JEDDAH, 30 October — It’s a definite eye-catcher. I have to say that it seems as if plenty of time and money were spent to make this restaurant what it is.
It’s a darling little place with a beautiful exterior; it almost looks like a little chateau with brick walls and dim lighting outside the door that gives it an ancient foreign air. The little roof top that frames it just adds to the place’s appeal.
The inside of the restaurant is charming as well. As soon as you enter you get the feeling that you are in Switzerland where the warm cozy place shelters you from the bitter cold outside. The ceiling is high and the tables are set around a lovely piano where a pianist plays enchanting music. Both piano and pianist are under a large chandelier in the center of the restaurant.
Le Chalet is less than a year old and since it opened I have heard a lot about it. Almost everybody agrees that the atmosphere is amazing though the food isn’t. I decided to check things out for myself and I must say that I was far more impressed with the place than I expected to be; I also remembered someone who had maintained that the food was delicious.
I found the menu an incredibly exciting mixture of French, German and Italian dishes — not to mention the fondue section. As a starter I had the seafood salad which was relatively good. Unfortunately, I wasn’t brave enough to try the chalet salad, which had pineapple, chicken, cheese, salami and bananas. The potato soup was heart warming. Pasta el pesto was a real treat with olive oil, garlic, fish, cheese and salmon.
I chose a German dish, which is by far the best dish they serve. It is composed of meat in mushroom sauce along with some potatoes on the side. It’s supposedly one of the most popular dishes in Switzerland.
The pepper steak with tender meat and potatoes on the side — was nothing out of this world.
Polo con pepporoni was a dish that certainly tasted like a home cooked meal. I loved the flavoring of the chicken, which was very distinctive.
Dessert was an adventure on its own. The green tea ice cream was a punishment, but no permanent damage was done. The choco fudge cake was sweet but didn’t tickle my taste buds. A friend ordered the banana split and she swears Baskin Robbins’s is better.
Now for the chocolate fondue which was, to put it mildly, exceptional. Imagine this: Tobler chocolate melted for you to enjoy the Swiss way. It is served simmering on a special dish. Accompanying it was a platter filled with fresh fruit and small cubes of soft chocolate cake, each of which you dip into the melted chocolate and blissfully enjoy. I strongly recommend it.
They also serve cheese fondue, beef fondue and even seafood fondue. The service was grand but the prices were a little too steep.
Le Chalet is open from 8 to 11 a.m. for breakfast, from 1 to 4 p.m. for lunch and from 7 to 1 a.m. for dinner. It is on Prince Abdullah St. Jeddah.
For reservations call 6642330.