207 Best Restaurants in Switzerland

Come to this formal yet welcoming restaurant, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the mountains, for an interesting mingling of regional and international ingredients with an Asian flair, such as duck from Vals with dumplings, and frozen yogurt made with local milk and Junmai sake. Chef Mitja Birlo forages wild herbs, mushrooms, and berries to use in his dishes; pair his innovative nine-course tasting menu with either wines from around the world or juices made from local ingredients such as blueberries and cherries.

This creation of Chef Flavio Fermi is a culinary masterpiece with four, six, or eight-course pairings that weigh heavily on modern Mediterranean, while still honoring Fermi's Swiss and Italian roots and his commitment to gastronomic innovation. With just 13 tables, this Michelin-star restaurant stays clear of à la carte options—and even menus—allowing the chef to freely work his magic. Each dish is a work of art on a texture playground, such as the soft beef tartare sprinkled with crunchy deep-fried lentils or carpaccio scallop with mango-ginger vinaigrette. The seasonal menu changes regularly, with hints of international cuisine inspired by the chef’s cooking spree around the world. The 45-page bar menu is beyond impressive, making this a popular meeting spot for a sophisticated aperitif or nightcap. If you leave the table asking, “How did he do that?,” take a peek into the kitchen through the massive window on your way out.

Since opening their first tiny restaurant in 1998, the Te family has given Zürich an education in authentic Thai food. Don't come because it's cheap, which it is (for Zürich), but come for the perfectly prepared, fragrant food that draws a full house for lunch and dinner. All walks of life come to enjoy their rice noodle soup with octopus and vegetables or beef with Thai basil, Kaffir lime leaves, and green beans. This is one of Zürich's best restaurants, hands down, and you won't leave hungry. It has one other location on Brauerstrasse. 

This is a very special restaurant, so if you're traveling by car and can book well ahead, definitely stop by to see why it gets such high praise from top critics. The atmosphere is laid-back, staff are on the ball and friendly, and views of the lake and mountains from the terrace are divine. The à la carte fare at the ground-floor bistro looks simple at first—tuna tartare, bouillabaisse, even Wiener schnitzel—but in the hands of owner-chef Werner Rätz the results amaze. For the full experience, opt for the bistro's five-course prix-fixe Menu du Marché, which has whatever is fresh and available, for CHF130, or the Menu Gastronomique upstairs, with seven courses for CHF160 (different from the bistro). The Auberge is in Lugnorre, 5 km (3 miles) northwest of Murten.

This is a mountain restaurant where you come for the views and stay for the Appenzell cheese dishes and cervelat (Swiss sausage). Since it's accessible only by cable car plus a 20-minute hike, you'll have earned your meal at this cliffside café, which sits in the middle of the Appenzeller Alps. Here, you'll be treated not only to sweeping views of the cool green valley below, but to locally made sorbet, too.

A cozy bistro and the region's top place for fondue, this "café des artistes" dates back to the late 1880s, when it served as the town firehouse. After an art deco overhaul, it became a long-standing haunt for those seeking out snails, regional mushrooms, and age-old recipes for cheese and meat fondues. A convivial atmosphere with plenty of regional wines makes for a relaxed dinner. There is also a children's menu. 

This sustainability-focused eatery describes its small plates of regional Swiss products reinterpreted through an Asian lens as “tapas the other way around.” Menus emphasize local meats and seafood, as well as in-season produce such as artichokes, and the wine list includes mainly natural producers from Europe.

As if turning its back on star sibling Anne-Sophie Pic and the aristocratic Beau-Rivage Palace, which shelters both, this young, lively brasserie-café faces the lake and the Ouchy waterfront scene. Its flashy brass-and-Biedermeier dining area and bar fill with smart Lausannois and internationals enjoying trendy cuisine du marché. In summer the pillared terrazzo terrace (protected from embarcadero traffic by rose gardens) is the place to go.

Nyon's trendiest coffee shop channels the original Seattle java joints of the '90s--in a good way. A slight industrial vibe prevails here, and polished cement floors, tufted leather couches and wooden chairs are the perfect spot to relax with a cup of house-roasted coffee and slice of carrot cake. Excellent quiches, salads, and other light fare are also also available. 

The oldest of the city's castles boasts a chic, modern restaurant that offers a serious experience, with daringly cool, postmodern decor, sophisticated cuisine from chef Cyrille Kamerzin, and a wine list that includes more than 70 Ticino Merlots. Downstairs, the more casual Grotto restaurant has a lighter atmosphere, and its stunning summer terrace is a great spot to soak up views and sunshine.

In a chic, minimalist Alpine space—a mix of original wood-beamed ceilings, whimsical chandeliers, and cozy throws on the chairs—about a 20-minute train ride or 15-minute drive north of Pontresina, Paolo Casanova devises modern Italian menus using unique local ingredients such as lichen, dandelions, and pine cones, depending on the season. Creative combinations may include deer venison tartare with pickled quail eggs and sage powder, or marmot tortellini with plantain wildflower and mountain pine oil, all beautifully presented and paired with Swiss wines from the fabulous wine list. Order à la carte or, if you can’t decide, you can’t go wrong with the four- or eight-course tasting menu.

In a grand, chandelier-bedecked dining room with sweeping views of the Rhine, chef Peter Knogl prepares sophisticated, beautifully presented French creations (with touches of Mediterranean and Asian flavors) using decadent ingredients. The intimate three-Michelin-star restaurant within the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois—one of Switzerland's best—has only 10 tables, and a two-month waiting list. Service is impeccable and surprisingly relaxed, with charming servers ready to attend to guests' every need. Five- or six-course tasting menus are the best option, and for a special treat, opt for the wine pairings to experience some unusual, inspired choices perfectly matched to the exquisite cuisine.

Choose a few jewel-like pastries and order leaf-brewed tea in the carved-wood dining room up the stairs from the tempting displays of chocolates at Confiserie Schiesser, steeping since 1870 in its prime location opposite the Town Hall. Light lunches include a selection of salads, quiches, sandwiches, and crepes.

f you have a penchant for French gastronomic cuisine that's superbly presented, try Chef Romain Paillereau's well-regarded restaurant just outside town. Enjoy your meal in the sunny bistro, the main dining room, or on the chestnut-tree-shaded terrace in summer. The focus is on gloriously fresh local products that balance vibrant flavors with culinary finesse. The decor is rather pared down but retains features of the original 19th-century patrician house. To reach the hamlet of Bourguillon (Bürglen in German) take a bus from Fribourg train station; a cab costs around CHF25. Either way, it's a 10-minute ride. When you call for reservations, get more transportation how-tos from the staff.

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.

Only the best is served at this highly lauded fine dining restaurant with impeccable service, artistic haute cuisine, and lovely views of St. Gallen. In addition to the indulgent multicourse tasting menus, the restaurant has beautiful wood beam ceilings that lend a strong sense of place to the establishment.

Ideal for long lunches between sessions on the slopes or a panoramic break on an all-day hike, this place perched in tiny Findeln, between the Sunnegga and Blauherd ski areas, has astonishing Matterhorn views to accompany decidedly fresh and creative food. Franz and Heidi Schwery tend their own Alpine garden to provide lettuce for their salads and berries for vinaigrettes and hot desserts; the fluffy Matterkuchen, a bacon-and-leek quiche, fortifies you for the 30- to 40-minute walk down to the village.

This fun, alfresco beiz (canteen) located in an upmarket lakefront campground is a sweet summer alternative to the city’s sunset terraces, which can be crowded and overpriced. Throw a sweater around your shoulders, grab a glass of rosé, and park yourself at a picnic table for vegetable crudité, bowls of truffled pommes frites, and crunchy fried fish like pike, char, perch, and trout, all line-caught in Swiss lakes.

High atop the Gemmi cable car station, this casual eatery with floor-to-ceiling windows affords stunning views of the mountains surrounding Leukerbad—a welcome sight while you dine on delectable Swiss specialties including several types of Rösti and cheese fondue. There’s also a good selection of regional wines, including many choices of half-bottles, which you can sample while catching some rays on the panoramic terrace.

The most ambitious of the city's many Zunfthaus dining places, this fine restaurant is also the most spectacular, with a wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling and 30-foot beams, beneath which you can enjoy such innovative entrées as home-smoked char with beetroot carpaccio, or roasted forest mushrooms with truffle cream. Slick modern improvements—including a glassed-in elevator—manage to blend intelligently with the ancient decor and old-world chandeliers. The river views are especially impressive at night; ask for a window table. The ground-floor bar also offers light lunch refreshments.

This beloved landmark has always drawn a stellar crowd, and every panel of gleaming wood wainscoting frames artworks by Braque, Chagall, Bonnard, and Rodin, collected by Gustav Zumsteg, whose mother, Hulda, owned the restaurant from 1921 until she died in 1985. The tradition is carried on by the family trust, and robust old-school cooking is still served in hefty portions: veal steak in morel sauce, duck à l'orange with red cabbage, and Spätzle, all delivered from a silver trolley. Unless you're a recognizable celebrity, make sure to insist on a table in the main dining room; ordinary mortals are otherwise seated in a less exciting room upstairs.

Whether dining in the bright, spacious restaurant, brasserie, or leafy terrace, Le Bocca is often the setting for the region's best food. Just north of Neuchâtel in St. Blaise, the restaurant has an array of menus in its two establishments and an excellent three-course lunch menu. Chef Alexandre Luquet serves up contemporary takes on traditional French dishes, which often include fresh fish and seafood. Hand in hand with the fine food is a great wine list with 25,000 bottles in stock. 

The elegant dining room of the Beau-Rivage is dressed in rich creams and browns with the occasional pop of apple green, but with majestic views of the Jet d'Eau and Mont Blanc the terrace steals the show. The menu puts a contemporary spin on classical French fare while highlighting local purveyors and produce. The vast wine cellar features 40,000 handpicked bottles, including many rare vintages.

In this restaurant within the gorgeous Le Crans hotel, chef Yannick Crepaux comes up with highly creative dishes with cutesy names (want to try “the rustling of our tumultuous kisses?”) using luxe Swiss and international ingredients, available either à la carte or in one of three tasting menus, including the Chef’s Table. Unexpected combinations may include rabbit with celeriac, fig, and black elderberry, or langoustine with rosehip, parsnip, and hay, each perfectly paired with wines from the voluminous list and poured against a backdrop of stunning mountain vistas.

The dimly lit haute cuisine French restaurant, the first L’Atelier Robuchon in Switzerland, features the legendary chef's dramatic decor—dark wood, red leather seating, a sleek black bar, and open kitchen concept—and a mix of his signature recipes and new dishes. Local, organic produce, an extensive wine list, and impeccable service round out the exquisitely decadent experience.

Amid slatted wood partitions modeled after those found in Kyoto temples, you can dine on an appealing mix of traditional Japanese dishes including tuna tataki, modern interpretations such as fried scallops with potato, miso puree, and truffle, and a tempting selection of sushi and sashimi. Enjoy your meal even more with a sake selected from one of the largest sake lists in Switzerland.

Chef Sven Wassmer creates some of the most innovative Swiss dishes around, using ingredients foraged from the nearby forests, in a room that evokes the outdoors with its use of wood and stone. Choose from 6-, 9-, or 12-course menus with mainly natural (and mainly Swiss) wine pairings, while watching the young cooks work their magic in the open kitchen. As a different member of the culinary team serves you each dish, explaining the story behind it, you really feel like part of a unique experience you won’t soon forget.