If you wait on hold after calling Keystone’s Mountain Concierge to make reservations for Der Fondue Chessel, you’ll hear the pre-recorded operator list the top 5 things to do at Keystone.  Number 1 on the list is to eat at Der Fondue Chessel.   After our visit on Jan 2, I will agree that it ranks near the top for family dining!

Der Fondue Chessel is only open for dinner and located in the Outpost Lodge – the same lodge where you might be lunching if skiing on North Peak.   You get there by taking the Gondola from River Run to the top of Dercum Mountain and then boarding the Outpost Gondola which takes you to the top of North Peak.  The Gondola ride is part of the whole experience. We arrived at the River Run Gondola about 40 minutes before our reservation. The ride is half the fun of dining at the Fondue Chessel. There’s nothing more memorable than huddling in blankets in a closed gondola while plunging into the darkness between Dercum and North Peak.  If the moon is out, it’s even more special!

The restaurant, which is only available via reservation, offers a fixed price menu consisting of 3 main courses plus dessert. Adults are approximately $57/person depending on the time of year and kids 12 and under are around $27/person. 

The menu explains what’s available in each course. You choose two meats for the Raclette grill and what kind of chocolate you want for dessert. The drink menu is plentiful with domestic and international beers, wines, and mixed drinks. The kids had a full range of sodas as well as fruit juices to pick from.

Our first course was a Caesar salad – very well done with homemade croutons and crisp romaine lettuce.  The salad was accompanied  by a cheese fondue consisting of Gruyere and Emmentaler.  While eating our salad, the cheese fondue warmed over an open flame.  The server brought a plate of bread, vegetables, and fruit to dip into the cheese. At first the cheese portion seemed small for 4 people (especially considering what we make at home), but the server kept insisting that we pace ourselves as there was plenty more food on the way. 

Wow, was he not kidding…when the 3rd course of Raclette cheese, new potatoes, and meats arrived, I was starting to wish I hadn’t cleaned the fondue bowl clean!  When ordering, each person requests two meats for the Raclette grill.  The choices are numerous including beef, shrimp, scallops, chicken or a variety of premium items (with an extra charge) that include buffalo loin, tuna, venison or lamb.   Each person grills his or her own meat on a raclette grill in the middle of the table (think of a large, very hot griddle).  The french raclette cheese is melted under the grill and then poured over the potatoes to make a meal of its own.  Our server was generous to bring us more raclette as we went through it pretty quickly.

By this point, we could probably have been convinced to stop eating, but the dinner wasn’t done yet!  The final coup de gras is a chocolate fondue (take your choice of dark, milk or caramel chocolate)!  Combine it with a plate of dipping objects such as bananas, marshmellows, pound cake, or spice cake,  and you have an awesome way to finish off the experience. We ordered the milk chocolate fondue. It arrived at the table already warm with a large “dollop” of whipped cream on top. The marshmellows were gone within seconds and the bananas didn’t last much longer. We couldn’t finish it, but it had nothing to do with the taste rather that we hadn’t paced ourselves earlier as recommended by the server.

The overall environment in Der Fondue Chessel is very casual and warm.  There were plenty of kids dining with parents as well as large parties of adults having a good time. The servers were attentive and friendly making sure each course was meeting our expectations. Mingling among the picnic style tables are musicians playing traditional German music. They will stay buy your table to play a favorite “Um-pa-pa” or keep going to the next table if you don’t feel like hoisting your stein above your head and singing along.  All in all, the environment is great for just about any kind of party imaginable on a ski vacation.

Reservations are a “must” and you should do it well in advance.  Dinner starts around 5:30 and the last seating is at 8:30.  Call Keystone’s Mountain Concierge for reservations – 800-354-4FUN.

The Haywood Cafe was recommended to us as an alternative to the Kickapoo Tavern. It was late and we really didn’t want to wait to get a table at the Kickapoo. We arrived and were seated right away as hoped.

The restaurant was about half-full at 8:00p on a Sunday night. My attention was first drawn to the many TVs. They have flat panel TV’s hanging from the ceiling along two of the walls opposite the kitchen. Each table has a speaker that allows the diners to tune into the TV in particular that you want to hear. You can take your pick of football, hockey, basketball or whatever catches your eye.

The menu had an array of pub food – burgers, sandwiches, steaks – with something for conceivably anyone. The beer menu was sufficiently lengthy to satisfy most drinkers. We ended up opting for burgers all around.  The service was friendly and attentive.

The biggest surprise of the night was the dessert menu. For a pub, there was a good selection of scrumptious looking desserts including one of our favorites – Flan. (Flan is a spanish version of creme brulee that usually has a layer of caramel over the top.) The owner explained to us that this is one of his specialties and they offer a variety of flavors throughout the season. Other options included a Brownie Fudge Sundae.

All in all, the service was great, the kids were happy, and we all had a great burger. It’s definitely a good place to go if you don’t want to go far and don’t feel like a hassle with the crowds in River Run Village.

How to get there

The address is 23110 US Hwy 6.

If you feel like walking, you can get there in about 10 minutes by walking along Keystone Rd towards Hwy 6 and then crossing into the parking lot for Gateway Plaza just to the west of the intersection of Keystone Rd and Hwy 6.

If driving, head out on Keystone Rd towards Hwy 6, turn right at Gondola Rd, and then head west towards Dillon on Hwy 6. Next, make a u-turn at the first left after passing Gateway Plaza  just after the Keystone entrance. Follow Hwy 6 back 1/4 mile to Gateway Plaza.

Here’s a Google Map with the restaurant location marked.

The phone number is 970-262-9300.