Bim Fritz at Gasthaus Widder

While planning the trip to Zug I was sent recommendations for a couple of hotels and Hotel Lowen, a small family run hotel on Landsmeindeplatz, won out because it was close to the medieval old town and adjacent to Lake Zug. 

The hotel has no bar but has a direct entry to the adjacent Restaurant Domus where the friendly staff lead you astray and you end up buying multiple beers to take back to your room while working late. My room is on the front of the building with the windows opening to a cast-iron balcony overlooking the square; as well as down to the lake, so it really comes into its own in the fragile morning light. But sitting there in the morning, the peaceful January morning air is punctuated by regular wild shrieks from down by the lake. A stroll down there reveals two aviaries where the cool morning temperatures mean they're filled with grumpy birds. Most of them express their dissatisfaction with the conditions by sitting on their perches, puffing up their feathers and balefully glaring at the world as it goes by. Even the birds on the lake (coots, mallards and gulls) don’t look too happy but are stoic in their acceptance. The parrots and macaws, however, voice their displeasure frequently at maximum volume. They’re pissed off and they don’t care who knows it. 

A mid-morning appointment means breakfast at the hotel, a stroll round Zug and an eye wateringly expensive taxi ride for an appointment (and back). As the taxi drops me back at the hotel there’s time for lunch before I have to head to the railway station and away. There are a number of eating places around Landsmeindeplatz and the one that piques my interest the most is the pizza place (every so often it’s too strong a craving to ignore). Except it’s shut. Awww, bugger.

Luckily, reviewing menus in adjacent restaurant windows, help is at hand. Bim Fritz on the ground floor of Gasthaus Widder with its Swiss emphasis appeals the most. The inn originated in 1300 and has been owned by Fritz and Jeanette Kaiser since 1984. As you stroll in and get comfortable the restaurant has a feel of a hangout for locals from the large family group eating together to the man taking a break with his coffee and newspaper and the friends meeting for lunch, one in a suit, the other more casually dressed. I get my choice of table so I end up by the front window overlooking the square.

Décor is plain from the tiled floor to the cream painted walls where the lower wood panelling gives way to green tiling towards the rear. The back of the restaurant is dominated by a heavy wood panelled serving bar. The tables at the front of the restaurant are set with pewter plates, heavy knives & forks and thin cloth napkin on a strip of linen tablecloth. Further back, the tables are don’t get the tablecloths but at least at lunchtime that’s the fun part of the restaurant.

A cloth bag of nutty multigrain bread precedes the ordered food. Having seen lamb’s lettuce mentioned on a number of other Swiss menus this seems a perfect opportunity to try it. The generous helping of green leaves is topped with strips of flavourful bacon, chopped hard-boiled egg, chicory, sweet cherry tomato halves and red onion rings. The salad is dressed with plenty of vinegary herbed dressing. The egg does a great job of mellowing the dressing’s sharpness to tie the whole dish together. The lamb’s lettuce is a relatively innocuous green but the strong flavours of the other elements and the lashings of dressing makes it my kind of salad.

The hearty main of roast pork sausage on an onion gravy is perfect for a January lunch. The coarse pork sausage has an excellent flavour with a light spice that hangs around deliciously on the palate. The chopped parsley and chives add a fresh light touch to the sausage while the onion gravy turns the plate into total comfort food. The thin French fries with their crispy shell, soft inside and dusting of spice are the perfect accompaniment.

The feeling of contentment that nicely cooked sausage, & chips with onion gravy fosters doesn’t need dessert to risk spoiling the mood. My stroll to the station, after a brief stop at Hotel Lowen, is easy after a surprisingly pleasant lunch.

Bim Fritz at Gasthaus Widder is an unpretentious place serving hearty food that hits the spot. There’s nothing startling about it but can be the perfect lunch spot if you’re in the mood for well-cooked comforting food. I’d happily return.

Overall Rating – 3.5/5