#1 Miradi, Gstaad BE

In the Saanenland, you come closer to the “perfect world feeling” than in any other place in the world where there are mountains. On the one hand, this has to do with the graceful landscape. On the other hand, great care is taken to ensure that all buildings are built in chalet style. The Mansard boutique hotel on the Gstaad promenade, which opened in spring 2024, blends seamlessly into this idyllic setting. The alpine ambience continues inside, where vast quantities of sunburnt, nature-inspired reclaimed wood have been used. The Miradi restaurant on the first floor is the focal point of the 29-room hotel. 

The restaurant immediately won the hearts of local and international guests who appreciate a relaxed but authentic ambience.  

Martin Bieri, the host and head chef, is a true Bernese Oberlander and has the kind of class that doesn't need to be fussy. He offers brasserie cuisine made mostly from regional products, such as the Caesar salad with chicken breast strips, the Café de Paris beef entrecôte or the crispy fillet of perch with spicy cabbage salad, occasionally with an Asian touch such as the tuna carpaccio with radish and mango. On warm days, the Sky Bar on the roof is the place to be. Here you can enjoy a cocktail or snack while looking out over the small village of Welt. 

#2 Marguita, Zurich ZH

In summer 2024, Marguita moved into the listed garden pavilion of Zurich's traditional Baur au Lac hotel, where French haute cuisine was celebrated in a refined atmosphere for decades. The new restaurant reflects the global trend that Generation X and Y guests want a more relaxed, accessible dining experience. “Even people who have everything enjoy simplicity today if it is of high quality,” says restaurant manager Aurélien Blanc.

The décor of Marguita now features the colorful eclecticism of designer Martin Brudnizki, who designed the “Baur's” brasserie in the same hotel a few years ago. The atmosphere is cheerful and the cuisine as lightly Mediterranean as the sea bass in a salt crust with lemon risotto and spinach or as straightforwardly aromatic as the linguine vongole with peperoncini. The amazingly prepared tomato and mozzarella salad (made from five different types of tomato) or the vitello tonnato with tuna tataki and gremolata are also very well received. Here, chef Maximilian Müller succeeds in creating the kind of “casual fine dining” that many chefs talk about but struggle to actually pull off.

#3 The Dining Room, Cham ZG

At first you think you've got the wrong address. A sober exhibition building for modern stoves in the middle of a business park. And this is supposed to be the current whispering tip for Central Swiss foodies, which is described as a “living room” on the restaurant's website? No worries: head up to the second floor and through a curtain into the loft-like, contemporary and homely Dining Room, where host Johanna Hagen welcomes newcomers as warmly as if she were finally meeting up with old friends.

The culinary concept with a regularly changing five-course menu (195 francs including champagne aperitif and mineral water) can be summed up in a single denominator: Eating like at home but prepared by a professional. Whether Christopher Knippschild is working with scallops, veal shoulder, turbot or cauliflower, the young chef's dishes are always excellent and make you want to come back. If you want to watch him at work, book the “Chef's Table” directly at the open kitchen counter.

#4 Brasserie Süd, Zurich ZH

Every day, around 500,000 people pass through Zurich main station, the largest and busiest railroad station in Switzerland. 5000 people work tirelessly here in various areas. An impeccably functioning realm of tracks and corridors, stores and pubs - almost a destination in itself, at any rate a coherent whole that has opted for the path of upscaling - in an effort to increase the length of stay and to become a calling card for the city. A flagship in the newly renovated south wing is the Brasserie Süd, which is open daily from 8 a.m. until late in the evening.

The huge, almost sacred-looking dining room exudes historical grandeur with a modern twist. The counter hall was once located here. Arched windows almost seven meters high look out over the entrance to Bahnhofstrasse. The menu offers something for every guest. Be it beef tartare, ricotta ravioli with spinach leaves or fried gilthead fillet with confit tomatoes. A delicious Bircher muesli is also available for breakfast. The brasserie is run by the gastronomic tandem of Nenad Mlinarevic and Valentin Diem. The pair run other trendy Zurich restaurants - including the small, top-class restaurant The Counter, cooked by culinary virtuoso Mitja Birlo, right next to the brasserie.

#5 CAAA, Lucerne LU

The direct proximity to the Impulse Gallery, a trend-conscious exhibition platform for contemporary art, centrally located on Haldenstrasse behind the Grand Hotel National, is a perfect fit. The CAAA restaurant is conceived as a sculptural experience space that combines gastronomy and design. Behind this little piece of art for around 20 guests are chef Pietro Catalano, his wife Elena (the “creative soul” at the stove) and sister Stefania, who takes care of the service and wines. The cooking is modern and creative - and occasionally oversteps the mark when it comes to culinary storytelling. But that doesn't matter, because everything is lovingly presented.

The 3 to 7-course evening menus, with optional vegetarian options, are based on the credo of “transalpine fine dining” and focus heavily on local resources, such as the great beef from the animal-friendly farm “Frisch vo de Tanne” in the Lucerne hinterland. If there's nothing else to look at on the plates, it's the unusually textured ceiling: this was created from recycled materials using 3D printing technology.

#6 Ristorante Al Fiume, Gerzensee BE

The former Thalgut restaurant, situated on the banks of the River Aare between Bern and Thun, was completely renovated in spring 2024 to become Ristorante Al Fiume. The exquisitely modest restaurant, which is attractively furnished both inside and out, has quickly gained well-deserved recognition in the region and appeals to a wide range of diners thanks to its excellent value for money. The chef Davide Marino, who comes from Sicily, provides Italian flavors. He buys good, fresh ingredients and prepares them skillfully and without frills. On the menu: tomato bruschetta with basil, gnocchi with pesto alla genovese, ossobuco with creamy saffron risotto and a dozen variations of pizza. For dessert, a classic tiramisù or a panna cotta with wild berries. The water, home-baked bread and olive focaccia are available from the buffet. Everything is stylish and sophisticated in an uncomplicated way, and the efficient service never loses its good humor even when the place is crowded.

#7 Hatecke du Théâtre, Zurich ZH

The Engadine cult butcher's shop Hatecke is famous for its high-quality dried meat products and beautifully matured meat and has had a location on Zurich's Löwenplatz for several years. It is not a butcher's shop in the usual sense, but rather a meat boutique with an elegant showroom and adjoining bistro. Specialties include the hand-cut beef tartare, individually seasoned according to the guest's personal preferences, the classic dried meat platter and exquisite cuts of meat in raw or grilled form, prepared according to age-old artisan principles.

Excellent Grisons wines and, for dessert, perhaps a few bites of Engadine nut cake round off the experience. Ludwig Hatecke and his son David have just opened their second Zurich establishment in the former Du Théâtre restaurant in the Seefeld quarter behind the opera house. The two are doing their utmost to ensure that the family's latest chapter is also a success and that every guest is welcomed with a warm “Allegra” in the beautiful, high-ceilinged room dating back to 1890.

#8 Orsini, Zurich ZH

For decades, the old Orsini delivered such reliable and, in a positive sense, unspectacular cuisine that the Italian restaurant of the Savoy fell through the cracks. It was by no means boring, which is why the upscale but never outlandish restaurant enjoyed great popularity year in, year out.

Since the reopening of the lavishly renovated hotel, which now trades under the Chinese-British flag as the Mandarin Oriental Savoy but is owned by the major bank UBS, a different wind has been blowing in the completely renovated Orsini. The young chef Dario Moresco, who is under the patronage of the two-time award-winning Antonio Guida at the Mandarin Oriental in Milan, has implemented an Italian fine dining concept. Be sure to order the amazingly tasty raspberry and sage risotto and the blue Breton lobster with peppers, spring onions and black garlic cream. Foodies are delighted, as are the food critics. However, the cuisine is much more creative than it would probably be for most Zurich residents (let alone many hotel guests). As always, the “Orsini” can be reached via a separate entrance in Waaggasse at Münsterhof.

#9 Brasserie du Château, Bottmingen BL

For ages, the Weiherschloss Bottmingen has been a place of choice for special occasions, weddings or birthdays. And the rococo salon with its baroque stucco work has long been home to the Gourmet Louis restaurant, which is known for its classic French cuisine in a refined form. A new addition to the castle surrounded by water is the Brasserie du Château on the first floor. The atmosphere here is more casual, but no less delicious. Authentic brasserie dishes are served - in summer on the pretty terrace under old plane trees next to the castle pond. On the menu: salad with goat's cheese, moules marinière with pommes allumettes or a Châteaubriand with Béarnaise sauce. For a sweet finish, the Île flottante (egg white snow on vanilla sauce) is perfect for the location. The prices are reasonable and the tenants - the Berest Group - also seem to be making a profit: The second restaurant, which opened in March 2024, has quickly played its way into the hearts of Basel's bon vivants. Those arriving by public transport can travel comfortably on streetcar 10 from Basel SBB station to Bottmingen Schloss station in twenty minutes. 

#10 Villa am See, Goldach SG

A touch of the Côte d'Azur has always lingered over the Villa am See, as it is one of the most beautifully situated restaurants on the Swiss shores of Lake Constance, idyllically nestled in a garden between Rorschach and Arbon, just on St. Gallen soil and just a hundred meters from the Thurgau cantonal border. In spring 2024, the gourmet villa with its light-flooded glass pavilion was reopened in new splendor by young tenant and head chef Sandro Lüthi. Whether it's eggplant, saddle of venison or salmon trout, the cuisine focuses on seasonal freshness and serves local dishes with an international twist - and despite its high culinary standards, it is so relaxed and affordable that there are no inhibitions among the diverse clientele. The unobtrusively cheerful team helps to create a vacation feeling even on rainy days. “We take life with a smile,” says host Paulina Soares. “Which is not difficult when you can make guests so happy with good food and good wine.”