The story
Few restaurants anywhere carry the weight of history that L'Hôtel de Ville de Crissier does. Seventy-one years old and shaped by five successive generations of chefs, this address in Crissier — a short distance from Lausanne — has become one of the defining references in French haute cuisine. The lineage reads like a roll call of Swiss gastronomy: Fredy Girardet, Philippe Rochat, Benoît Violier, and now Franck Giovannini, who took over the kitchen with his wife Stéphanie in 2016. That continuity of ambition is reflected in the restaurant's standing: three Michelin stars, 19 out of 20 at the Gault&Millau, and a place among the World's 50 Best Restaurants across multiple editions.
Giovannini describes his approach as cuisine built on respect for the product — its freshness, texture, purity of flavour, and nutritional integrity. Ingredients arrive whole and unmanipulated; sourcing is timed to maximise freshness. His menus are structured to avoid repetition of flavours across courses, a discipline that speaks to both rigour and sensitivity. The cooking sits at the intersection of tradition and measured innovation: classic foundations, reinterpreted with restraint rather than spectacle.
His personality comes through in specific combinations. Cardons de Crissier — the thistle-like vegetable grown locally — appear on the current winter carte as a gourmande tartlet with black truffles from Provence. Agneau de lait from Bruson arrives larded with winter salsify, the shoulder braised separately, finished with a red wine sabayon. A soupe de Saint-Jacques is enriched with scallops, bouquet prawns, parsnip, and oscietra caviar. These are dishes rooted in the French haute cuisine canon, but expressed with a precision that is entirely Giovannini's own.
The gastronomic menu is priced at 410 CHF and moves through seven to eight courses; a menu découverte at 360 CHF offers eight surprise dishes built around the best produce of the moment. For weekday lunches, a more compact menu at 260 CHF can be completed in under two hours. The à la carte — currently on its 68th edition, a detail that signals the seriousness of the kitchen's seasonal rotation — changes five times a year, with dates announced in advance. Special evenings are programmed throughout the year: game nights in October and November, a seafood marathon in early December, a Swiss menu in summer.
Bread is baked in-house at each service using natural sourdough. A bakery bearing the restaurant's name opened in the heart of Crissier in December 2021, extending the house's craft beyond the dining room. Cooking classes offer a further way into the kitchen's world.
The restaurant holds a private room for more intimate occasions, and a wine cellar whose depth matches the ambition of the cooking. The atmosphere, as the restaurant itself puts it, is one where cuisine is understood as an art de vivre — a phrase that, here, is not decorative. Across seven decades and five chefs, this is a place that has consistently treated French haute cuisine not as a style to be performed, but as a discipline to be lived.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Exceptional cuisine
We did the math: 50 (!) distinct dishes on the menu. And 24 female chefs (5) and male chefs working the line. That is unique in Switzerland. And rare anywhere in the world. What’s most impressive: Even when the perpetually booked dining room and the bustling kitchen are at maximum capacity, quality never falters. Every course is flawlessly executed; the interplay of acidity and temperature (cool, not cold) is captivating. Franck Giovannini, the fourth renowned chef to helm this prestigious former town hall in Crissier, sets the pace. With a sharp eye. With Zen-like composure. With a playful smile. It is currently hunting season. “Not every guest enjoys game,” Giovannini notes, “which is why we keep our regular menus available. We have plenty of chefs, so we manage just fine.” Still, “Le meilleur de la chasse” is peak season in Crissier. Tables are booked months ahead, and we completely understand why. This isn’t about standard roast venison or peppered stags. For the game weeks alone, 1,500 birds are hand-plucked, the wild boar (“Bête rousse”) takes center stage, and “Lièvre à la royale” is meticulously crafted over three days of intensive labor. Even the delicate ravioli contain meat from a young roe deer. Our personal favorites: a chamois loin from Les Diablerets VD, sliced tableside with theatrical flair, and the “Bécasse des bois en salmis.” The woodcock, presented atop a “Feuilleté gourmand,” leans toward the adventurous palate thanks to its robust flavor and inclusion of offal. We always order game at “Crissier,” even outside of hunting season. And each visit brings not only a profoundly flavorful 410-franc menu (boasting the highest food cost in the country!) but also frequent moments of quiet delight. Take menu item No. 63: “Papet vaudois à ma façon.” The most famous sausage in Romandy arrives lightly dusted with truffle, nestled inside a cabbage leaf. Then comes the dramatic reveal: elegant shavings of Périgord black truffle! The second showstopper in the “rustic yet sublime” category is the Jura pork knuckle. Franck Giovannini joins Frédy Girardet, Philippe Rochat, and Benoît Violier as the fourth legendary chef to elevate this humble classic to gourmet heights. Over three days of meticulous labor, using tweezers with surgical precision, the “Pied de porc” is painstakingly trimmed of excess fat. Onions and sweetbreads are added, paired flawlessly with one of the restaurant’s finest sauces—a rich Porto and Madeira reduction. Franck Giovannini has a particular fondness for seafood. He frequently travels to Normandy and Brittany to cultivate relationships with the region’s top fishermen and purveyors. Their reliable deliveries allow him to execute stunning creations: pen shells in a Dézaley wine sauce accompanied by three spoonfuls of caviar; scallops paired with an alluring, gently spiced Balti curry; and a “Turban de langoustines” dressed with fresh herbs. The standout moment arrives mid-menu: a “barbue” (the smaller cousin of turbot) is elegantly filleted tableside, then drizzled with a bold, innovative sauce—“Café de Paris”—adapted for seafood thanks to a fish-based fumet. At the adjacent table, a truffled Bresse poularde (from Miéral) is carved, while naturally, the prized sot-l’y-laisse is carefully pulled from the carcass. You can also count on the young, vibrant sommelier Charline Pichon. She expertly uncorks a Chenin Blanc from Geneva producer Nicolas Bonnet (Domaine de la Comtesse Eldegarde) alongside a Bordeaux classic: Château Pape Clément 2024, served in magnum format. Charline has overseen the establishment’s vast cellar for seven years. “She is incredible,” her boss remarks. We couldn’t agree more, which is why we’re proud to name her GaultMillau’s “Sommelière of the Year.” The “Hôtel de Ville” is a historic institution, having operated for 70 (!) years. Franck Giovannini has been part of the team for three decades, yet he remains acutely attuned to shifting social dynamics. Take the younger chefs, for instance: they enjoy a four-day workweek and extended weekend breaks, despite the restaurant being open five days a week. Only the proprietor and his two sous-chefs, Damien Facile and Filipe Fonseca Pinheiro, remain consistently on the line. A shortage of skilled culinary talent? “Not here,” Giovannini says with a grin, “applications are piling up.
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