15 Best Restaurants in Bern, Switzerland

Just below Einstein’s House, you’ll find this cozy bi-level spot perfect for breakfast, a light lunch, coffee or tea with cake, or an evening tipple. The small lunch menu includes crowd-pleasers like Caesar salad and croque monsieur, or you can snack on an antipasti plate or Mediterranean-style dips for an afternoon pick-me-up.

The menu, inspired by Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, sees cold-weather ingredients like truffles, cream, and polenta transition to tomatoes, basil, and fennel as the weather warms up. Meat lovers should consider the classic "Bollito misto" dish served with a green sauce. The wine cellar, visible through glass doors off the dining room, ranges all over Italy. Meanwhile, the stunning stone-walled basement regularly hosts events like family-style dinners and wine tastings.

This friendly, glassed-in coffee bar serves fresh croissants from 7 am (9 am on Sunday), sandwiches throughout the day, and wine or beer to a sidewalk crowd come nightfall.

A beer hall at heart, this restaurant brews lager, amber, and wheat varieties in copper vats behind the bar. Filling dishes like flammkuchen, cordon bleu, Weisswurst, and warm pretzels filled with ham pair perfectly with the house brews. There are also a few vegetarian dishes. Don't miss the outdoor beer garden overlooking the Altstadt. The kitchen stays open from 11 am to at least 11 pm every day of the year.

Beloved by Swiss politicians, this institution is affectionately nicknamed "Delli" and has been operating since 1892, nearly as long as the Federal Parliament Building down the street. It specializes in traditional dishes like Bernerplatte, luscious veal liver with Rösti, and hearty oxtail stew with fried macaroni. The simple restaurant on the ground floor and the somewhat more formal, wood-paneled restaurant upstairs share the same big, generous kitchen. It's a good bet if you're hungry, because your second portion awaits on a warming table nearby.

Modern Thai and Japanese cuisine are the two pillars of this sleek two-level restaurant in the Old Town, with shady sidewalk seating in summer; in winter, try to get a seat upstairs where it's brighter. In addition to curry, noodle, beef, and fish dishes, the menu offers innovative desserts like bananas in fried dough smothered in chocolate sauce. At lunchtime, you can get meals to go for an affordable set price.

Fondue is Harmonie's raison d'être. Whether classic (Gruyère), moitié-moitié (half Gruyère, half Vacherin), or gussied up with truffles and champagne, pots of hot cheese arrive trailing copious amounts of bread and, ideally, a carafe of Vaudois white. Käseschnitte (open-face sandwiches with melted cheese), traditional pork sausage, veal, beef, lamb, and sides of crispy brown Rösti or Spätzle (dumplings) complete the picture of a nation well fed. The family-run establishment, open since 1915, is warm and wood-paneled, with wooden furniture.

Time moves a little more slowly here amid the civilized elegance of chandeliers and china teapots, gilt ceiling details, grapevine motifs, and striped banquettes, and the day's papers hang from lampposts at discreet intervals between tables. The menu changes seasonally, but the classic French theme is constant—expect tartares and minestrone in summer, cassoulet or veal liver in winter, and Jack's giant Wiener schnitzel year-round. There's an excellent selection of Swiss wines and expensive but top-flight French reds.

This two-story complex of bars and a restaurant is a popular gathering place for stylish patrons looking for an Italy fix. Eclectic photos, prints, and paintings adorn the walls, and various sculptures add interest throughout. Two specialty bars serve coffee, wine, and cocktails, and the restaurant offers delectable homemade pastas and desserts, with a signature dish of veal escalope with ham and sage, paired with saffron risotto. Tuscany and Piedmont jostle for space on the wine list. Upstairs, the open-air atrium with flowers and olive trees is a particular treat in summer.

Everything’s organic at this petite Swiss delicatessen featuring regional specialties, and it's not far from the Hauptbahnhof. Try a local cheese or meat plate with a glass of Swiss wine, one of their substantial salads or sandwiches, or a fondue or Rösti if you have a bigger appetite.

This hip and friendly world-food eatery tucked into the traditional Bellevue Palace gives off an urban vibe, with a DJ spinning tunes during dinner and eclectic dishes designed for sharing. Plates inspired by global food markets run the gamut from Thai papaya salad to Cajun fish tacos to grilled dumplings, which you’d be remiss not to pair with one of the interesting cocktails whipped up by the talented mixologists.

This restaurant serves light snacks and sandwiches as well as hearty Mediterranean dishes and Swiss classics like fondue against a backdrop of panoramic Altstadt views.

Following the success of its train station branch, Tibits opened this larger and more glamorous version nearby. The food is 100% vegetarian and sold by weight from a buffet of hot, cold, and sweet selections with an international flair. Sandwiches and soups such as pumpkin, lentil, or pea fill in the gaps. To drink: fresh fruit and vegetable juices, organic wine, flavored coffee, herbal tea, and cocktails such as rooibos-tea-infused vodka. Everything on the menu can be ordered to go, making the train station Tibits an especially practical option for travelers. Both branches offer outdoor seating in warm weather. When loading your plate, keep in mind that those samosas are heavy!

A deceptively simple local favorite and one of the most typically French bistros in Bern, this cultural transplant tucked away on a backstreet near the Rathaus has been serving classics like entrecôte Café de Paris (beef in butter sauce) with French fries, escargots in herb garlic butter, and calf's head since 1848. In a city that celebrates the onion, this is a good place to try onion soup. Lunch specials are good value; wines come from Switzerland, Italy, and France.