Vegetables from the region: 13 great places to eat in Switzerland

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Intro

Almost half of all restaurants in Switzerland refer to regionality on their menu or website. This is a buzzword intended to make a good impression on customers, but in isolation it’s just as meaningless as the term seasonal. Unless there are signs of action behind such statements, you should proceed with caution. 

However, even those who give real thought to what is produced in their local vicinity must sometimes compromise. The fresh produce available in Switzerland can be limited, especially in winter. Wise chefs and restaurateurs will gather in summer and autumn what can be preserved and fermented for the winter table. A few even manage to grow some of the vegetables they use – in their own gardens or in close cooperation with neighbouring farmers.

The Artisan, Zurich

Urban gardening and creative cuisine can make a great partnership, provided the structures are right and enough space is available. This arrangement works well at The Artisan, with some of the greens used coming from urban gardens right outside the front door; others are sourced from surrounding farms. Much – such as beetroot or radishes – is preserved, while others are incorporated fresh. Though the burgers are famous, it’s actually the vegan vegetable snacks like the grilled edamame with salted mandarin that make the visit worthwhile.

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UM Contemporary Restaurant, Basel

It tells you a lot when a chef chooses a name like Pedro Limão. The lemon inspires more than just his name, with the Portuguese-born chef also using a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables from the region in the small premises of Basel’s Mitte restaurant. He incorporates fermented mushrooms into the menu, for example, and has worked hard to establish one of Basel’s most independently-minded kitchens. Fortunately, the whole enterprise also has a pricing policy that is expressly designed to attract the next generation of gourmets.

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Sass da Grüm, San Nazarro-Vairano

The views over Lake Maggiore are not the only thing to delight guests on arrival; the dining concept will also get mouths watering. The emphasis is on healthy, predominantly vegetarian food, although this does not mean that fish from the lake is shunned completely. On the contrary, working with local fishermen and producers is part of the core philosophy of the business, which also includes a hotel. The highlight, however, is the establishment’s own herb garden. It features dozens of varieties, some of them very rare, which enhance the flavours of the food.

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Restaurant Scalottas Terroir, Lenzerheide

At first, the link between the Scalottas Terroir restaurant and Hotel Schweizerhof is not that obvious. The two institutions are in fact a few metres apart, and of course the restaurant managed by Hansjörg Ladurner is also open to guests who are not staying at the hotel. The relationship between the restaurant kitchen and producers is quite uniquely close and strong. Diners at this temple to regional cuisine will experience unexpected vegetable taste sensations with Chrisi balsamic vinegar, fermented fennel or Graubünden mountain beans.

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Restaurant Bauernschänke, Zurich

Chef Nenad Mlinarevic left two-star gourmet cuisine behind a few years ago, setting up his own business with partners and taking over a traditional Zurich restaurant, which he transformed into a success story. The focus here is on regional ingredients and, unlike partner restaurant Neue Taverne, meat, fish, octopus and caviar will definitely be found on the menu here. However, the regionally sourced vegetables are often the real star of the show – pickled carrots, smoked aubergine or roast artichokes, for example.

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Restaurant Le Castel de Bois-Genoud, Crissier

When people talk about Crissier, it is often shorthand for the celebrated, triple Michelin-starred, Restaurant de l’Hôtel de Ville. But while regional fruit and vegetable growers play an important role there, the cooperation between farmers and chefs is almost deeper at the Castel. The concept of regionally rooted organic cuisine has been followed here for more than 20 years, and head chef Jérémie Cordier has continued and expanded this tradition since he arrived in 2021. Of course diners can ask which farmer the salad leaves came from!

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Verve by sven, Bad Ragaz

You can do more with asparagus than make soup or serve it alongside ham. Few people know this better than Sven Wassmer, the chef of the two-time award-winning Memories restaurant in Bad Ragaz. Flowers and greens, asparagus and other regional vegetables are incorporated either fresh or preserved into a menu where meat and fish often play only a supporting role. At the more straightforward Verve restaurant, located in the same hotel, plant-based food is also high on the list – from Swiss organic quinoa to lettuce from the Rhine Valley.

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Ernergarten im Berglandhof, Ernen

Menus do not need to be extremely extensive. In fact, when the focus is on regional products, that simply isn’t possible. However, a manageable selection of options does not mean a boring one, as the Berglandhof proves. It has been working with producers from the Goms region for a long time, sourcing ingredients directly and often using them just a few hours after harvesting. Some of the produce even comes from its own farm. This pays off on the flavour front and leads to many guests not just coming to dine, but also staying overnight and taking home-made sauerkraut or home-dried pears back with them the next morning.

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Neue Blumenau, Lömmenschwil

Bernadette Lisibach is one of Switzerland’s most dedicated chefs and is lucky enough to live in fertile surroundings – in the canton of St. Gallen, just a stone’s throw away from Thurgau, famous for its apples and other vegetables. Consequently, almost all the food served here comes from the region – from Diepoldsau asparagus and swede (perhaps served with buckwheat salad) to the nettles used to prepare the emulsion poured over the ribeye steak and tongue of Eastern Swiss veal.

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Rechberg 1837, Zurich

The aim of this unique restaurant is to return to the cooking and purchasing practices of the past. This means doing without all kinds of food we take for granted on many modern menus: imported produce. Imports weren’t available in 1837, so you won’t find them here. Instead, the team of Carlos Navarro, Alexander and Raphael Guggenbühl and Celine Horst rely entirely on regional ingredients and plenty of vegetables, serving mostly (exclusively, if desired) vegetarian courses. When it comes to wine, things are equally clear: only produce from Switzerland’s vineyards is served.

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Café frühling, Basel

This establishment, which is located in Kleinbasel and has become a cult venue in just a few short years, has little in common with a normal café. First of all, the coffee is much better than usual, and second, the edible ingredients are chosen with great product awareness; spreads, pickled vegetables and fruit compotes are made on site from regional produce and served as side dishes for breakfast or as lunchtime staples. Sourdough bread with aubergine antipasti and rocket or focaccia with fennel kimchi sell like hotcakes.

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Restaurant Ecluse, Biel

Few restaurants in Switzerland are as serious about sustainability as Ecluse. The chefs cultivate close partnerships with producers and buy their vegetables exclusively from local or regional farmers. This guarantees freshness. What’s more, peelings and other waste food are not simply thrown away but composted to feed new vegetables. Such awareness of sustainability and food waste is still a comparative rarity in the restaurant industry.

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Restaurant Oz, Fürstenau

Should we call this Andreas Caminada’s third restaurant? In any case, the restaurant located next to Schauenstein Castle and Casa Caminada is part of the holistic culinary concept where vegetables are the star. What’s more, the restaurant’s own garden provides the basis for what lands on plates, from radishes and carrots to lettuce. Such quintessential sustainability in a restaurant with the highest culinary ambitions is still the exception in Switzerland.

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