Restaurant in Geneva, Switzerland
Michelin star, accessible price, book 3 weeks out.
Arakel holds a Michelin star and a White Star wine recognition at a €€€ price point — competitive for Geneva's starred tier. The open kitchen, engaged service, and modern cooking with unconventional flavour combinations make it a strong booking for dinner Tuesday through Friday. No weekend service; reserve 3-4 weeks out minimum.
Arakel holds a Michelin star, a White Star from Star Wine List, and a 4.8 Google rating from 122 reviews — and at €€€ pricing, it sits at a more accessible point than most starred restaurants in Geneva. If you want a Michelin-calibre meal in a room that feels genuinely alive rather than reverently hushed, this is the right booking. The caveat: dinner-only hours (from 6 PM, Thursday and Friday until 1 AM), no Saturday or Sunday service, and hard booking difficulty mean you need to plan ahead. Walk-ins are not a realistic strategy here.
The first thing you notice at Arakel is the open kitchen. It pulls focus immediately — not as a design flourish, but as a structural choice that sets the tone for the whole experience. This is a small restaurant, and that intimacy is deliberate. The pavement terrace gives access to the neighbourhood's street energy when the weather cooperates; inside, the room reads as compact and precise rather than cramped.
The Michelin Guide's own framing of the cooking , risotto of mussels with celery, saffron mousse, and passion fruit gel; carpaccio of giant red shrimps marinated in yuzu, lemon zest, and fresh herbs, paired with stuffed carrot rolls and a carrot sauce , signals a kitchen that treats classical foundations as a starting point rather than a destination. These are not safe dishes. The flavour combinations are specific and considered, and the technique level required to pull them off coherently is exactly what you'd expect from a one-star operation. The White Star recognition from Star Wine List (published June 2024) adds a wine programme dimension that's worth factoring into your booking decision, particularly if you're coming as a pair or small group with serious wine interest.
Service is where Arakel makes its strongest argument for the price. The front-of-house team has been described by Michelin as young, enthusiastic, and deliberately irreverent , which, at this price tier in Geneva, is a meaningful differentiator. Most starred restaurants in this city operate with a formality that reads as controlled distance. Arakel's approach is the opposite: the energy in the room is engaged and unscripted without being sloppy. For a returning guest, this is the element most likely to shift your experience from good to one you'll actually want to repeat. The cooking earns the star; the service earns the return visit.
Timing of your visit matters more than at a standard restaurant. Arakel opens at 6 PM Monday through Friday, with Thursday and Friday extending to 1 AM. Saturday and Sunday service does not exist. If you're planning around a weekend in Geneva, you'll need to anchor Arakel to a Thursday or Friday, and book early , demand for those later slots is real. For a special occasion dinner that doesn't require a Sunday booking, Thursday evening hits the right note: late enough to feel like a real night out, with the kitchen fully in stride by 8 PM.
As a returning guest, the practical question is sequencing. The cooking philosophy here , modern technique applied to recognisable ingredients with unconventional flavour pairings , rewards repeat visits because the menu evolves. The seasonal framing matters: winter service leans into richer preparations, while the terrace shifts the experience considerably in warmer months. If your first visit was a fixed menu, asking about à la carte options on the second gives you more control over pacing and spend. The wine programme, flagged by the White Star, is worth exploring with more intention on a return , ask for guidance rather than defaulting to the standard pairing.
For context within Switzerland's broader fine dining tier: Geneva's Michelin one-star cohort is competitive, and Arakel sits at the more energetic, less institutional end of it. If you're building a Swiss fine dining itinerary, comparisons further afield include Hotel de Ville Crissier in Crissier, Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau, Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in Basel, and Memories in Bad Ragaz , all operating at higher price tiers with more traditional formats. Within Geneva itself, see the full Geneva restaurants guide for a broader view of the category.
One practical note on bookings: the phone number is not publicly listed in our database. Use the restaurant's direct reservation channels or a third-party booking platform. Given the hard booking difficulty rating, treat a reservation at Arakel as something to secure 3-4 weeks out minimum, particularly for weekend-adjacent Thursday and Friday slots.
Rue Henri-Blanvalet 17, 1207 Geneva, Switzerland
€€€ , mid-to-upper tier for Geneva; competitive for a Michelin-starred room.
Hard. Reserve 3-4 weeks in advance. Thursday and Friday evening slots fill fastest.
| Venue | Price | Cuisine | Booking Difficulty | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arakel | €€€ | Modern Cuisine | Hard | Michelin 1 Star; no weekend service |
| Il Lago | €€€€ | Italian | Hard | Lake views; more formal format |
| L'Atelier Robuchon | €€€€ | French Contemporary | Hard | Counter dining; higher price ceiling |
| L'Aparté | €€€ | Modern French | Medium | Comparable price tier; easier to book |
| Café des Banques | €€ | Swiss / Brasserie | Low | Lower price; different format entirely |
Arakel is dinner-only, opening at 6 PM every day it operates , so there is no lunch service to compare. For a dinner booking, Thursday and Friday are the most flexible options given the 1 AM close; Monday through Wednesday cut off at midnight. If your schedule allows, Friday evening gives the most room to settle in without rushing.
Yes, with the right framing. A Michelin star and a wine programme recognised by Star Wine List make the credentials clear, and the €€€ price point means you're not paying the premium that L'Atelier Robuchon or Il Lago require. The service style , warm and engaged rather than ceremonial , works well for celebrations that want energy in the room. If you need Sunday availability, Arakel doesn't work; plan for a Thursday or Friday.
For a similar price tier with modern cooking, L'Aparté is the closest comparison and typically easier to book. If you want to spend more for a grander room, Il Lago (Italian, €€€€) offers lake views and more formal service. L'Atelier Robuchon (€€€€) suits guests who want a counter-dining format with French Contemporary cooking. For a lower-spend evening, Café des Banques and Le Bologne are worth considering, though the category is different.
The restaurant is described as a small, intimate space, which suggests group capacity is limited. Large parties , six or more , should contact the restaurant directly before assuming availability. Without confirmed seat count data, we can't specify a hard cap, but the scale of the room and the open-kitchen format suggest this is a venue optimised for tables of two to four rather than large group bookings. Contact via reservation platform rather than phone, as no direct number is publicly listed in our records.
No specific dietary accommodation policy is confirmed in our data. The cooking style , precise, ingredient-specific dishes with multi-component preparations , suggests that major substitutions may limit what the kitchen can do. Contact the restaurant in advance of your booking rather than raising restrictions on the night. Given the small format and the technical nature of the menu, advance notice gives the kitchen the leading chance of accommodating your needs properly.
The Michelin star and the White Star wine recognition together signal a kitchen and cellar operating at a level that justifies the €€€ spend. By Geneva standards, €€€ for a starred tasting menu is on the accessible side , L'Atelier Robuchon and Il Lago both sit at €€€€. Whether a tasting menu specifically is available, or whether the format is à la carte, is not confirmed in our database , confirm the format and price when booking. If the kitchen is running a multi-course format, the wine pairing is worth the ask given the Star Wine List recognition.
No dress code is specified, but Michelin-starred restaurants in Geneva at the €€€ tier generally operate with an expectation of smart casual at minimum. The room's energy , described as lively rather than formal , suggests you don't need black tie, but arriving underdressed relative to the price point will read as out of place. Smart casual to business casual is the safe call. If in doubt, err toward slightly more polished.
Arakel operates as both a restaurant and wine bar, which suggests bar seating may be available. However, specific bar seating policy is not confirmed in our data. If counter or bar dining is important to you , for a solo visit or a shorter, lower-commitment meal , confirm availability when booking. The wine bar dimension makes this a reasonable question to ask; it's plausible that bar seating offers a less formal entry point to the same kitchen.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arakel | Modern Cuisine | Arakel is a restaurant venue.without_translation_and wine bar in Geneva, Switzerland. It was published on Star Wine List on June 26, 2024 and is a White Star.; Tucked away in one of Geneva’s liveliest districts, the sleek open kitchen of this dainty restaurant captures your attention right from the start, drawing you into the heart of the action. A blend of modernity and tradition, the score adds an innovative spin to a lineup of classics, illustrated by risotto of mussels, celery, saffron mousse, passion fruit gel or a carpaccio of giant red shrimps, subtly marinated in yuzu, lemon zest and fresh herbs and paired with stuffed carrot rolls and a slightly sweet carrot sauce. The small pavement terrace offers a chance to get a real feel for this delightful quarter. The young, enthusiastic and appropriately irreverent front-of-house team adds to the venue’s lively vibe.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| Il Lago | Italian | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Tsé Fung | Chinese | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Fiskebar | Nordic - Seafood, Modern Cuisine | Unknown | — | |
| Le Jardinier | French, French Contemporary | Unknown | — | |
| L'Atelier Robuchon | French Contemporary | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
How Arakel stacks up against the competition.
Dinner is your only option. Arakel opens at 6 PM daily and does not serve lunch, so there is no choice to make on timing — just decide which evening works. Thursday and Friday slots fill fastest, so mid-week is your best shot if booking late.
Yes, squarely so. A 2024 Michelin star and a White Star from Star Wine List give it the credibility a special occasion demands, and the €€€ price point makes it less financially painful than comparable starred rooms in Geneva. The open kitchen and lively front-of-house team add energy rather than stiff formality — a good fit if you want celebration over ceremony.
For a more formal high-end experience, Tsé Fung at La Réserve and Il Lago at Four Seasons both operate at a higher price tier with lake or park settings. Le Jardinier suits guests who want contemporary vegetable-forward cooking at a similar level. If the wine list is a priority, Arakel's White Star recognition puts it ahead of most mid-tier alternatives in Geneva.
The venue is described as a dainty restaurant, which signals limited covers. Groups larger than four should check the venue's official channels before booking to confirm availability — the small room means large parties may not be accommodated on standard reservations, particularly on peak Thursday and Friday evenings.
No dietary policy is documented in available venue data. Given the Michelin-starred kitchen and modern cuisine format, most starred restaurants in this category adapt menus on request, but confirm directly with Arakel before your visit, especially for complex requirements.
At €€€ pricing for a 2024 Michelin-starred kitchen, Arakel sits at a more accessible tier than many comparable rooms in Geneva — which strengthens the case for committing to a full menu rather than eating à la carte elsewhere at the same spend. The format and specific menu options are not fully documented here, so confirm the current offering when booking.
No dress code is specified in the venue data, and the described atmosphere — young front-of-house team, lively vibe, open kitchen — suggests the room is relaxed rather than formally stuffy. Smart casual is a reasonable baseline for a Michelin-starred setting in Geneva, but this is not a room likely to turn you away for lacking a tie.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
