Plate with a view: Titlis-Stubli Engelberg, Switzerland

THE PLATE

THE PLATE

Titlis-Stübli is reached by three cable cars that take 40 minutes to travel 2,020m up the north face of Mount Titlis to a modern visitor centre. Here you'll find a pizzeria, a self-service restaurant and the quieter, à la carte Titlis-Stübli.

Furnished in typical alpine fashion with carved spoon-back chairs, polished wooden tables, pot plants and blinds against the brilliant sunshine, the 60-seater restaurant offers a selection of local dishes.

A two-course meal including such specialities as Engelberger trockenwurst (sausages) or the more familiar schnitzel costs SFr49.50 (£22) and can be downed with a beer (SFr5.50/ £2.45) or wine (a half litre of local white wine costs SFr22/£9.80).

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of Titlis-Stübli, however, is the way in which you arrive. The Rotair cable car from Stand station was the first to rotate 360 degrees as it climbs through the air, affording the visitor spectacular views over the Swiss Alps.

THE VIEW

At 3,020m above sea level, Titlis-Stübli commands phenomenal vistas south past Reissend Nollen (3,003m) and across the Alps towards Italy or north as far as the Jura. You feel on top of the world when you're dining here. Meanwhile, you can watch the bright blue Rotair cable car lifting skiers over the Titlis glacier.

The panorama can suddenly be lost as gusts of wind whip up clouds of snow. Temperatures outside sometimes dip as low as -20C with wind chill. But the sunshine is invariably bright - even if the rest of Switzerland seems lost in cloud below.

THE BILL

Prices aren't outrageous for such an inaccessible restaurant (allow SFr75/ £33.45 per person with wine and coffee), but what bumps the cost up is the lift fare from Engelberg. A day pass to the top of Mount Titlis will cost as much as your meal (SFr76/£34), so it's best only to visit Titlis-Stübli while skiing in the area (most Engelberg hotels throw in a ski pass as part of your package).

The restaurant is open every day 8am-5.30pm except during the maintenance period (the first three weeks in November).

Adrian Mourby

Titlis-Stübli (00 41 41 639 50 80), Titlis Rotair Restaurants & Hotel Terrace, Poststrasse 3, CH-6390 Engelberg, Switzerland