"Stéphane Décotterd's Villa Maria on the hillside above Montreux — one Michelin star, 18 Gault Millau points, and the most emotionally pitched dining room on the Vaud Riviera."
Maison Décotterd opened in 2022 inside Villa Maria, a restored belle-époque villa on the hillside of Glion, directly above Montreux. Chef-patron Stéphane Décotterd moved his operation here after twenty-three years at Le Pont de Brent, where he earned his first Michelin star in 2003. The new room earned one Michelin star and 18 Gault Millau points within its first year.
Décotterd's cooking is unapologetically modern French, weighted toward Swiss produce — Lavaux chasselas, the lake's omble chevalier, Pays d'Enhaut cheeses, Vaud lamb from the pre-Alpine pastures. Recent signatures include a salmon-trout tartare with Swiss caviar; an omble chevalier cooked in hay; a duck from the Étivaz valley aged for two weeks. The tasting menu runs eight to ten courses.
The wine list focuses heavily on Vaudois producers, with deep verticals of the Lavaux terrace vigneron. The pairing is the correct introduction to Swiss wine for international diners and includes bottles that are not exported.
The villa setting is the emotional lift — restored period mouldings, tall windows overlooking the lake, and a summer terrace that opens from May to October. The room seats thirty-eight. Jackets are encouraged.
For a proposal on the Vaud Riviera, Maison Décotterd's summer terrace at sunset is the single most cinematic table between Lausanne and Montreux. Book the terrace's end-corner deuce. The Dents du Midi silhouette, the lake immediately below, and Décotterd's eight-course pacing produce an evening that no other restaurant in the region can equal.
Terrace at sunset in July. The omble-in-hay course was the moment. Ring came out during the cheese. She said yes.
Hosted a Zurich private-bank partner for the annual review. The Vaudois wine pairing and the villa setting closed the mandate. Renewal signed.