Hi all,
We've just returned from 10 days in Switzerland, and since I had questions about food and water before leaving, I thought I would share our experiences.
On paying for water:
In restaurants in Montreux and Murren, we could only get bottled water, which was very expensive (5-9 CHF for a liter or less).
In Gimmelwald, where we were served tap water with dinner, I asked the best way to request tap water in restaurants, to which an employee responded, "May I please have some tap water?" :-D
I tried this in Saanen and was informed that "in Saanen, you must pay for water, in a bottle or from the tap." We were charged 9.50 for a carafe of tap water there. Yes, really.
Every vegetarian restaurant we went to provided free self-serve tap water. It was suggested to me that this may be due to the concerns of restaurant owners as environmentalism and vegetarianism intersect, and bottled water creates unnecessary waste in a country with safe tap water.
On food:
We were 2 vegetarians and 1 vegan traveling together and after the first couple of days, food was difficult when it was not monotonous, for the most part. Most options in typical Swiss restaurants were rosti (with veg, egg, and/or cheese), salad, fondue, and the occasional pasta, and breakfast for the vegan being mostly toast or dry muesli minus the yogurt. The 2 vegetarians were very sick of cheese by the time we left the mountains. We did not find that alternative milks were available outside of specialty vegetarian/vegan establishments.
Those specialty establishments were amazing! Hugs and Cups in Murren, Tibits in Bern (several times). Haus Hiltl in Zurich is one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. We also had outstanding dinners at Pension Gimmelwald (after letting them know in advance our dietary restrictions).
I would go again, but would look to book either apartments or facilities with fridges available outside of those areas where specialty restaurants are available.