TABLES FOR TWO.(Fondue)(Restaurant review)

TRESTLE ON TENTH -- 242 Tenth Ave., at 24th St. (212-645-5659)--Last summer, Ralf Kuettel, who hails from a small town outside Zurich, took it upon himself to provide the city with a new Swiss-influenced restaurant. (The last one of note, Roettele A.G., closed a few years ago.) There are certain things that people seem to expect from a Swiss restaurant. Fondue, for starters. Kuettel doesn't offer it here, although the premises do reek of Gruyere. Second, tidiness. On this count, Trestle doesn't disappoint, with its uncluttered bar and cozy but spare decor. This being West Chelsea, the bar is crowded with a gaggle of gallery assistants; across the way, a young woman complains about having received a B-plus in Existentialism.

One also expects a preternatural level of efficiency. And yet, on a recent night, the appetizers didn't emerge for more than an hour. To help pass the time, something unexpected: Swiss wine. "We have the largest selection of Swiss wines in the city, quite possibly along the Eastern Seaboard," the manager boasted. "Usually, the Swiss don't let their wine out of the country. But the owner--he knows people who know people."

At last, the food ...