As a country known for high levels of affluence, Switzerland is home to many of the finest dining experiences in the world. Now, the latest Gault Millau Guide for 2024 has named which restaurants are the best of the very best, with two of the top six coming from the same Swiss city.

Gault Millau Guide 2024

To create the Gault Millau Guide for Switzerland, experts ranked over 800 fine-dining restaurants from across the country. Unlike the Michelin Guide, their ranking focusses primarily on the quality of the food, with comments about service, price and atmosphere given separately.

Each restaurant analysed is given a number of Gault Millau points from one to 20, with 20 being the highest - restaurants given scores under 10 are rarely included in the guide. It’s important to note that since 2004, only four 20-point scores have been issued worldwide.

Six Swiss restaurants given near-perfect scores for 2024

This year, six Swiss restaurants were given near-perfect scores of 19 Gault Millau points. The top restaurants in the guide for 2024 are:

• Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, Basel
• Stucki / Tanja Grandits, Basel
• Schaustein in the Castle Restaurant Hotel Obergass, Fürstenau (Graubünden)
• The Restaurant in The Dolder Grand, Zurich
• Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville, Crissier (Vaud)
• Domaine de Châteauvieux, Satigny (Geneva)

In total 77 restaurants in Switzerland were given over 17 points by Gault Millau.

Restaurants in Switzerland praised for food quality

In the guide, Peter Knogl from Cheval Blanc was noted for his commitment to sourcing the finest ingredients from all parts of the world and pairing them to perfection. Stucki was praised for its fascinating mix of fresh flavours and the time taken by the two chefs, Tanja Grandits and Marco Böhler, to meet all the guests and even serve the dishes themselves.

Having already secured three Michelin stars while being ranked as the 26th best restaurant in the world by WilliamReed, getting 19 points must have been the icing on the cake for Schauenstein, with experts praising their use of hand-picked vegetables and herbs from the castle in their cooking. Being arguably the most prestigious hotel in Switzerland - and perhaps the world - the Dolder Grand’s inclusion on the list is little surprise.

Moving across the Röstigraben, Restaurant de l'Hôtel de Ville in Crissier was given accolades for its “country pub” feel and its richly flavoured and delicate food. Finally, Domaine de Châteauvieux near Geneva was hailed for its hearty dishes and communal atmosphere.

Silvio Germann is Switzerland's Chef of the Year for 2024

In terms of personal accolades, Silvio Germann was chosen as “Chef of the Year” for 2024. The 33-year-old from Lucerne was praised for the “flavour bombs” he produces while working at the Mammertsberg Hotel and Restaurant near the banks of Lake Constance. 

Newcomer of the Year was given to Pascal Steffen for the vegetarian cuisine he serves at Roots in Basel, while “Green Chef of the Year” was awarded to Paolo Casanova for his use of alpine herbs in the dishes served in the Chesa Stüva Colani in the Graubünden village of Madulain in the mountains.

For more information, and to see what other restaurants made it onto the list, check out the Gault-Millau website.