Restaurant in Sölden, Austria
Serious food, serious altitude, book it.
ice Q sits at the top of the Gaislachkogl cable car above Sölden, holding back-to-back Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) and a 4.6 Google score across 2,000-plus reviews. At the €€€ price point, it is the resort's most recognised restaurant and the strongest case for building a ski-day around a proper lunch. Book a few days ahead during peak season; access depends on the mountain being open.
ice Q earns a clear recommendation for skiers and winter visitors who want a serious meal at altitude — but you need to plan around the mountain. Sitting at the leading of the Gaislachkogl cable car above Sölden, this is the Ötztal's highest-elevation restaurant with genuine culinary credentials: back-to-back Michelin Plates in 2024 and 2025, and a Google rating of 4.6 across more than 2,000 reviews. At the €€€ price point, it delivers modern cuisine in a setting no valley-floor restaurant in Austria can replicate. Book it for a special lunch mid-ski-week rather than a spontaneous stop — access depends on the mountain being open, and peak season fills tables fast.
Sölden is a resort built around vertical , the glacier runs high, the lifts run long, and the town has grown into one of Austria's most serious ski destinations. ice Q sits at the leading of that vertical, physically and gastronomically. For a resort of Sölden's scale, having a Michelin-recognised restaurant reachable only by cable car is not incidental: it defines the upper register of the local dining scene. While the valley has a cluster of strong options, ice Q occupies a position that none of the others can claim by geography alone. It is the restaurant Sölden is known for internationally, and for visitors staying a week or more, it is the meal worth building a day around.
The Michelin Plate , awarded consecutively in 2024 and 2025 , signals cooking that Michelin inspectors consider worth noting: good quality ingredients and competent preparation, without reaching the one-star threshold. In practical terms, that places ice Q above the resort's casual mountain huts and well-regarded regional tables, while stopping short of the full fine-dining commitment you would make at, say, Steirereck im Stadtpark in Vienna or Döllerer in Golling an der Salzach. For a ski-resort context, that is an impressive credential. Comparable mountain-destination restaurants in the Alps , think Griggeler Stuba in Lech , tend to carry similar recognition, and ice Q holds its own in that company.
The cuisine is described as modern, which in an Austrian alpine setting typically means a kitchen working with regional produce and technique rather than imitating urban fine dining. Beyond that, the verified data does not support specific dish or menu descriptions here. What the Michelin recognition and 4.6-star score across 2,064 reviews does confirm is consistent delivery: this is not a kitchen coasting on its view. For context on what modern Austrian cuisine looks like at its sharpest, Senns in Salzburg and Schwarzer Adler in Hall in Tirol give a useful calibration point for the wider regional category.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, which is good news for visitors who decide mid-trip that ice Q belongs on the itinerary. That said, the mountain controls your access window in ways a town-centre restaurant cannot: the Gaislachkogl cable car must be running, weather must cooperate, and winter season timing matters. Plan your ice Q lunch for a stable weather day and book at least a few days ahead during peak ski weeks , January through March in Sölden sees consistent resort traffic, and the restaurant's reputation draws diners who are not just passing through. Shoulder-season visits (November or April, depending on the glacier schedule) may offer more flexibility on timing.
No phone number or direct booking URL is listed in the current data. Check the resort's official channels or a concierge at your hotel , see our full Sölden hotels guide for accommodation options that will have direct lines to the mountain restaurants. For a broader view of where to eat across the resort, our full Sölden restaurants guide covers the complete picture.
ice Q works well as a celebration meal precisely because the setting does half the work , arriving by cable car to a glass-fronted restaurant above the clouds is an experience that marks a day differently from a valley lunch. For a ski-holiday anniversary, a birthday, or a reward-yourself dinner mid-trip, the combination of Michelin-recognised cooking and the altitude drama is hard to match within the Ötztal. The €€€ price range positions it as a splurge rather than an everyday stop, which is appropriate: treat it as the meal of the trip, not a casual lunch option.
If you are travelling with a group and want options at different price points, the broader Sölden dining scene , including Ötztaler Stube and Black Sheep , can carry other nights. For serious wine-focused dining, AD VINUM is worth considering as a complement rather than a substitute. Explore our full Sölden bars guide and our full Sölden experiences guide to round out the visit.
For reference points further afield in the modern cuisine category, Frantzén in Stockholm and Maison Lameloise in Chagny show what the format looks like at star level , useful calibration if you are weighing ice Q against a dedicated fine-dining trip. Within Austria, Landhaus Bacher in Mautern an der Donau, Obauer in Werfen, and Restaurant 141 by Joachim Jaud in Mieming sit in the same serious-but-accessible tier and give a sense of what the Michelin Plate means in local context. ice Q holds that standard while operating at 3,048 metres, which is the point.
Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025. Google: 4.6 / 5 (2,064 reviews). Price: €€€. Access: Gaislachkogl cable car, Sölden. Booking difficulty: easy. Leading for: special occasion lunch, ski-week highlight. Also see: our full Sölden wineries guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ice Q | Modern Cuisine | Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| Ötztaler Stube | Modern Cuisine | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| AD VINUM | Regional Cuisine | Unknown | — | |
| Black Sheep | Regional Cuisine | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how ice Q measures up.
Access is by cable car to the Gaislachkogl summit station — you are not driving here, so factor in lift operating hours when planning your visit. ice Q holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, which signals kitchen competence well above standard mountain-hut cooking. Arrive with enough time to settle before service; the ride up and the views are part of the experience, but the food is the reason to book. Price sits at €€€, so this is a deliberate meal, not a casual lunch stop.
At €€€, ice Q is priced in line with serious alpine restaurants that hold Michelin recognition, and the two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024, 2025) confirm the kitchen is performing at that level. The setting at Gaislachkogl's summit station adds genuine drama that most restaurants at this price point cannot replicate. If you are skiing Sölden for a week, one dinner here is a sound use of the budget. For a quick lunch between runs, you may prefer to save the spend for an evening visit when the experience gets full value.
You are arriving via cable car at a mountain summit in Sölden, so the practical constraint is layering — ski or resort wear is appropriate and expected at altitude. The Michelin Plate recognition suggests the dining room takes food seriously, so smart resort wear (neat après-ski, not full technical gear at the table) fits the context. There is no indication of a formal dress code in the venue record.
No tasting menu details are documented for ice Q, so a specific verdict is not possible here. What the venue data does confirm is that the kitchen holds a Michelin Plate for two consecutive years under a modern cuisine format at €€€ pricing, which suggests structured, multi-course options are likely available. Check directly with the restaurant when booking for current menu formats and pricing.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, so last-minute reservations during the ski season are more achievable here than at comparable Michelin-recognised alpine restaurants. That said, Sölden peaks in winter and the summit location means capacity is fixed by the building, not the floor space — do not leave it to the day of if you are visiting over a holiday weekend or peak ski period. A few days' notice is generally workable, but booking your first available evening on arrival in resort is the safe play.
Ötztaler Stube is the comparison to consider if you want a traditional Austrian setting at valley level rather than summit altitude. AD VINUM is worth looking at if wine drives the decision — the name signals a wine-forward programme that ice Q does not explicitly position around. Black Sheep suits those who want a more casual format without the cable car logistics or €€€ commitment. ice Q is the pick if Michelin-recognised modern cuisine at altitude is the specific brief.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
