It’s a pleasure to dine in the Saanenland. Also, it’s a delight for the creative chefs and their guests whose feelings have been confirmed in the latest annual GaultMillau ratings. The gourmet guide assesses the quality and freshness of the products, the creativity and professionalism of preparations, the blend of dishes and ingredients, the precise cooking times, the wholesomeness and presentation of the dishes, as well as the constancy of the kitchen’s performance. Of course, the assessor’s personal tastes always feed into the evaluation.

13 restaurants with awards
A wide variety of different cuisines and concepts await locals and visitors to the region. A total of 13 restaurants have been rated with 13 to 18 points and offer a “very good” to “outstanding” cuisine that’s out of the ordinary.

Among the total of 870 GaultMillau-listed restaurants, 96 have been discovered for the first time. One is the Müli in the Gstaaderhof, climbing to rank among the best with 13 points. Chef Elvedin Odobasic performs an astounding variety, “from Asian cuisine to traditional liver with Rösti, mastering everything with great confidence.” Odobasic has progressed through several career stages in Zurich, including at Wein & Dein. He then came to Gstaad’s Le Grand Bellevue.

The Sommet at The Alpina Gstaad stays the same with a promising 18 points and so does the gourmet experience in many other excellent restaurants of the region.  

The Chesery restaurant wasn’t rated this time – the management changeover from Robert Speth to Marcus G. Lindner is too recent. Lindner was previously the chef at Le Grand Bellevue, with 17 points.

Chef of the month
Erich Baumer from the Sonnenhof in Saanen has been delighting his guests with his dishes for over 20 years. His speciality of the house, various kinds of home-made ravioli, has helped him find his way into the hearts of Saanen gourmets. That's why GaultMillau named him Chef of the Month in February 2019.

Chef of the Year 2020
The title Chef of the Year 2020 was awarded to Tanja Grandits from the Stucki in Basel, for the second time since 2014. Back then, she had 18 points and now has 19 points. This is the highest mark ever awarded in Switzerland. So, the 49-year-old joined the select group of only eight chefs with a maximum score of 19 and also became the first woman in Switzerland to make it to the top.

Based on AvS/Sonja Wolf
Translated by Justine Hewson

The Saanenland restaurants with GaultMillau points

The Alpina Gstaad, Sommet 18 points
Restaurant Chesery, no evaluation
The Alpina Gstaad, Megu 16 points
Hotel Le Grand Chalet, La Bagatelle 16 points
Restaurant Sonnenhof, 16 points
Gstaad Palace, Le Grill 15 points
Boutique Hotel Alpenrose, Azalea 15 points
Rialto’s Bistro Bar, 14 points
16 Art Bar Restaurant, 14 points
Huus Hotel, La Vue 14 points
Romantik Hotel Hornberg, 14 points
Hotel Bernerhof, Blun-Chi 13 points
Hotel Bernerhof, La Gare 13 points
Hotel Gstaaderhof, Müli 13 points (new)