Where to eat DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 🇩🇴 Biel/Bienne: Tropical Bar Restaurant

Tropical Bar Restaurant

Kanalgasse/Rue du Canal 4, Biel/Bienne

What we ordered: For three people, three tuna empanadas, one gambas a la plancha (grilled shrimp), and two orders of carnitas sóla (cubed steak). The gambas a la plancha was accompanied by a side salad and French fries as well as a garlic sauce and the carnita sóla came with a side salad and fried plantains and a salsa verde. To drink, we consumed five bottles of Dominican Presidente beer.

Cost: 135 CHF / €137 / $148

At first glance, Tropical Bar Restaurant in Biel/Bienne could be an anytown bar or restaurant. The décor is not particularly Dominican per se, nor does it have any of the elements of a classical theme restaurant. Instead, it is standard, pro forma basic but slightly elegant, from the tap-at-the-top golden lamps on the tables to the textured silver-gray wallpaper. But when a place is authentic, it does not necessarily need to serve up the chintz; with quality dishes, some simple contemporary Caribbean tracks over the restaurant sound system will do.

While I might have been first to arrive in my party and for dinner the week we went (Tropical Bar Restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday and closed Monday and Tuesday), I immediately noticed a larger table off to the side that was reserved and adorned with inflated black balloons, a sure sign some celebration was in the offing. Before long, a slow trickle of guests for a birthday arrived and the restaurant staff greeted them as though they were familiar acquaintances.

With cerveza auténtica in the form Presidente pilsner on offer, there was little doubt this place was real. We settled on some empanadas for an appetizer while the two gentlemen went for the real beef, carnita sóla (which was not served sóla at all), while I opted for what I incorrectly imagined to be lighter fare in the form of gambas a la plancha.

The empanadas were disappointing to say the least, for anyone who loves their empanadas impactful like little flavor-stuffed grenades. However, it was a clear reminder that we were in the Caribbean, where the heat weighs down the possibility of the exhaustion that comes with heavy food. They were big, however, but as lightly fried dough half-moons, all that was inside was simply conserved tuna. They were served with a soft mayonnaise and ketchup rather than a salsa verde or any condiments that would bring their own array of spice and flavor.

The entrees however delivered. The gambas a la plancha were jumbo in size. They came in a portion of about half a dozen, served over French fries and with a side salad and a garlic reduction sauce at room temperature. It was more than enough to finish just the gambas, the salad and half the French fries. For a landlocked country like Switzerland, such fresh and tempting seafood is a rare treat and at a very reasonable and friendly price. No regrets.

The carnita was a classic dish for a country where every part of the cow is not so much sacred as it is viable for favorable meals. The results, however, may be heavenly. Slow cooked over many hours, the flavor of the spices with beef chuck prepared in this way packs in a maximally impactful flavor. Both gentlemen left not one bite on their plates.

However, the side of fried plantains got a more mixed review, as our friend downed the fried plantains that accompanied the carnita sóla, until not one remained while my husband left them untouched. They were flat and crispy as opposed to the thicker cut variety and made for a nice pairing with the lighter pilsener-style Presidente beer.

Overall, what the restaurant lacked in décor it more than made up for in food quality and price point. The fact that everyone at Tropical Bar Restaurant the night we went was Dominican speaks highly to its authenticity. In Switzerland, though, there may be a need to spice up the interior in order to expand the reach beyond the community and into the wider society to endure the test of time. Experience is also part of the flavor of what it takes to survive.

How to get to the Dominican Republic from Switzerland:

There are no direct flights from Zürich or Geneva to Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital.

From Zürich, the shortest flights available are on Air Europa and Iberia with a two-hour layover in Madrid. Swiss Air offers flights via Newark, New Jersey or Miami where you can catch a connecting flight on to the island with US-based carriers United and American Airlines. Delta and United also offer additional routes through JFK airport in New York and Newark, New Jersey.

From Geneva, the shortest flights are on Iberia and Delta, with a nearly three-hour layover in Madrid on Iberia and a five-and-a-half-hour layover at JFK airport in New York on Delta. Swiss Air offers flights to JFK airport as well, but you have to switch airports to catch the United flight on to Santo Domingo which departs from Newark, New Jersey.

How many Dominicans are in Switzerland: Around 5,700

Distance between Bern and Santo Domingo: 7,569 km

Distance from Tropical Bar Restaurant and Santo Domingo: 7,548 km

Learn how to make the Dominican Republic's national dish, la bandera (dominicana), and about its origins.

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