Le Relais is the Belle Époque dining room inside Badrutt's Palace at Via Serlas 27, where the windows look over the frozen lake of St Moritz and the mountains beyond. Chef Jeremy Degras cooks classic French here, much of it finished tableside on a gueridon trolley, the carving, the flambé and the tartare done in front of you. The Grand Marnier soufflé and the milk-fed veal filet mignon croquette are the dishes to order, with a 50g Oscietra caviar service to open. This is a formal hotel room: expect CHF 250 to 600 a head once wine is in.
The Kitchen
Jeremy Degras leads Le Relais inside Badrutt's Palace, the St Moritz grand hotel open since 1896, and he cooks in the classic French register the room was built for. The kitchen's signature is theatre as much as flavour: gueridon service, where dishes are carved, flambeed and finished on a trolley at the table, a discipline most rooms abandoned decades ago and few still do well.
The plates to know are the milk-fed veal filet mignon croquette with green peas and lemon, the robust lobster bisque, and the Grand Marnier souffle that closes most meals, with the 50g Oscietra caviar Reserve du Palace as the opening flourish. Around them runs an eclectic, internationally inflected menu built on the finest regional and seasonal Swiss produce. This is among the most expensive tables in St Moritz: dinner runs roughly CHF 250 to 600 a person once the caviar, the tartare service and the wine are counted. Le Relais sits in the Michelin Guide and trades on a setting, the Badrutt's Palace Belle Epoque room over the lake, that almost no restaurant in the Alps can match.
The Room
Le Relais is pure Belle Epoque: colour, gilt, painted detail and a connecting veranda that opens the room to the lake and the mountains. Tables are set wide and formal under warm low light, white linen and silver, and the gueridon trolleys move between them through the evening. The sound is hushed and unhurried, the spacing generous, the mood romantic by design. Dress is formal, in keeping with a grand hotel dining room; this is a jacket evening. Service is old-school and attentive, several staff to a table. The lakeside window seats are the ones to ask for, especially on a clear winter night with the snow lit outside.
Best for Proposal
Reserve Le Relais for a proposal because the room was built for exactly this kind of evening. The Belle Epoque setting over the frozen lake, the hushed formal spacing and the tableside theatre, a souffle finished in front of you, give the night a sense of occasion no casual room can fake. A lakeside window table on a clear winter evening, the snow lit outside, makes the moment for you. Picture the Grand Marnier souffle arriving as the gueridon is wheeled away and the lake glows beyond the glass. Order the caviar to open, time the question to the dessert, and the room does the rest. For more proposal rooms, see our St Moritz dining guide.
Not for a casual or budget dinner, and not for anyone in a hurry. The room is formal and jacketed, the pace is slow by design, and with caviar and wine the bill runs into four figures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Le Relais at Badrutt's Palace worth it?
Yes, for a special occasion where the setting is the point. Le Relais is one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the Alps, a Belle Epoque space over the St Moritz lake, and Jeremy Degras's classic French cooking with tableside gueridon service is a rare experience. It is also among the most expensive tables in town, so the value lies in the occasion: it rewards a proposal or a milestone celebration far more than an everyday dinner.
How do I book Le Relais, and when is it open?
Reserve through Badrutt's Palace, by phone on +41 81 837 1000, or via the hotel concierge, and book well ahead during the winter season. Le Relais runs Tuesday to Sunday from 7:30pm to 10pm and is closed Mondays. Request a lakeside window table when you book, which is the seat worth having on a clear winter night. The dress code is formal, so plan a jacket. See our St Moritz dining guide for more.
What should I order at Le Relais?
Open with the 50g Oscietra caviar Reserve du Palace, then the lobster bisque and the milk-fed veal filet mignon croquette with green peas and lemon. Save the Grand Marnier souffle for the end; it is the dish to order in a room built around tableside theatre. Much of the menu is finished on the gueridon at your table, so lean toward dishes carved or flambeed in front of you. Expect CHF 250 to 600 a head with wine.
What is the dress code at Le Relais?
Le Relais is formal: this is a jacket evening, in keeping with a Belle Epoque dining room inside a grand St Moritz hotel. Men should wear a jacket and most guests dress up fully for dinner; the room and the season both call for it. Avoid ski gear and casual dress entirely. If you are unsure, err toward overdressed, since the setting and the gueridon service make this one of the most formal rooms in St Moritz.