’Round about this time of year, comfort foods reign supreme. Forget leafy salads and brown rice; give us our fats, our carbs, our sugar. Give us ... fondue.

No surprise that Swissôtel’s Café Suisse is the place to go for the definitive Swiss indulgence. Now through the end of April, Swiss-born chef Willy Nuenlist heats up our bellies with a special fondue menu, all cooked at the table. The traditional Swiss cheese fondue ($18) is a bubbling blend of Gruyère and Emmental cheeses flavored with white wine and served with baguettes. For a bit of a twist, Mediterranean cheese fondue ($20) is an equally creamy blend of Gruyère and Emmental, this time cooked with pinot grigio and flavored with sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and pesto, and served with focaccia and Tuscany olives.

Then the menu veers into less-artery-clogging entrée fondues. The carnivores at our table delighted in the beef-sirloin shabu-shabu ($30), raw-beef slices and shiitake mushrooms dunked in sizzling pots of chicken broth seasoned with lemongrass, ginger, and garlic. The " Three Jewels of the Sea " ($34) features raw jumbo shrimp, sea scallops, and salmon; load up your fondue fork, set it in the pot of lobster broth, and let the flame beneath do your cooking.

Our friend Sandra, raised in Switzerland, recounted the tradition of abstaining from cold beverages that would allegedly turn the cheese in our stomachs into hardened, indigestible balls. Wine only, she instructed. We obeyed.

Moving on to dessert, Café Suisse has two irresistible options. Fondue Toblerone ($12) is a gooey pot of the renowned Swiss chocolate, while fondue Malibu ($14) is a blend of white chocolate, rum, and coconut. Both are served with marshmallows and chunks of strawberries, bananas, and pineapple for dipping.

Sure, an extra trip to the gym was in order the next morning. But for a communal winter dinner this tasty and fun, we’ll make the sacrifice.

The winter-fondue menu is available at Café Suisse at Swissôtel, 1 Avenue de Lafayette, Boston, through the end of April. Call (617) 451-2198.