The story
In the quiet Emmental village of Utzenstorf, the Landgasthof Bären has been pouring wine and setting tables since at least 1261. Fourteen generations of the same family have tended this inn, and today it is the Thommen family who welcome guests with the kind of genuine hospitality that only comes from deep roots. Chef Martin Thommen, a graduate of the FA chef programme, leads the kitchen with a calm, assured hand. He trained under Oskar Marti at the Moospinte, worked with André Jaeger in Schaffhausen, Horst Petermann in Küsnacht, and Mario Gamba in Munich before returning home in 2009 to take over the stoves.
The cooking is classic cuisine, grounded in Swiss tradition and executed with precision. Two dishes have travelled through the family’s history: a simple apple cake, whose recipe came from an aunt in Bätterkinden generations ago, and the “Bärenchöpfli”, a sweet dessert that chef Jakob Hubler brought back from his time cooking at the court of the Tsar in St. Petersburg. Both remain on the menu today.
The Michelin Bib Gourmand award recognises the Bären for its reliable, high-quality cooking at a fair price — exactly what this house has stood for across centuries. The dining rooms are warm and unhurried, with several intimate spaces including the wood-panelled Schlossstube and a sunny terrace. It is a place where lunch is taken seriously and dinner lingers, where families and regulars fill the seats as easily as first-time visitors. Classic cuisine, served by people who know what they are doing and have done it for a very long time.
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