Restaurant in Madulain, Switzerland
Michelin Star value rarely found in the Alps.
Chesa Stüva Colani holds a Michelin Star and a Bib Gourmand in a chalet setting in Madulain, making it the strongest fine-dining case in the Engadin valley at €€€. The kitchen is committed to seasonal, plant-forward modern Italian cooking with strong regional grounding. Book well ahead — tables are limited and demand is high across ski season and summer.
If you are planning a mountain dinner that justifies the drive into the Engadin valley, Chesa Stüva Colani in Madulain is the answer for a specific kind of traveller: someone who has already done the obvious Alpine dining circuit and wants a Michelin-starred experience that feels genuinely rooted in its landscape rather than imported into it. This is the right table for a couple marking an occasion, a duo of serious food travellers who care about seasonal provenance, or a return visitor to the Graubünden region who wants more depth than their last visit offered. In winter, when the Engadin is at its most dramatic and the local larder is shaped by snow and cold-cellar produce, the kitchen's commitment to seasonality becomes the main argument for booking.
Chesa Stüva Colani holds a Michelin Star alongside a Bib Gourmand recognition, both confirmed for 2024, which positions it in a small category of Alpine restaurants that deliver fine-dining precision without the sterile formality of a city dining room. The Michelin inspectors describe modern Italian cuisine with a strong connection to region and season, showcasing excellent ingredients and the head chef's personal touch. The interior is documented as warm chalet-style local wood furnishings alongside minimalist design , a combination that works in the Engadin's favour, where the setting is part of the proposition.
The We're Smart Movement, a European culinary network focused on plant-forward and vegetable-led cooking, has formally recognised the kitchen here, citing the chef's philosophy of presenting ingredients only at their peak: fresh herbs, flowers, grains, vegetables, and fruits arranged with visual precision. That credential matters for anyone evaluating where this restaurant sits in the broader Swiss fine-dining conversation. It is not a steakhouse dressed up with a Michelin badge. The cooking has a defined point of view , ingredient-led, seasonally anchored, regionally grounded , and if that is your format, this is a strong booking.
Overnight stays are available in chalet-style guestrooms, and there is a bistro on site for a lower-commitment meal. If you are considering the full experience, the restaurant is the reason to come , the bistro is a practical add-on, not the destination.
Madulain is a small Engadin village that most visitors pass through on the way to St. Moritz, which sits roughly 10 kilometres along the valley. That geography is the reason Chesa Stüva Colani occupies a specific position in the regional dining picture: it offers Michelin-level cooking without the premium pricing and social theatre that surrounds the St. Moritz restaurant scene. For context, Da Vittorio in St. Moritz operates at €€€€ and targets a different audience entirely. Chesa Stüva Colani's €€€ pricing is a meaningful distinction for anyone spending a week in the region and watching their overall budget.
The village setting also reinforces the kitchen's identity. A restaurant this committed to local seasonality and regional connection makes more sense in Madulain than it would in a resort hotel lobby. The location is part of the editorial logic. If you are already exploring the broader region, see our full Madulain restaurants guide and our full Madulain hotels guide for planning context.
| Detail | Chesa Stüva Colani | Da Vittorio – St. Moritz | Schloss Schauenstein |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price range | €€€ | €€€€ | €€€€ |
| Michelin recognition | 1 Star + Bib Gourmand (2024) | Starred | 3 Stars |
| Setting | Engadin village chalet | Resort hotel | Historic castle |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Hard | Very Hard |
| Cuisine type | Innovative / Modern Italian | Italian fine dining | Modern European Creative |
| Overnight rooms | Yes (chalet guestrooms) | Yes (hotel) | Yes |
Booking at Chesa Stüva Colani is rated hard. Plan well ahead , this is not a walk-in option, particularly during the ski season and peak summer Alpine months. The restaurant's dual Michelin recognition and its relatively small village footprint mean tables are limited. Contact via the address at Via Principela 25, 7523 Madulain; no phone or direct booking URL is currently listed in our database, so approach through the property directly or via your hotel concierge if you are staying nearby.
Within Switzerland's broader fine-dining tier, Chesa Stüva Colani occupies the most accessible price point of any Michelin-starred restaurant in the Engadin region, which is a real advantage. For Swiss dining at the highest level, Schloss Schauenstein in Fürstenau holds three Michelin Stars and operates at €€€€ , a different commitment entirely, and the right choice only if you are building a trip specifically around that meal. Memories in Bad Ragaz is another €€€€ Graubünden-adjacent option worth knowing, though the drive and the price point are both higher. For the Engadin specifically, Chesa Stüva Colani is the clearest recommendation for a single starred dinner that does not require resort-level spending.
Further afield in Switzerland, Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl in Basel and Hotel de Ville Crissier represent the national ceiling for fine dining, but neither is relevant if you are already in the mountains. Einstein Gourmet in Sankt Gallen and Maison Wenger in Le Noirmont are useful reference points for how Switzerland handles regional fine dining outside the major cities, but require separate trips. If you are routing through Zurich before or after the Engadin, The Restaurant in Zurich is the most direct urban comparison for this style of modern European cooking.
For readers who travel for innovative, ingredient-led cooking internationally, Soigné in Seoul and Thevar in Singapore represent the same broad category of chef-driven, seasonally committed cooking , useful benchmarks if you are building a longer travel list. And if Madulain draws you in, our full Madulain bars guide, Madulain wineries guide, and Madulain experiences guide are worth reviewing for the full picture of the village.
Chesa Stüva Colani earns its Michelin Star at a price point that makes it the most compelling fine-dining argument in the Engadin. The combination of €€€ pricing, verified starred cooking, a plant-forward seasonal philosophy, and a chalet setting that suits the mountain location makes this an easy recommendation for anyone already in the valley. If you have been once and are considering a return, the kitchen's seasonal commitment means the menu shifts meaningfully with the time of year , winter and summer visits are genuinely different meals. Book ahead, expect to plan at least several weeks out during peak season, and treat the bistro as a fallback rather than the goal.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chesa Stüva Colani | €€€ | Hard | — |
| Schloss Schauenstein | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Memories | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| roots | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| IGNIV Zürich by Andreas Caminada | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| focus ATELIER | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Chesa Stüva Colani measures up.
The chalet-style setting and intimate dining room are better suited to small parties than large groups. Tables for two or four are the natural fit here. If you are planning for six or more, check the venue's official channels before booking, as a room of this scale and Michelin Star format rarely has the floor plan for large parties without prior arrangement.
Yes, and it is one of the stronger arguments in the Engadin for a celebratory dinner. A Michelin Star, warm chalet interiors, and a price range of €€€ mean you get a credible fine-dining occasion without the full cost of a St. Moritz address. For anniversaries or milestone dinners where setting and food quality both matter, this is a well-calibrated choice.
Specific menu items are not documented in available data, so ordering advice here would be speculative. What the Michelin record and We're Smart Movement recognition confirm is that the kitchen centres on seasonal vegetables, fresh herbs, flowers, grains, and fruits, presented with precision. Follow the chef's current seasonal direction rather than arriving with a fixed dish in mind.
There are no other Michelin-recognised restaurants in Madulain itself. The nearest comparable options require travelling further along the valley toward St. Moritz or out of the Engadin entirely. If you want a guaranteed Michelin Star experience in the region without driving to a major city, Chesa Stüva Colani has no direct local rival.
Madulain is a small Engadin village that most visitors pass through en route to St. Moritz, so plan your journey deliberately — this is not a walk-in spot you stumble across. The restaurant holds a Michelin Star and a Bib Gourmand (both 2024), and overnight chalet rooms are available if you want to avoid the return drive. The cuisine is seasonal and vegetable-forward, shaped by chef Paolo Casanova's connection to the surrounding landscape.
At €€€ pricing with a Michelin Star behind the kitchen, the tasting menu format here represents genuine value by Swiss fine-dining standards. The We're Smart Movement recognition signals a kitchen that treats vegetable-centred, seasonal cooking as its core rather than a marketing angle. If that approach aligns with what you want from a tasting menu, the price-to-credential ratio is hard to argue with in this part of Switzerland.
At €€€, yes. A Michelin Star at this price point is uncommon in Alpine Switzerland, where equivalent recognition typically commands significantly higher spend. The dual Michelin recognition (Star plus Bib Gourmand, 2024) alongside We're Smart Movement status confirms the kitchen earns its standing on merit. For the Engadin specifically, there is no comparable fine-dining option at this price.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
