19 Best Restaurants in Valais, Switzerland

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.

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.

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.

This overflowing tearoom with exquisite pastries, run today by the third generation of the Taillens family, is a landmark beloved by locals and visitors alike and a must-stop before or after an activity-packed day. Light meals—salads, soups, and sandwiches—keep service clipping along at a fast pace; peruse the dessert cases for decadent concoctions of chocolate, fruit, sugar, and whipped cream.

Set on one of Sion's Old Town cobblestone streets, this congenial bistro is bustling around noon, when locals take their midday meal accompanied by a glass of Dôle (a Pinot Noir and Gamay blend unique to Valais) or bière valaisanne. Top billing on the menu goes to Valais beef and seafood, but traditional dishes such as civet de chevreuil (venison stew) with Spätzle may appear during hunting season; for dessert, try wonderfully aromatic Mara strawberries (in season).

This cozy basement lounge and pub features minimalist decor—small, wooded high-top tables, bar seating, and a large couch—that lets the burgers shine. Diners get a choice of a single or double burger, made with local meat and toppings—bacon, cheese, lettuce, and tomato—and the whole thing is served on a freshly baked bun from local patisserie Taillens; falafel, chicken, and salmon burgers, a small selection of salads, and fries round out the menu.

Sure, it’s touristy, but why pass up a chance to visit what’s purported to be the highest revolving restaurant in the world, at 3,500 meters (11,482 feet) above sea level, which revolves 360 degrees on its axis once every hour, affording amazing views of mountain peaks in the Valais and beyond? Though the menu is short and everything’s served counter-style, the food is fresh and made-to-order and tends toward the hearty, perfect to combat the crisp air outside the picture-perfect windows.

This tiny log cabin of a ski haunt, directly across from the church in Zermatt, draws an international crowd as soon as it opens its doors at 4 pm. They come for the extensive list of aged scotches, mixed cocktails, and local wines, as well as light meals that include oysters, escargots, and their famous lobster spaghetti, along with inventive four-course menus served only on Monday and Tuesday nights.

At clubby, rustic-chic La Grange, you'll always find lots of grilled specialties, particularly beef and lamb, on the menu, as well as comforting choices such as foie gras with onion confit or turbot with spices and fresh herbs. Chef Thierry Corthay's cuisine is not only seasonal (read: frequent menu changes) but also of the terroir, which is to say he serves regional products with pride.

Benjamin Vuigner, the young chef at this Sion institution inside the 16th-century Maison Supersaxo, serves food much better than it needs to be considering the super-central historical location. The menu, which changes every two months, may include such delights as local pork with lemongrass, ginger, and honey sauce and fish sauerkraut with citrus pesto cream.

On the mountain right below the Mayentzet chairlift, this rustic Alpine chalet offers a cozy place for hot chocolate or lunch and a terrace with stunning panoramic views; the friendly staff serves Swiss fare like assiete Valaisian, a plate of local dried meats and fondue. In the winter, there's ski-in, ski-out access from easy slopes, and in summer, it's a 30-minute hike from Carrefour.

Just before entering the Valais, this stone relais (inn), hewn of boulders from the gorge that separates Bex and St-Maurice, is a good place for a meal or an overnight. In the multilevel dining room, contrasts between old and new, rusticity and sophistication, add interest to the dramatic open space—a fitting location for a menu of updated Swiss classics.

It's a tight squeeze to get into Old Town's popular caveau-oenothèque (wine bar–cum–store) Le Verre à Pied, where more than 150 regional vintages are poured seven days a week. Light snacks like local cheese and meats, tapenade, and foie-gras toasts are available.

During the winter high season you'll have to be quick in order to snag a table on the sun-filled deck of this traditional restaurant on the main drag; a great location on the way back from the lifts, it's perfect for a cold after-ski brewski or tummy-warming Williamine pear schnapps. Inexpensive yet well-prepared Walliser favorites and tasty snacks hold you for another drink and a few more rays, or stay a bit longer for the fondue Chinoise, boiling beef slices in broth with homemade fries.

Housed in a cozy wooden chalet on a hidden side street away from the town's busy thermal baths, this tiny restaurant's coziness is matched by its friendly service. Specialties include fondue, sliced meat platters, and a raclette à la discretion (which is French for "all you can eat").

The moment you step across the threshold into this low-slung, two-story restaurant decked with mountaineering memorabilia, the tantalizing aroma of melting cheese should sharpen your appetite. Downstairs, watch meat roasting on the wood-fired grill while enjoying the chalet-style decor; upstairs, a mélange of Mediterranean tiles and traditional Valaisan exposed dark-wood beams creates a romantic atmosphere. This is a great place for regional dishes and meat specialties like juicy Chateaubriand grilled to perfection and dripping with a creamy béarnaise sauce, served by lively staff.

You’ll feel transported far away from the mountains when you step inside this former nightclub-turned-eatery, in a welcoming room lined with exotic wallpaper and tropical greenery. The international menu aims to please all crowds, with tempting small plates of veggies, meats, and seafood to start, followed by larger-size portions of tasty grilled meats such as beef, duck, and lamb to share.

At this little restaurant in the Hotel Monte Rosa, plates of melted raclette and bubbling pots of fondue are delivered to tightly packed tables by an agile waitstaff; be sure to try the unusual variations on cheese dishes like the fresh mushroom or pear-laced fondue. The restaurant is named for Edward Whymper, the first man to reach the Matterhorn summit—imagine the climbers' stories that must have echoed within these walls.

In the hamlet (little more than a cluster of mazots) of the same name, this restaurant turns out inventive meals that merit acclaim. A half-hour's walk from Zermatt, it overflows until late afternoon with diners sunning on the terrace or packed into the 400-year-old log house. (The quickest way to get here is to walk or ski down from Furi.) Hosts Max and Greti Mennig masterfully prepare such seasonal specials as venison salad with wild mushrooms and handmade tortelloni with spinach-ricotta filling. The selection of wines and brandies sets skiers aglow.