Gare à Toi is quite a new restaurant in the capital of Gruyère – Bulle. It is located just next to the train station, a 2-3 minute walk from the town center.
Slow food, everything home made, products from locals. That’s what you see when you go on their website. Don’t get me wrong. I know what ‘fashion’ and marketing is. I also expect that where we mostly eat the food is ‘home made’ not store bought. Advertising things like this sometimes makes me become a bit sceptic. But well, that wasn’t the case (yay!)
Photo from website: Gare à Toi Photo from website: Gare à Toi Photo from website: Gare à Toi Photo from: Gault Millau website
Deco is pretty as hell. Simple and welcoming. But what about this slow food, healthy, home made idea? Well…
To start with we ordered Flammenküche or tarte flambée , which is a kind of ‘French’ pizza that comes from Alsace. We went for ‘la classique’ which means it was topped with onions, bacon and cheese (how can you not love that?). Perfect delicious starter to share or if you’re not that hungry, bam, you already had your dinner and you can go home happy and watch some TV. I would recommend to stay and try something else though. As for our mains we chose: kidney of veal ‘rognon de veau’ and rump of veal ‘quasi de veau’ that had veggies on the side. You can also choose if you want some rice, chips or potato gratin to go with it. I tried the kidneys from my boyfriends’ plate (yes, we share) and they were really good. Rump of veal was cooked to perfection. Vegetables well seasoned and still a bit crunchy. Nothing else to add. Good bottle of wine to go with it and you and your stomach are quite happy. The portions are perfect. Not too huge and not too small so you will not leave hungry or stay in the restaurant too long since you can’t move. I don’t really have a sweet tooth, but when I like food in a restaurant I have never eaten before I tend to order a dessert as well.
Belle Hélène seemed like a perfect choice. Pear poached in sugar syrup, served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup – that was the image in my head. I got something that resembled my vision. Not totally what I wanted, but it was edible.
Service. Well, the restaurant is also popular for helping people with mental and physical difficulties. Honestly, service was top-notch. Attentive, welcoming, smiling all the time and pretty damn fast.
Various salads, ‘French’ pizzas, something for meat lovers, a nice choice for vegetarians. Each Friday afternoon there’s an ‘all you can eat’ buffet that costs 25 Swiss francs . All in all it is a place to go to when in Bulle. Yes, we will be back.
Practical information:
Address: Gare à toi
Rue de la Lécheretta 1
1630 Bulle
Website: Gare à toi
Tips: Book your table it tends to be quite busy in the evenings.
Text: Agnieszka Wajs