Commendable hotels
  • Golf
  • Restaurants
  • Hiking
  • City Trips
travelmemo
You are at:Home»Switzerland»Cervo Sunday Brunch – the Mountain Boutique Resort way!
Switzerland

Cervo Sunday Brunch – the Mountain Boutique Resort way!

Walter SchaererBy Walter SchaererFebruary 14, 201706 Mins Read
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

My preferred way of launching into Sundays is with a long, leisurely brunch. To heighten the “brunch” experience even more for us, Zermatt Tourism came up with an interesting experiment: the night before they packed us into a real igloo at minus 20 degrees! We make it to brunch the next morning anyway!

I can’t imagine why, but everyone seems to know by now that I’m a pushover for a good Sunday brunch. I love getting a start on the day comfortably and in a relaxed manner, surrounded by tasty deli fare, fresh jus, and coffee galore, And in good company, of course.

The igloo experiment

It seems, however, that Corinne Ulrich of Zermatt Tourism took this as a challenge: She didn’t just invite us to the standard brunch review, but instead proposes to let us “prep” the night before in an igloo! Make that “shiver,” of course, because at 20 below zero even we are no longer just cool… However, we can never resist a dare either, so we took her up on this challenge — and survived it. With flying colors!

Dawn over Zermatt Igloo Village
Dawn over Zermatt Igloo Village

So, the next morning, freshly thawed out, we make our way from our igloo to the Gornergrat railway, which we take down to Zermatt where we plan to stop in at Cervo Boutique Hotel for its much-praised Sunday brunch. With towering expectations! There is also the Cervo’s legendary reputation: while it may not have invented the “Alpine chic” concept, it did much to help shape it. We are excited like newborns — or Arctic explorers!

Cervo Mountain Boutique Resort

When the e-taxi deposits us in front of the Cervo, it quickly becomes clear where the good rep comes from: Nestled against a slope in Zermatt at the edge of the forest in sight of the Matterhorn are eight elegant stone, wood, and glass chalets, each bearing a discreet stag emblem, the “cervo,” which means “stag” in Italian. Or possibly even alpha stag, as we shall see?

The Cervo Mountain Boutique Resort chalets with Matterhorn
The Cervo Mountain Boutique Resort chalets
Entry staircase to the Cervo Mountain Boutique Resort
Entry staircase to the Cervo Mountain Boutique Resort
Painting of a stag in the Cervo Resort
Painting of a stag in the Cervo Resort

The first impression is of a modest space. You enter the main chalet not through a big driveway and revolving door, but up a set of small stairs to then stand in front of a rather plain little reception desk. Another narrow wooden stair then leads up one floor into the Puro Gourmet Restaurant decorated with 14 Gault Millau points. With its low wooden ceiling, it too feels rather small and easily taken in with one glance, although we are told later that it seats 70.

But, we have barely been seated when a pleasant feeling like being at home settles over us. Not that we live in a chalet or hunting cabin, but this is what it might feel like if we did. The cheerful and attentive staff does its part to make us feel welcome and wastes no time making our table practically disappear. Under all the delicacies that grow up here.

À la carte Sunday brunch

We feast on Bircher müesli, croissants, and cheese and more brunch fare before we move on to our tried and proven “Eggs Benedict test.” How high will their version of the famous dish be stacked, what garnishes will they serve with it? Does it come with a side of avocado? Possibly also with some ham and its chives?

Berkel meat slicer
Berkel meat slicer
A la Carte Brunch table at the Cervo
Brunch table at the Cervo
Cheese, Bircher müesli and more
Cheese, Bircher müesli and more good stuff
Birche rmüesli, cheese, salmon
Still more cheese, coffee and sundry temptations
Eggs Royale with salmon
Eggs Royale with salmon
Eggs Benedict sunday brunch Cervo
Eggs Benedict

The Eggs Benedict tastes outstanding. No contest. Optically and as regards garnishes, however, it is not quite ready to top our Eggs Benedict rankings ;-)

No matter, the overall experience is tops! Along with ample views of the Matterhorn, we “digest” the adventurous night we just passed and now this fine à la carte brunch. Well played!

Getting that Cervo feeling…

The brunch price of CHF 49.- per person is a fair price given the whole experience, in my opinion. The brunch, incidentally, is open to all, not just hotel guests. So, if you book one of the many Zermatt designer chalets, you can still get a good taste of Cervo. To put it another way: The Sunday brunch is the budget-conscious traveler’s way to the Cervo feeling, given that the rooms rent in the upper price range.

 View of the Matterhorn
View of the Matterhorn
Signpost to the Cervo Chalets
Signpost to the Cervo Chalets
Cervo Sunday Brunch - the Mountain Boutique Resort way! 1 | travel memo
Room with a view
Cervo Sunday Brunch - the Mountain Boutique Resort way! 2 | travel memo
Spa area

 

Terrace with view of the Matterhorn
Terrace with view

Hotelier Daniel F. Lauber

Watching benignly to make sure that all is done just right is Cervo’s senior partner Daniel Lauber. Engineer, member of the Council of States, and longtime mayor of Zermatt, he sees to it that his son and young hotelier Daniel F. Lauber stays solidly grounded despite all the successes that Cervo can regularly proclaim.

Daniel Lauber senior in the Cervo Restaurant "Puro"
Grand seigneur Daniel Lauber in Cervo’s “Puro” Restaurant

When the hotel opened in December 2009, the scion had not yet turned 30 and his — at the time daring — “Alpine Chic” hotel concept on the outskirts of Zermatt at the forest’s edge was given little chance of succeeding. Today, the then-newcomer and hotel designer is after all one of Switzerland’s most successful hoteliers…

Ah! And, by the way: if you think you’ve consumed the last crumb of your brunch, that’s when things really get started! Now, the kitchen goes freestyle and serves up magnificently spiced beef cubes. Followed by desserts that seem to never end…

Beef cube in spicy stock
Beef cube in spicy stock
Dessert variations
Dessert variations

Enjoy!

The indulgent reader at this point may object: isn’t that bit too much food on the table for just two? Correct! At table were eight people, because we turned up with other travel bloggers and Instagrammers. The hilarious photos of bloggers eating will follow later in a “making of” account of this blogger trek…

Many thanks to Zermatt Tourism and the Cervo team for the generous invitation and the outstanding hospitality!

Address:
CERVO Mountain Boutique Resort
Riedweg 156
Postfach 388
CH-3920 Zermatt

Phone: +41 27 968 12 12

To Cervo’s Website

Boutique Hotel Brunch Zermatt
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Previous ArticleFindeln chalet village near Zermatt and a mountain gourmet trifecta
Next Article E-biking the Clutha River, Wanaka, Otago
Walter Schaerer
  • Facebook
  • X (Twitter)
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Walter’s extensive background in the travel industry, passionate enthusiasm for photography and a firm belief that luxury destinations can also be affordable; were some of the main factors that motivated him to create the travel blog travelmemo.com. In his day job, Walter is an online marketing manager based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Related Posts

Blausee – Trip tip for a mountain lake in Bernese Oberland

February 21, 2023

A mountain high on the Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe

April 15, 2022

Wolwedans Dunes Lodge: Privacy at its best in Namibia’s desert

November 5, 2021
Add A Comment
Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Travel along to inspiring destinations
Welcome to our travel blog! Katja & Walter are passionate about one-of-a-kind travel experiences.



We aim at inspiring you to travel, too, and see your own world with new eyes. Check out more about us here!

Travel blog on one-of-a-kind travel experiences.

About us
About us

Katja and Walter are passionate travel bloggers that care about design and boutique hotels and the personalised experience they offer. Their travelogues cater to discerning couples interested in a stylish atmosphere and romantic hideaways.

Walter & Katja founded the travel blog back in 2010.

Read more about us here!

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest YouTube RSS
Our latest travelogues

Istrian Gourmet Experiences: 3 Stellar Restaurants + Our Wishlist for Next Time

What to Do Around Trieste: From Fairy-Tale Castles to Spectacular Caves, and Slovenia’s Capital

What to Do in Trieste: Explore Italy’s Coffee Capital One Cup at a Time

Madeira, the Island of Flowers: 19 Tips for Activities and Attractions.

Hiking in Madeira: discover the breathtaking beauty of the Island of Flowers

Sardinian Shores Unveiled: An Unforgettable Self-Guided Boat Journey Along the Rugged East Coast

Southern Sardinia Uncovered: From Cagliari’s Charms and Chia’s Flamingos to the Beaches of Costa Rei

Sardinia’s Eastern Shores: Discovering Orosei and the Hidden Beaches from Cala Liberotto to Cala Goloritzé

Our travel topics
Alps (54) Animals (15) Architecture (38) Beach (33) Boutique Hotel (73) City Trip (39) Contributions (30) Country House (17) Culture (26) Design (69) Dinner (23) Experience (38) Flight (9) Golf (18) Gourmet (35) Hiking (21) Itinerary (9) Lake (16) Landscape (74) Lodge (24) Luxury (63) Masseria (9) Mr and Mrs Smith (15) Museum (9) Nature (102) Puglia (13) Relais & Châteaux (16) Relax (13) Rental Car (26) Resort (31) Restaurant (42) Road Trip (9) Rural (23) Safari (21) Shopping (9) Singapore (9) Spa-Wellness (47) Summer (8) Swiss Deluxe Hotels (16) Sydney (11) Tour (28) Wilderness Safaris (8) Winter (22) Zermatt (12) Zurich (13)
Join us in inspiring destinations!

Welcome to our travel blog!

Katja & Walter are passionate about one-of-a-kind travel experiences.

We aim at inspiring you to travel, too, and see your own world with new eyes. Check out more about us here!

© travelmemo.com by Walter Schaerer & Katja Birrer
  • Home
  • About us
  • Media kit
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy
© 2010 - 2025 Travelmemo, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Home
  • About us
  • Media kit
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.