Dinner with a lake view

The Swiss Riviera, located between Vevey and Geneva, is lined with elegant grand hotels and excellent fine dining establishments. A gourmet tour with a noble backdrop and highly contemporary flavours...

Swiss Deluxe Hotels Magazine Summer 2025 Guy Ravet

Grand Hôtel du Lac

Guy Ravet has set his sights high and placed the culinary offering on the waterfront promenade in Vevey on a completely new footing: ‘Some 90% of the ingredients we use are products from the local region and we work closely with the fishermen from Lake Geneva, the cheesemakers from Gruyère and the farmers in Vaud.’ The menu in the gourmet restaurant Emotions starts with a bright red eye-catcher – Wagyu bresaola filled with melting foie gras, accompanied by a combination of two sauces: a powerful veal jus and, above all, an intensely coloured beetroot extraction. This sets the tone for the rest of the meal where vegetables play a key role for Ravet. He also turns the seemingly mundane cabbage into a superstar, teasing out all its flavours and textures, coating it with a peanut satay sauce, and positioning it within a swirl of highly reduced vegetable bisque with coriander. ‘The bisque tastes just as intense as a crustacean bisque, but contains nothing but vegetables and spices.’ In times of overfished seas, Ravet also favours using produce from the local region when it comes to fish. His rainbow trout comes from Chamby – he cooks it gently and serves it with Swiss Oona caviar, grilled romaine lettuce, fennel kimchi and an airy Jerusalem artichoke emulsion.

In the second restaurant Veranda, which features a great deal of natural light, Ravet reinterprets French cuisine classics in a light and contemporary way. One thing guaranteed to grab your attention is the patisserie trolley with classics such as millefeuille and éclair filled with chestnut cream, all made with very little sugar.

The ambience in Emotions sets an elegant tone in shades of sepia and lilac. Guy Ravet’s creations are also full of elegance, combining culinary sophistication and emotional depth.

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Beau-Rivage Palace

Anne-Sophie Pic’s new look is entering its first summer season: ‘La Cheffe’, as her staff call the dainty three-star chef, was given a completely new restaurant to mark her 15th anniversary in Lausanne. Elegant shades of grey, beige and rose set the tone; the centrepiece of the Pic au Beau-Rivage Palace is the new bar, where cocktails (including non-alcoholic ones) are prepared. Madame Pic and her new Chef de Cuisine in Lausanne, the talented Jordan Theurillat, are delighted with the high-calibre Swiss producers. The menu includes Simmental beef and, of course, their signature dumplings, the Berlingots, filled with sheep’s cheese from the Fribourg Alps. It also includes fish from Lake Geneva, which she sources from the nearby Pêcherie d’Ouchy fishmonger. ‘La fera’, the whitefish, is not really a noble fish, but when Theurillat prepares it, it can compete with any sea bass. First of all, he hangs the ultra-fresh fish in the maturing cabinet for a few days. In the kitchen, he then teases out its finest flavours by confiting the tender meat and grilling the skin side vigorously – a delightful contrast that is further emphasised by frothy beurre blanc, flavoured with bergamot and a hint of liquorice.

In the light-flooded rooms of the Pic, France’s top chef Anne-Sophie Pic focuses on Swiss products, from whitefish from Lake Geneva to Thurgau herb pork and sheep’s cheese from Mont Gibloux.

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Villars Palace

High in the Vaud Alps, with a view of the Dents du Midi, you can enjoy menus inspired by the local flora and fauna.

In the hotel high up in the Vaud Alps, the mountains are impressive even as a panorama – from the tables, guests can see the majestic Dents du Midi mountain range. What’s more, they also play a key role in chef Christian Bertogna’s regionally inspired menus at Le 1913. Respect for the native flora and fauna is important to him, and over the years he has established close contacts with local producers. Italian pasta artistry is demonstrated by his ravioli filled with airy mountain trout mousseline in a mushroom broth with black garlic. Skin-on roasted pike-perch from Lake Maggiore is served with a parsnip purée and Gruyère cream. The veal beef fillet is accompanied by Alpine flavours, a crunchy red cabbage salad and a robust aronia berry jus. And finally, guests are served a selection of Swiss cheeses – from the 32-month matured Gruyère Caramel to the Bleu de Geiss goat’s cheese from St. Gallen.

Lausanne Palace

The La Table restaurant is located in the centre of the city – and yet the large front windows offer a magnificent panoramic view of the lake. The very friendly young service team ensures that guests immediately feel at home – and two-Michelin star chef Franck Pelux sends out one delicious dish after another from the kitchen. He grills scallops from Normandy on one side only, so that the centre remains beautifully glazed, and serves them with a frothy velouté of Swiss miso (from nearby Nyon). The Breton lobster is inspired by his time in Asia – served as a ‘pot-au-pho’, the intensely flavoursome bouillon with its spicy accents and the aroma of cinnamon, cardamom and ginger is indeed reminiscent of the Vietnamese cult soup. Local flavours are then presented in the form of the pike-perch from Lake Neuchâtel. It was layered with Vaudois saucisson as a kind of millefeuille, served with a celeriac foam and an excellent sauce au vin jaune (Jura), which has a fine nutty flavour and smells of curry. And what did we get for a sweet finish? A masterful Chocolat Noir Grand Cru soufflé, served with an exciting combination of pecan ice cream and Périgord truffle.

Franck Pelux cooked La Table in the heart of Lausanne to the top of Swiss cuisine with his cosmopolitan and creative cuisine, which shines with innovation and mixes local products with exotic flavours.

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La Réserve Genève

A slice of Hong Kong on the outskirts of Geneva, where only Cantonese is spoken in the kitchen at the Tsé Fung restaurant. Four large woks sizzle and spit, and there is a huge special oven for the Peking ducks in one corner. Frank Xu is the only chef in Switzerland to have been awarded a Michelin star for a Chinese restaurant. However, he is not a man of many words. He prefers to stand in the kitchen and hang his delicate raffia baskets in the steam. He uses these baskets as a vessel in which to cook delicious dim sum, such as the xiao long bao filled with hot bouillon or har kao, with their shrimp filling which can be seen through the almost transparent batter. He also prepares one of his signature dishes in these baskets – the wonderfully succulent sea bass with ginger. Some of the other highlights on the menu are prepared in the wok, including beef fillet cut into strips and finely caramelised with chilli, sesame and basil, and finally, Sichuan chicken, with just as much spiciness as a Central European palate can handle.

In the second restaurant, Le Loti, which bears the signature of design star Jacques Garcia, Executive Chef Benjamin Brial offers an impressive variety of dishes – from sea bream ceviche with lime and black truffle to a rack of Swiss lamb with a herb crust.

The interior of Tsé Fung is inspired by Shanghai in the 1930s; chef Frank Xu serves authentic Cantonese haute cuisine. His signature dish is the two-course Peking duck, but his dim sum défilé with a total of nine preparations is also impressive.

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Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues

Chef Toshikazu Kato combines Japanese precision and Peruvian passion to create his very own style at Izumi, from wagyu nigiri with sea urchin and caviar to sea bass sashimi with aji amarillo salsa. In summer, you can dine on the roof terrace with panoramic views of Geneva and the lake.

Asian flavours are also served in the chic Izumi rooftop restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues, albeit in combination with South American elements. This globally trendy Nikkei cuisine sets the tone high above the city. Accompanied by an impressive panoramic view of the lake and mountains, chef Toshikazu Kato serves luxurious nigiri with wagyu, sea urchin and caviar as well as delicious lobster tacos. Kato, who grew up near Tokyo, is also passionate about Swiss products and serves tongue-in-cheek fish ’n’ chips made from perch fillet from Lake Geneva as tempura with a yuzu and truffle sauce. And of course, the Nikkei classic Black cod is not be missed, served crispy and spicy, flavoured with sesame and accompanied by deep-fried aubergine and shimeji mushrooms. You can choose your own side dishes to accompany the excellent wagyu or the Japanese sea bream served whole with a ponzu aji amarillo sauce – the soba noodles with matcha are a firm favourite.

Swiss Deluxe Hotels Magazine Summer 2025 IZUMI By Elena Steness

Pâtisserie to go
Titouan Claudet (L’Atelier Joel Robuchon) is Gault&Millau’s Pâtissier of the Year 2025. His delicious éclairs, Paris-Brests and pralines are also available to go – from his Le Comptoir Woodward Pâtisserie in the centre of Geneva. lecomptoir-woodward.com

Coffee aficionados
Following their success in Zurich, award-winning baristas Mathieu Theis and Emi Fukahori have now opened their first shop in Geneva. Whether you’re looking for something fruity, floral or chocolatey – every coffeeholic will be happy here. mame.coffee

Terroir wines
In the steep, terraced vineyards of Lavaux in a marvellous location overlooking Lake Geneva, the Chasselas grape variety proves what it is capable of. Louis Blondel in Cully makes real top-quality crus. domaine-blondel.ch

Off to a flying start
Luis Zuzarte turned his ‘L’Appart’ on the cobbled Rue de Bourg in the heart of Lausanne into a culinary hotspot in no time at all. His motto: cuisine libre et responsable! appart-lausanne.ch

Feet in the water
Cool drinks, delicious tapas and a dip in the lake to cool off: Les Bains Payes is a casual, trendy meeting place right on the lakeshore in Vevey. Only open in summer! lesbainspayes.ch

Mandarin Oriental Geneva

Yotam Ottolenghi, celebrated star of Levantine cuisine, opened his first restaurant outside the UK in Geneva, focusing on vegetables, fermentation, and open fire.

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The hotel’s newly opened restaurant Ottolenghi is the talk of the town. Yotam Ottolenghi, best-selling author and spiritus rector of trendy Levante cuisine, just opened his first restaurant outside the UK here in Geneva.

The ambience at Ottolenghi is characterised by a great deal of light-coloured wood and Scandinavian-inspired purism, plus an open kitchen with a striking grill, on which (almost) all of the hot dishes are cooked. According to Ottolenghi, ‘fire and fermentation’ should take centre stage. The red emblems on the walls are somewhat reminiscent of Miró, and the room is dominated by a round bar at which you can also eat.

‘My favourite place,’ says Ottolenghi. ‘I can see everything from here and can chat to the barman while I eat.’ The menu offers the Eastern Mediterranean-influenced comfort food that he made famous around the world: creamy hummus, beetroot pastrami and lamb shoulder with a rose-cardamom crust. Fermented cabbage with nori leaves are prepared on the grill and served with sunflower tahini, while ‘Shatta Green’ chilli paste brings into play a lot of smoky spiciness as well as subtly acidic citrus notes.

And, of course, the signature dish from London is a must – celeriac shawarma, i.e. celeriac roasted over an open flame, with Tunisian bkeila, sour cream and crispy onions served in a pita bread.

At Le Trianon, you can not only enjoy Thomas Perez’s gourmet cuisine, but also a spectacular view of Vevey and Lac Léman.

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In the unique location, high above Vevey and in the heart of the UNESCO-protected landscape of the Lavaux wine-growing region, lies the hotel palace that lives up to its name. From the terrace of the gourmet restaurant Le Trianon, guests can enjoy an all-encompassing panoramic view of the lake. It’s not easy for a kitchen to compete with such a view, but Thomas Perez is up to the challenge. He serves lobster in a crispy cadaifi coating with a light béarnaise sauce and red curry flavours, while juicy turbot is prepared in a syrah sauce on an emulsion of sea urchin roe and with the earthy flavours of three variations of Jerusalem artichokes. And for the main course, fillet of veal from the region with an amourette sauce, potato mousseline and truffles.

In the sister restaurant Le Patio, you dine à la carte and more in the French brasserie style, but creative ideas are also on the menu here. Roasted foie gras is served together with a fruity quince variation and skate wing à la grenobloise is accompanied by the classic garnish of capers, lemon strips and croutons together with poached spinach shoots.

Words Patricia Böhm