Dining in Valais
Valais is known for its rich food and drink culture. Raclette, fondue, Valais Teller (a platter of dried meat, cheese and pickles) and rösti are the classics that taste best here. The unique wines of Valais are of course part of that.
As owners of LuxLax, Louk and Marjolein know the area like no other. Below are their personal recommendations for the best restaurants, local specialities and wines near LuxLax.
Valais specialities
- Raclette – melted cheese with jacket potatoes, pickled onions, gherkins and corn
- Fondue – cheese, bouillon or meat fondue
- Walliser Teller – dried meat, sausage, cheese, pickled onions, gherkins and corn
- Rösti – fried potato cake
- Zwetschgenkuchen and apricot tart
- Cholera – savoury pie filled with potato, onion, leek and cheese
- Hay soup
- Crèmeschnitte
- Trout
- Delicious nut tart made with cream and walnuts
- Wine soup
- Vermicelles – an autumn treat of sweetened chestnut purée
- Brisolée – a platter of hot sweet chestnuts with cheese, bacon and autumn fruit
- Game dishes in autumn
Restaurants
Italian restaurant
Lax
- 🍕 Bellevue – Excellent and friendly Italian restaurant/pizzeria. Many Italian dishes and of course outstanding pizzas. Highly recommended.
Mountain restaurants on the slopes with terraces
Aletsch Arena
- 🍴 Bättmerhitta
- 🍴 Alpina
- 🍴 Jungfrau
- 🍴 Kühboden
- 🍴 Bergfreund
Other restaurants
Around LuxLax
- Bellwald – 🍴 Zur alten Gassen
- Bettmeralp – 🍴 Bättmerhitta
- Binntal – 🍴 Albrun, 🍴 Bärgkristall, 🍴 Käserei Brunnebiel, 🍴 Gasthaus Heiligkreuz and ☕ Twingi Stubji
- Brig – ☕ KaffeeKlatsch (coffee, tea and cake), 🍴 Schlosskeller, 🥐 Zenhäusern bakery
- Ernen – 🍴 Backstube Sankt Georg and 🍴 Berglandhof / ErnerGarten
- Fiesch – 🍴 Des Alpes and 🍴 Voliere
- Mühlebach – 🍴 Chäsestatt
- Reckingen – 🍴 Hotel Glocke
- Riederfurka – ☕ Villa Cassel (coffee, tea and cake)
Valais wines
Switzerland drinks almost all of its own wine. The chance of coming across these bottles at home is small — and that is exactly what makes them worth trying here. Valais is the largest wine region in the country, with grapes you will find nowhere else.
White wines
The classic
Fendant
Light and dry, with a fine spritz. The everyday white of Valais, made from the chasselas grape.
Drink with: raclette and fondue
Indigenous
Petite Arvine
Grapefruit and white flowers, with a salty finish. Grows almost nowhere but Valais.
Drink with: river fish, asparagus, goat’s cheese
High altitude
Heida
From Visperterminen, where the vineyards climb to 1,150 metres — the highest in Europe. Full and nutty.
Drink with: Walliser Teller with dried ham and mountain cheese
With vegetables
Johannisberg
The Valais name for silvaner. Full and soft, with a slight bitterness in the finish that suits vegetables — precisely where most white wines fall short.
Drink with: asparagus, Cholera and roasted vegetables
Red wines
The most important
Pinot Noir
Switzerland’s most planted red grape, and at its best in Valais. Cherry and wild strawberry, finely structured. On the steep slopes it ripens more slowly than down in the valley, and you can taste it.
Drink with: poultry, veal and mountain cheese
The everyday one
Dôle
Pinot noir with gamay added: suppler and juicier than pure pinot. What comes to the table in Valais when there is nothing in particular to celebrate.
Drink with: Brisolée and grilled meat
Indigenous
Cornalin
Had almost disappeared and was brought back. Dark cherry, pepper, firmly structured.
Drink with: game and beef
Indigenous
Humagne Rouge
Rustic and spicy, with something wild about it. A wine that tastes of the landscape.
Drink with: venison stew and autumn dishes
Two curiosities
Vin des Glaciers from the Val d’Anniviers matures in larch casks that are never emptied completely — some are more than a hundred years old. Barely for sale, not even in Switzerland. If you come across it in a mountain restaurant, try it.
The smallest vineyard in the world is in Saillon: three vines on 1.618 m² — the number of the golden ratio, as chiselled into the stone. Since 1999 it has belonged to the Dalai Lama, who received it as a gift from Abbé Pierre. It is a place of pilgrimage for peace: the two released doves there and named the plot the vineyard of peace. Countless world-famous names have helped with the harvest since.
Wineries nearby
The vineyards lie in the Rhône valley, between Visp and Sierre. By train or by car you are there in half an hour to an hour from Lax. Valais has countless wineries, and alongside them oenothèques: tasting rooms where you can try wines from many different producers side by side. Useful if you do not yet know what you are looking for. At the three below you will certainly be welcome.
Visp · ± 25 min
Excellent wines from Visperterminen, where the vineyards climb to 1,150 metres — the highest in Europe. This is where you taste the Heida from the list above at its source.
Susten near Leuk · ± 40 min
A new and beautiful winery that ranks among the best in Switzerland: two years running Weingut des Jahres at the Grand Prix du Vin Suisse, in 2023 and 2024. Damian and Fabienne Seewer make their wines with passion and deep knowledge, and are glad to receive you. As well as tasting you can take a tour — do book ahead.
Salgesch · ± 50 min
Johanniterkellerei Kuonen & Grichting
A small producer in the middle of the village, parking at the door. You come here to taste blind and to talk to the owner: a passionate man who never shies away from a discussion and makes a tasting unforgettable because of it. The oldest winery in Salgesch, dating from 1913; the name honours the Knights Hospitaller, who gave travellers shelter and drink here in the thirteenth century. Known for its Pinot Noir de Salquenen. Salgesch also sits in the middle of an extensive wine region that is wonderful for walking — at its best in autumn, when the leaves turn and the harvest is in.
Walking through the vineyards
This is perhaps the finest reason to head down to the Rhône valley. The whole valley is criss-crossed with paths. They run from village to village through the vineyards, over centuries-old retaining walls and often alongside the water channels (suonen), with views over the valley and the mountains opposite.
Wine trail Salgesch – Sierre. The best-known route: about six kilometres straight through the vineyards, with a wine museum at either end. Well signposted, and you pass wineries you can walk into along the way.
When. September and October are unbeatable: the leaves turn, the harvest is under way and the air is clear. Spring is beautiful there too, and because the vineyards lie low you can walk them when winter is already setting in up in the Aletsch Arena.
How hard. Flat it is not — vineyards sit on slopes — but strenuous it is not either. Sturdy shoes are enough, and you are never far from a village or a station.
Practical info
Payment
Swiss francs (CHF). Credit or debit card accepted almost everywhere. Sometimes cash only. Tip not mandatory but appreciated (5–10%).
Parking
With coins or the EasyPark app. Swiss residents can pay with Twint.
Reservations
Always book in advance during peak season (Christmas, February, summer). Mountain restaurants can fill up in good weather.
Opening hours
Village restaurants: 11:30–14:00 and 18:00–21:30. Mountain restaurants: 10:00–17:00 (seasonal).