The 6 Best Restaurants in Switzerland

Dine out in the world’s first vegetarian restaurant in Zurich. The Haus Hiltl dates back to 1898, when it was snappily named the “Vegetarian Home and Abstinence Café”. Back in those early days, vegetarians were derogatorily called “grazers” and the café was nicknamed “the root bunker” by locals. Today you can sample a wide range of vegetarian options at the buffet which offers over 100 dishes with influences from around the world. A must-try is the Hiltl Tartar, a signature dish made with okara, eggplant and spices. They also have a wide range of vegan friendly desserts that will make your mouth water, all for a decent price.

Le Chat-Botté, (Puss in Boots), is found in the Hotel Beau-Rivage in Geneva. On the hotel’s terraces, which offer panoramic views of Lake Geneva, you can indulge in gastronomic tastings and contemporary seasonal French cuisine. If you are feeling particularly extravagant (tables start at 250CHF per person) you can reserve the Chef’s Table, and have a special menu designed for you and your party by Dominique Gauthier, Le Chat-Botté’s Michelin starred chef.

It may look understated from the outside, but l’Hotel de Ville was voted the world’s best restaurant by La Liste two years ago, and it made it into the top ten in 2017. All for good reason as its team of top-class chefs are led by chef Franck Giovanni. The menus follow the seasons and are simply spectacular. If you want to try replicate some of these fine dishes at home, you can also enrol in the restaurant’s cooking academy and learn a few tricks from chef Giovanni and his team.

Geneva’s La Reserve hotel is home to two top-class restaurants: Le Loti and Le Tse Fung. Le Loti is run by chef Virginie Basselot, winner of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France award in 2015, who offers up unexpected mixes alongside her signature dish of cod fillet in the pan with lemon balm butter, served with tapioca. If you prefer to head to Le Tse Fung, you’ll be treated to one of the finest Cantonese restaurants in the country, with the Peking duck being a particularly celebrated dish.

The Cheval Blanc is a three-star Michelin restaurant in the Hotel Les Trois Rois, situated in the historical centre of Basel on the banks of the Rhine. On top of its Michelin pedigree, the Cheval Blanc earned 19 points in the prestigious Gault & Millau guide. Award-winning chef Peter Knogl’s dishes’ feature influences from the Mediterranean and Asia. You’ll find Japanese sushi sauces, Indian Garam Masala, Spanish escabeche and Pata Negra flavouring French gastronomic dishes. You can also book Le Roi Gourmet option, “The Royal Gourmet”, which includes a sumptuous dinner at the Cheval Blanc and a night in luxury at the Hotel Les Trois Rois.

At the Auberge des Trois Tilleuls you can choose from the “Bistrot side”, simple but tasty dishes or the “Gastronomic side”, with more elaborate options. Chef Fabrice Bignon mixes ingredients that are typical to Switzerland and uses locally sourced fish from nearby Lake Geneva. Here you can test your taste buds with pied de porc (pig feet), langue de veau (veal tongue) or rognons de veau (veal kidneys). Situated in Genolier, a small quiet town close to Geneva, Auberge des Trois Tilleuls is a good choice to sample some traditional Swiss delicacies with a creative twist.