Restaurant in Crans-Montana, Switzerland
One Michelin star. Book it for ski season.
L'OURS is Crans-Montana's only Michelin-starred restaurant (2024), where chef Franck Reynaud runs a seasonal discovery menu of five to eight courses with a strong Valais wine focus. At €€€€, it is a clear commitment — but there is no local rival at this level. Book well ahead, especially during ski season.
Yes — if you are planning a ski trip to Crans-Montana and want one serious meal, L'OURS is the clearest answer in the resort. Franck Reynaud holds a Michelin star (2024) and runs a tightly structured discovery menu of five to eight courses that rewards diners who take seasonal cooking seriously. At €€€€ pricing, this is a commitment, but it is the only Michelin-starred table in the area, which means there is no direct local rival competing for the same position. Book early: demand at a sole starred restaurant in a resort town with a short season runs hard.
The question most returning visitors to Crans-Montana eventually ask is whether L'OURS holds up on a second visit — whether the seasonal menu has moved on enough to justify coming back. The answer, based on how Reynaud structures his cooking, is yes. The discovery menu is built around what is available in the moment, with classical French technique applied to ingredients sourced in line with the agricultural calendar of the Valais. That means the menu you ate in February is materially different from the one on the table in July, and the wine list, which draws heavily from Valais producers, shifts accordingly.
If you visited once during ski season, the most useful advice for a return is this: come back in summer or early autumn. The resort is quieter, the kitchen is working with a different palette of ingredients, and the dining room , finished in wood and stone with the kind of fixtures that suggest the property has been properly invested in , reads differently when natural light stays longer. The Hostellerie du Pas de l'Ours, the hotel attached to the restaurant, makes an overnight stay practical: Michelin themselves note it as worth considering alongside the meal, which is not a standard inclusion in their restaurant descriptions.
The format is a discovery menu, not à la carte, so you are committing to Reynaud's sequence for the evening. Five courses is the entry point; eight is the full version. For a first timer, five courses is a reasonable test of whether the kitchen's register suits you. For anyone returning, the eight-course menu is where the seasonal logic of the cooking becomes fully legible , the progression between dishes is where Reynaud's seasonal sourcing philosophy is most visible, not in any single course.
Service is described by Michelin as polished, which in practice means formal-leaning without being stiff. For a resort restaurant, that is a meaningful distinction: plenty of high-altitude dining rooms are either too casual or performatively stiff. L'OURS sits closer to the formal end, which is worth knowing if you are coming straight from the slopes. Dress accordingly , smart casual at minimum, and erring toward smart is the safer call.
The Valais wine list is one of the practical arguments for eating here rather than taking the money to a larger Swiss city. Valais produces some of Switzerland's most interesting bottles , Petite Arvine, Cornalin, Heida , and they are systematically underrepresented on wine lists outside the region. Eating at L'OURS while staying in Crans-Montana gives you access to a list curated around local producers that you are unlikely to find assembled this way anywhere else. For context on what serious Swiss wine programs look like at other levels, Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in Basel and Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau run comparable programs, though neither focuses on Valais in the same concentrated way.
Lunch is open daily, running 12:00 PM to 1:45 PM , a tight window. Dinner service runs 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The lunch slot is worth noting for budget management: discovery menus at starred restaurants in Switzerland typically offer a shorter, lower-priced version at midday. If €€€€ at dinner is a stretch, checking whether a lunch format exists at a lower price point is the first call to make when you book. Either way, reservations at the sole Michelin-starred restaurant in a ski resort should be treated as essential well in advance of your arrival date.
For a broader picture of where L'OURS sits in the Swiss fine dining scene, consider how it positions against restaurants at similar or higher levels: Hotel de Ville Crissier in Crissier, Memories in Bad Ragaz, and 7132 Silver in Vals represent what Alpine fine dining looks like at two and three Michelin stars. L'OURS at one star is the more accessible entry point, but the seasonal approach and the regional wine focus give it a distinct character that is not simply a step down from those venues , it is a different argument entirely. For modern cuisine operating at the one-star level internationally, Colonnade in Lucerne offers a useful urban comparison, while Frantzén in Stockholm and FZN by Björn Frantzén in Dubai show how seasonal tasting menus operate at the leading end of the global format.
The Google rating sits at 4.5 across 96 reviews, which for a restaurant of this price and format is a reliable signal of consistent execution rather than viral popularity. Starred restaurants in resort settings often see more volatile review patterns than city restaurants because the guest mix includes a higher proportion of first-time visitors with variable expectations. A 4.5 here carries weight.
For everything else happening in Crans-Montana, see our full Crans-Montana restaurants guide, our full Crans-Montana hotels guide, our full Crans-Montana bars guide, our full Crans-Montana wineries guide, and our full Crans-Montana experiences guide.
For Crans-Montana, yes. L'OURS is the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the resort, and at €€€€ it is priced in line with what a one-star tasting menu costs across Switzerland. The combination of a seasonal discovery menu, a Valais-focused wine list, and formal service in a well-appointed room justifies the spend if fine dining is part of your trip plan. If you want serious cooking at a lower price point, Le Partage at €€€ is the most credible alternative locally. But L'OURS is in a different category, and there is no local equivalent competing at the same level.
Lunch is the practical choice for price-conscious diners , starred restaurants in Switzerland typically offer shorter menus at midday, and the 12:00 PM to 1:45 PM window fits well around a ski day. Dinner at 7:00 PM gives you more time and is the better setting for the full eight-course menu if the budget allows. If this is your one serious meal of the trip, book dinner and take the full menu. If you are returning or testing the kitchen for the first time, lunch is a reasonable format at likely lower cost.
There is no à la carte at L'OURS , the format is a discovery menu of five to eight courses set by chef Franck Reynaud. The menu changes with the seasons, built around Valais ingredients and classical French technique. For a returning visitor, the eight-course menu is where the seasonal logic of the cooking is most fully expressed. The wine pairing built around the Valais list is worth considering: the regional selection here is not replicated on most restaurant wine lists outside the canton.
Three things: first, this is a set discovery menu, not à la carte , you commit to Reynaud's sequence, not your own. Second, the dress code runs formal-leaning, so do not arrive in ski gear. Third, book well ahead. As the only Michelin-starred table in Crans-Montana, it fills quickly during ski season. The attached Hostellerie du Pas de l'Ours makes overnighting here easy, and Michelin flags the hotel as worth the stay , factor that into your planning if you want the full experience without a late-night transfer.
There is no confirmed bar seating option in our data for L'OURS. Given the formal, set-menu format, walk-in or bar dining is unlikely to be a realistic option. Treat this as a reservation-only destination and contact the restaurant directly to confirm any informal seating arrangements before assuming they exist.
If budget is the driver, Le Partage at €€€ is the closest step down in quality and the most comparable in terms of a considered French contemporary approach. Le Bistrot des Ours at €€€ is attached to the same hotel and offers traditional cooking at a lower level of formality , useful if the tasting menu format is not what you want. For something different, FIVE covers Lebanese at €€€, and Edo handles Japanese at €€. Neither competes with L'OURS on cooking ambition, but both are practical options for nights when you want a shorter, less formal meal.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L'OURS | Modern Cuisine | HIGHLIGHTS: • 1 MICHELIN STAR 2024 • CREATIVE COOKING; A modern, stylish vibe, depicted by high-quality fixtures and fittings and a profusion of wood and stone, sets the Alpine scene. The quality of the ingredients is equally superlative and chef Franck Reynaud reverently respects the seasons. His classical recipes with a modern twist are rolled out in a discovery menu of 5 to 8 courses and served by a polished front-of-house team. Enticing list of Valais wines. Treat yourself to a night (or two) in the Hostellerie du Pas de l’Ours, as stylish and cosy as the restaurant.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| LeMontBlanc | Modern French | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Edo | Japanese | Unknown | — | |
| Le Partage | French Contemporary | Unknown | — | |
| FIVE | Lebanese | Unknown | — | |
| Le Bistrot des Ours | Traditional Cuisine | Unknown | — |
How L'OURS stacks up against the competition.
Bar dining is not confirmed in the available venue data for L'OURS. The restaurant operates a structured discovery menu of 5 to 8 courses served by a front-of-house team, which points to a seated dining format rather than casual bar service. Contact the Hostellerie du Pas de l'Ours directly at Rue du Pas-de-l'Ours 41 to confirm seating options before you arrive.
At €€€€ with a 2024 Michelin star, L'OURS is priced where you would expect it to be for a resort fine-dining room of this calibre. Chef Franck Reynaud's seasonal 5 to 8 course discovery menu, paired with an Valais wine list the Michelin Guide specifically calls out, makes the spend feel justified if a serious tasting menu is what you are after. If you want à la carte flexibility or a lower price point, Le Bistrot des Ours — also at the Hostellerie — is the more practical call.
Both lunch and dinner run the same tight service windows: 12:00–1:45 PM and 7:00–9:00 PM every day of the week. Lunch at a Michelin-starred Alpine restaurant has a practical upside on ski trips — you can eat well and still get an afternoon run in. Dinner gives more of a destination-meal feel, especially if you are staying at the Hostellerie du Pas de l'Ours and can walk straight to your room after.
You are committing to a discovery menu of 5 to 8 courses — this is not a drop-in dinner. Service windows are short (lunch ends at 1:45 PM, last dinner seating at 9:00 PM), so arriving on time matters. The Michelin Guide notes a polished front-of-house team and a setting built around wood, stone, and Alpine materials, so dress accordingly — this is resort fine dining, not a mountain hut. Staying at the Hostellerie du Pas de l'Ours removes any post-dinner logistics.
L'OURS runs a set discovery menu of 5 to 8 courses, so ordering à la carte is not the format here. The Michelin Guide highlights Franck Reynaud's respect for seasonal ingredients and classical technique with a modern approach, which means the menu will shift with the season. The Valais wine list is specifically called out as an enticement — lean on the sommelier's pairings rather than picking blind.
Le Bistrot des Ours is the obvious first alternative — it shares the Hostellerie du Pas de l'Ours and offers a less formal, lower-commitment option if you want the same address without the tasting menu format. Le Partage suits those after a more relaxed communal feel. FIVE and Edo both serve the resort's more casual end of the dining spectrum. LeMontBlanc works well for drinks and lighter eating with mountain views, without the €€€€ commitment of a full evening at L'OURS.
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