Where to eat and drink in St. Moritz: town, mountain and the valley
A long lunch on the mountain, then dinner in town or a short ride down the valley. Bergrestaurant Hahnensee is the lunch on the run into Bad, Gondolezza in Pontresina is the dinner to book first, Banfi's is the small room in town, Da Franco in Silvaplana is the pasta, and the Pianobar at the Schweizerhof is the drink.
St. Moritz eats across the whole valley, not only in town. Lunch is on the mountain and it is a long one. Dinner is in Dorf or Bad, or about ten minutes out in Pontresina or Silvaplana. The range runs from working bakeries to the grand hotels, and most of the dinners worth booking sit in between.
On the mountain, plan one day around Bergrestaurant Hahnensee, a plain wooden chalet with a balcony over the lakes on the long run down from Corvatsch into St. Moritz Bad. The ravioli is homemade and the welcome is a warm one.
For dinner, book Gondolezza first. It is a retired cable car cabin in Pontresina, about twenty seats, and the menu runs to fondue or raclette and no further. For a weekend night in winter a month ahead is not unusual. The truffle fondue is the order. Banfi's, a small room on Via dal Bagn between Dorf and Bad, is the one people tend to discover too late in the week, so make it one of the first nights, and check the kitchen's hours before you walk down. When the table has had enough cheese, Da Franco in Silvaplana, about ten minutes along the lake by bus, is worth the ride for the pasta, and the chef, who is from Puglia, bakes the bread.
St. Moritz does its evenings in hotel bars more than ski bars, and the Pianobar at the Schweizerhof is the one we would sit in: take a seat at the bar to watch the drinks made, a pianist and a singer behind you, and pack something smarter than a fleece. In the morning, Hanselmann on Via Maistra does rosti with bacon and egg upstairs, and its confiserie counter is where to buy the chocolates you take home. Book the dinners before you fly, and check the last bus or train back for anything out of town.
Mountain lunch
A plain wooden chalet on the long run from Corvatsch into St. Moritz Bad, and a good reason to ski all the way down.
Bergrestaurant Hahnensee
The stop on the long descent from Corvatsch down into St. Moritz Bad, and the reason to plan that run rather than take the lift home. A wooden chalet with a balcony over the Engadine lakes, plain rather than polished, run by people who are pleased to see you. Homemade ravioli is the dish, and a strudel comes in at around ten francs, which up here counts as a bargain. Prices generally are reasonable by the standards of everything else on this mountain. It also works in summer, because you can walk up to it.
Dinner
A small room between Dorf and Bad, fondue inside a retired cable car cabin in Pontresina, and pasta by the lake at Silvaplana.
Banfi's
A small room on Via dal Bagn run by Daniela and Luigi, and the kind of place people find on their last night and wish they had found on their first. Barley soup or the carrot soup with ginger to start, then the cordon bleu, the beef tagliata or the tartare. The chef brings a taste of the tartare over first so you can say whether the seasoning is right for you. Check the hours before you walk down, because the kitchen only opens for set stretches of the day. A welcome dish arrives before you have ordered anything at all.
Gondolezza
Dinner inside a retired cable car cabin with about twenty seats, and the menu is fondue or raclette and nothing else at all. Book well ahead, because a month in advance is not unusual for a winter Saturday. The truffle fondue is the one to order, and staff will come out and shield the burner if you are eating outside in weather. It is dinner only, and Pontresina is about ten minutes from St. Moritz by train or bus. Small, warm and better company than a room five times the size.
Da Franco
About ten minutes down the lake by bus, and the best pasta in the valley turns out to be here rather than in town. The chef is from Puglia and bakes the bread, so start with the house starter and the bread and work outward. If you cannot choose, ask for half and half: the ravioli against the venison bolognese with grated bitter chocolate over it is the pairing to ask for. Tagliatelle with shrimp or the langoustine if you want fish, and the tiramisu is not the standard one. Sit outside for the lake when the weather allows it.
Bars
A seat at the bar at the Schweizerhof to watch the cocktails being made, live piano and a singer, and an excuse to dress up a little.
Pianobar
Cocktails made in front of you at the bar in the Schweizerhof, with a pianist and a singer working the room behind you. Sit at the bar rather than at a table, because the point is watching the drinks made and talking to whoever is making them. Sam runs it and the regulars come back nightly rather than once a trip. Dress up a little for this one. Dogs are welcome and children are fine earlier in the evening.
Cafes and quick bites
The Dorf bakery and confiserie, on Via Maistra since the eighteen seventies: rosti upstairs for breakfast, cake in the afternoon and the chocolates to take home.
Hanselmann
The Dorf institution, baking on Via Maistra since the eighteen seventies and open on a Sunday when a lot of the town is not. Go upstairs for the cafe: rosti with bacon and egg is the breakfast, and the walnut and caramel tart or the blueberry torte is the reason to come back at four. The queue at the counter looks worse than it is and moves quickly. If the room is full, take the box out to the benches a few steps along the street. It is a confiserie as well, so this is where the chocolates to take home come from.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Opening times and ownership change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.