UPDATE: out of business end of February 2024

Tobias Funke’s Incantare Restaurant in Heiden in quaint Appenzellerland:

The first reason to come here to one of the furthest corners in Switzerland was its reputation as foodie destination. I wanted to have dinner at Tobias Funke’s restaurant, awarded two stars Michelin. And I would not have chosen this place if it did not have rooms for the night. There are not many of those, only four, but that was more than enough for two friends, my husband and me. In addition, the town of Heiden is officially “a heritage site of national significance”. Another plus is the town’s very own landscape for which the Appenzellerland is known in Switzerland. Short, it is a perfect place to spend a weekend filled with culinary delights in nice environs with opportunities to sightsee and to do a walk. And all these are covered in the next lines …

About the chef and his restaurants

Tobias Funke started his career in the Lake Zurich area, where he worked amongst others at the renowned Restaurant Kunststuben in Kuesnacht. At the beginning of 2015, the young chef (aged 38 now) was appointed as manager and as responsible for culinary matters at the newly established Gasthaus zur Fernsicht in Heiden.

Here you find the gourmet Restaurant Incantare, where our party of four dined, and another eatery with more traditional food, the Swiss Alpine Restaurant.

The signature restaurant Incantare, which means enchantment, has 2 Michelin stars (the second since the beginning of 2020) and 17 Gault Millau points. The Swiss Alpine Restaurant

was awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin guide.

When it comes to the produce he uses in his restaurants, Tobias Funke is picky. He has built close relationships with high-quality suppliers such as vegetable and fruit growers as well as cheese makers and meat producers from the region.

In terms of bread,

he trusts in a local baker, Werner Kast, who makes a special house bread for the chef, a dark one from the wood oven. As to meat, Tobias Funke has a liking for second cuts as he considers them as more flavorful than others. One of his favorite pieces is the outside skirt, beef from the diaphragm muscle.

Responsible for the sweet dishes is Kay Baumgardt, patissier of the year 2020 awarded by the Gault Millau restaurant guide. He has a knack for original creations, often with vegetables, and avoids using white sugar in the process.

About the hotel, Gasthaus zur Fernsicht, Heiden

As I just mentioned, there are only four room at this Gasthaus zur Fernsicht, which means inn with a panoramic view. And the name could not be more accurate. You have amazing vistas of the Lake Constance from almost every spot on the grounds!

Before converted in an inn, it used to be a villa with vast gardens. And not only an ordinary villa but a Biedermeier building. It was built in this style – just as many other ones in Heiden, more about it later on – in 1823. And as I think, it is an especially beautiful example!

This building project, finished in 2015, was only possible because of the investors, Alfred and Sabine Gossauer. A funny detail is that they not only acquired the building and converted it in an inn with a foodie restaurant but also asked an artist to make a very special sculpture. And this out of a giant tree standing on the grounds for more than 120 years. It resulted a creation called father and son.

Now to some details of what to expect when being a guest at this inn in Heiden.

Location

Gasthaus zur Fernsicht is located in Heiden, on the edge of Switzerland, in the very northeast. You can reach the Austrian border in just ten minutes by car. High above Lake Constance (800 m/2,600 ft above sea level), you have tremendous views of the third largest lake in Switzerland.

Notwithstanding the remote situation, you are here from Zurich in less than one and a half hour. And if you should be in the city of Saint Gallen, which is also worth a visit – see my blogpost – , you reach it in a bit more than 20 minutes.

Facilities

As said before, you find here four rooms on the top two floors of the building. All of them are tastefully furnished in a contemporary way and have all the amenities to stay in style, be it a generously sized guest room

or a spacious bathroom.

And some of them have also lake views. They are very reasonably priced at 285 SFR/US$ for two persons a day including a sumptuous continental breakfast.

On site are the two mentioned restaurants, a gourmet and a more traditional one. Furthermore, you find here a bar with a nice outdoor area.

Our party of four had drinks here in the afternoon and liked it although we would have appreciated to have some snacks to accompany the beverages as announced on the homepage. But unfortunately, there was nothing to eat on offer on our visit. If you look for a cafe nearby for a small bite, a good place to go is Café im Glueck (in luck).

Service/staff

All the members of staff we interacted with at the inn and at the restaurants (dinner at Incantare and breakfast at Swiss Alpine) were kind, helpful and accommodative. While we were dining, the chef came to the table to inquiry whether we liked our experience here, and we could wholeheartedly say yes to the question.

On our dinner, we were allocated a generous table with a great lake view and – important in these Corona times – much of personal space. What I found astounding was the fact that the meal was paced just right, we did not have to wait “for ages” until the next course was served as this is often the case in such establishments.

Dining at Restaurant Incantare

The gourmet restaurant is – as the whole property – contemporarily decorated. And from every spot in the dining-room you have the same fabulous lake view. It really is a splendid place to have a foodie dinner!

And dining here was a true epicurean experience indeed! Incantare offers a mouthwatering culinary “trip” that matches its reputation.

On our visit, the menu consisted of seven courses, out of which you can choose four or more. We decided to have six of them. We were not able to choose which course to leave out. The first meat course (outside skirt) was the one to be dropped. I personally did not mind, however a friend of mine would have liked to have the outside skirt. But that would have meant that we could not have the meat course together. So, we forgot about having different meat courses.

Every dish we got was expertly crafted and at the same time refined, inspired and original. All the courses had some unexpected element in each that made it memorable. I especially liked the Japanese touches of many of the six courses we had.

As to the pricing, the whole she bang (seven courses) cost 215 SFR/US$. If you want to have fewer courses, the minimum is four (169 SFR/US$). This is of course not exactly inexpensive yet it is absolutely aligned with the quality provided. You also have to consider that Restaurant Incantare is among the 25 best dining-outlets in Switzerland according to the Michelin guide.

But now to the most important thing, the culinary delights you get here …

6-course menu

After the snacks

and the amuse-bouche,

which were both promising, we started with a flavorful scampi. It came on a grill to the table, which was an eye-catcher but otherwise did not seem to be of any practical use. It was paired with green peas, grapefruits and Romaine lettuce. For my taste, the salad was a bit tough, otherwise it was all good.

A special kind of Carbonara with forest aroma was next. Instead of spaghetti you got enoki mushrooms. Although I found the take on this typical Italian dish inventive, I was not a great fan of the mushrooms, which were a bit hard for my liking.

The fish course that followed was my favorite. It was black cod – very popular in Japan – accompanied by asparagus, kimizu (a Japanese sauce with egg yolk and rice vinegar), yuzu, preserved lemon and brown butter. It was a complex taste experience that lingered long in my memory!

The meat dish was summer dear in unison with New Zealand spinach, beetroot and truffles. It was not only artfully composed but also an explosion of tastes, textures and flavors, a great dish!

The cheese course was off the beaten track. Bergfichte, a creamy red smear cheese, on a salty cake with parsley root and dandelion. Exquisite indeed!

Out of the two desserts I opted for strawberry combined with amazake (sweet sake), almond miso and rucola, a daring composition yet a total fit that opened up a new world of taste!

A hit was the jewel box with the petits fours. Drawer number one for example contained a delight inspired by course number one. That means that the scampi dish could be found in some way in the respective petit four. The same is true for all the other drawers. What a great idea and how well realized!

Our dinner here was a success. It was a delightfully balanced series of artfully composed dishes that surprised at almost every bite. Maybe the first two courses fell off a bit yet on a high level. As always it is a matter of personal taste.

Apart from being a foodie destination, Heiden has quite a lot to offer as to go sightseeing and go for a walk/hike.

What to do in Heiden

As hinted, Heiden is not your ordinary town, but a Biedermeier village. A fire in 1838 only spared one house in the center – Harmony on Poststrasse 19.

The town was rebuilt in the Biedermeier style, a subgroup of the Neoclassicism. Characteristic for this architecture are simplicity and functionality. Stroll around the church square to get a good look of these buildings.

Furthermore, Heiden gained popularity as a health resort in the 19th century, and this for whey treatments. Later on, it became also a climatic spa destination. Right across the street from Gasthaus zur Fernsicht you still find the kursaal plus park.

Last but not least, Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross, spent the last part of his life here in Heiden. There is also a museum dedicated to him.

Where to go for a walk in the Heiden area

If you have only half an hour or so to do a walk, the Panoramaweg (tour with panoramic vistas) is your choice. It starts right by the Gasthaus zur Fernsicht and allows wonderful views of Lake Constance and the hilly Appenzellerland.

The route is as follows: Seeallee – Carl-Boeckli-Weg – Nord – Gruberstrasse – Seeallee.

There is a myriad of walks and hikes to get to know the gentle rolling hills of Appenzellerland.

We opted for a moderate hike of about 2 hours and 45 minutes starting and ending in Heiden. It goes over hills and through valleys, along typical Appenzeller farmhouses

and with views of Lake Constance.

For details, refer to the Outdooractive hiking guide. While it is not exactly an easy walk – it goes up and down all the time – , it is a rewarding thing to do on a sunny, not too hot day.

Date of stay: June 2020

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