The Best Guide to Restaurants in Villars

Villars Mountain Restaurants

There are nine mountain restaurants on the slopes directly above Villars and a similar number in the wider linked area towards Gryon and Les Diablerets. The majority are locally owned and run traditional mountain huts serving up good home made food and offering excellent views of the surrounding mountainscape. The wooden Hôtel-restaurant du Lac de Bretaye (+41 (0)24 495 21 92; bretaye.ch) at Bretaye is typical serving traditional mountain cuisine including dishes made with local mushrooms. At the other ends of the ski area at Diablerets, Les Mazots (Route du Col de la Croix; +41 (0)24 492 10 23; diablerets.com) is another good choice, with big terraces on which to soak up the sun while enjoying the local cuisine from its self service restaurant.

Restaurants In Town

Villars has about 50 restaurants to choose from, and a better mix than most resorts, with Mexican and Thai options along with the usual Alpine, French and Italian selection. But most will serve you all the Swiss Alpine favourites including fondue, rostis and raclette. Le Chalet is a good choice for that kind of meal in a traditionally decorated Alpine restaurant.
For a change from cheesy dishes though (if you feel you must), Villars does have alternatives. La Cantina del Toro (Route des Hôtels; +41 (0)24 495 24 25; elgringo.ch) for example, is one of the best Mexican eateries east of the Atlantic, it’s open daily except Tuesday. Le Francis (Rue Centrale; +41 (0)24 495 12 46) has pasta and pizza as well as crêpes and offers delivery.
One of the best spots in town is the modern Gault Millau gourme

Guide listed Le Jardin des Alpes Restaurant is where young Chef David Sauvignet uses seasonal and regional ingredients to create new menu ideas each week. Le Soleil (Rue Centrale; +41 (0)24 495 45 30; medou.ch) is another gourmet option, also listed in the Gault Millau guide, and particularly famed for its seafood buffet.

Grocery Shops in Villars

Villars has a good range of traditional food stores – you won’t go hungry and you could easily over indulge in yummy goodies. Start with a good stock of cheese from the local Dairy of Villars; there are also several local butchers shops.

For traditional bread and cakes the Boulangerie La Chaumière de mon père (Rue Centrale; +41 (0)24 496 30 85; heiz-villars.ch) open from 7.30am is the place to go. For most other foodie needs Marché Viret (Rue Centrale; +41 (0)24 495 23 65; marche-viret.ch) offers a wide range including deli items and has a home delivery service. It’s open 8am-7pm all week although like most shops has a long lunch hour every day but Saturday. There are several small supermarkets too including a branch of Migros (Espace 2000; +41 (0)24 495 21 86) and a Co-op (+41 (0)24 495 72 30).