8 Best Restaurants in Eastern Switzerland, Switzerland

Tidy, bright, and modern, this second-floor restaurant may lack the historic feel of some of its neighbors, but it features remarkable cooking from a well-regarded chef. Look for locally sourced dishes such as white fish and root vegetables marinated in honey, or lamb shanks with chanterelle mushrooms, seasonal vegetables, and bread dumplings. The café draws local families at lunch; business executives choose the slightly more formal dining room.

The menu at this culinary landmark is based on market-fresh ingredients and may include such ample fare as a triumvirate of fillets (beef, veal, lamb) with fresh vegetables and potatoes, but can also be more inventive, in the form of veal Provençal. Vegetarians are asked to please contact the restaurant in advance so something special can be prepared. The enormous wine list will complement any meal. Rubbing shoulders with the town's cathedral, the renovated historic property entices with a castellated exterior, turreted and hued in pink. Inside, things get more stolid, with most of the action taking place in the main Rôtisserie room—a large chamber replete with cross-vaulted ceilings and modern chandeliers.

The service at Lokal comes across as arrogant, but the food—savory onion soup, cordon bleu heaped with pomme frites, coq au vin, and mounds of fresh green salads—is always excellent. Sunday brunch shouldn't be missed. Part of a former industrial complex that houses a contemporary art museum, cinema, and theater, Lokal is a hip restaurant inside a former locomotive hall. It's surrounded by a spacious terrace strewn with tables full of St. Gallen's Dior- and Swarvoski-clad set.

The glassed-in terrace of the Tonhalle concert hall provides a year-round garden setting and a beautiful view of its large park. The all-day kitchen serves up distinctly regional cuisine—St. Gallen's Olma Bratwurst with butter Rösti, for example—and also features a vegetarian option. Daily lunch specials are a good value, and it's a good spot to come for coffee and cake during off-peak hours. The outside terrace is a quiet luxury in warm weather.