Almost every hut in Grödental (or Val Gardena, the Italian version of the name, which somehow matches the spirit of this beautiful place better) is called Baita-something-Hütte, “Baita” simply being the Italian translation of “Hütte” commonly used in that area. This gets confusing, because my brain is trained to remember beginnings and endings of names, not the part in the middle. After taking a few wrong turns and approaching a few closed huts (which Google Maps insisted were open), I decided to look around using the telephoto lens of my camera to find at least one restaurant with people in it, no matter how touristic it looked like. That’s how I ended up at Daniel, a large hut just half an hour walk away from the Seceda cable car station and featuring a terrace with one of the best views in South Tyrol.
Honestly, with a view like that, the restaurant could have served potato chips out of a bag and still make money. I’ve got, however, a nice-looking Brettljause with more ingredients than I had expected from a Tyrolean hut. Two types of Speck were there, and salami, and three types of cheese, including a very tasty goat cheese. Actually, everything was of good quality and fresh, including bread. Creamy horseradish was not as good as the real Styrian thing, of course, but it was sufficiently strong and partly compensated for the lack of butter.
Today was not a busy day, but I am sure that in summer or on weekends, Daniel must be absolutely packed with tourists. At least on the beautiful Seceda mountain it is easy to see why they keep on coming. Besides, it is reassuring that despite the touristic-ness of the place, some restaurants like Daniel do not compromise on their Brettljausen.
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