The 10 Best Restaurants in Geneva, Switzerland

A visit to Le Grizzly Sàrl isn’t complete without trying out La Potence flambée au whisky, the house specialty. The dish is pretty simple but comes with added theatricality as the beef, skewered on a mace, is flambéed with whisky right at your table and served up with fries and rice with a range of sauces. It’s reasonably priced and always busy so be sure to book your table in advance.

If you like your dinners with plenty of cheese, and not just the edible kind, then the Restaurant Edelweiss is the place to go. It’s built like a traditional Swiss ski chalet and most of the dishes on offer are steeped in Swiss tradition. If you go at the right time you’ll also be treated to a Swiss Alp horn being blown.

It may not have the history of the others, nor the prime location with a beautiful view (it looks out on to a standard Paquis street), but Parfums de Beyrouth is where you’ll find some of the best Lebanese food in Geneva. The service is always, quick and the food is cheap and filling. There’s not much not to love about this place.

Globus is both a high-end department store and home to the best food court in Geneva. They’ve got your every desire catered for: whether you are in the mood for gourmet burgers, Italian antipasti, sweet and savoury crepes or Thai cuisine. There’s even a wine bar. In short, there’s great food for a reasonable price (by Geneva standards).

Under the roof of the Four Seasons Hotel is Il Lago, a top-class Michelin-starred Italian restaurant. Here, the dishes are inspired by northern Italian cuisine with a hint of southern influence, courtesy of head chef Massimiliano Sena, who as worked in some of the world’s finest restaurants throughout his career. All the dishes can be washed down with a glass of wine from the wide selection of Swiss, Italian and French bottles, several of them from exclusive vineyards. It’s an expensive option, but if you want the best Italian food in town, Il Lago is the number one place.

Situated next to the Pregny Gate, the main entrance to the United Nations Palais des Nations, is Restaurant Vieux-Bois – a training school for Switzerland’s next top chefs. The restaurant is part of the Ecole Hôtelière de Genève and all the service, from serving to cooking is carried out by the students of the school. Don’t be fooled as they may be learning, but the students dish up some of the most interesting and best food you’ll find in Geneva. It’s no surprise that the Vieux-Bois is a favourite for international delegates of the UN and politicians alike.

Tucked away inside the huge resort complex of the La Reserve hotel, Le Loti is one of the finest French restaurants in Switzerland, let alone Geneva. Head chef Virginie Basselot won the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France award in 2015, and brings her traditional dishes to life with contemporary flourishes. Explore the latest seasonal menu packed with local produce and regional specialities, served up in a way that you won’t find elsewhere.

A little out of Geneva in Cologny, you can enjoy a splendid meal at Auberge de Le Lion d’Or while looking out over Lac Léman on the restaurant’s terrace. The food comes in small, yet exquisitely balanced, portions. Fish and sea food dishes are the house specialty, cooked up by the two chefs, Gilles Dupont and Thomas Byrne, whose styles complement one another perfectly.

A short trip from Geneva takes you to Le Floris, another fine dining restaurant with spectacular views across Lac Léman. The restaurant, opened in 1997, is regarded as one of the best culinary experiences in Geneva. A family run restaurant, with Claude Legras in the kitchen, accompanied by his wife Inès. Legras’ dishes are full of character and packed with flavour, leaving it as no surprise that Le Floris has twice been awarded a Michelin star.

Run by the Frutiger family, who own several restaurants across Geneva, Le Sesflo is a great choice for a more chilled, Mediterranean style dinner. The atmosphere is always relaxed here and you could be forgiven in thinking you had stepped into a little corner of Italy. While the Le Sesflo does not escape the curse of the Geneva price bracket, the food more than makes up for it.