I was advised by a friend’s wife to try a small unassuming restaurant nearby to Geneva which turned out to be a great recommendation. Undoubtedly the most memorable comfort foods come from these kinds of restaurants tucked away in the UNESCO listed wine villages that hang between vineyard and lake Geneva.

Walking beside the vine-covered mountain on the shores of Lac Leman, we enter into a small village named Cully, a short drive of 15 minutes from Lausanne. It’s this Auberge where hospitality begins and transpires into a cozy and intimate setting. The village if you call it that, has less than a few thousand inhabitants with the village square dating back to the new Stone Age.

Its summer along the lakeside of Geneva, so we found ourselves stopping for dinner at Auberge du Raisin a small quaint Auberge to try their BBQ – I wasn’t sure it could be so good until I tried their pork ribs.

The bustle of the Auberge begins at the door with the owners table, outside and almost on the street at the Auberge’s entrance. But when you walk into the Auberge, you travel back in time, the classical local style dates back to the 15th Century and has plenty of old school charm. The owner J.J is professional and very warm-hearted and generous, and his son Brice is kind, gentle and food passionate.

The summer atmosphere is divide between two terraces, an upstairs and downstairs terrace where you find a congenial kind of restaurant service. This old-school establishment is designed around a clear set of principles with a menu reflecting its values.

The supplier of the most succulent ribs, roasted to perfect on their open grill in the dinning room on the main floor is a small shop in Cully named Boucherie Nardi.

For those who enjoy the good restaurants there has always been talk about the Geneva based butcher, Boucherie du Molard, a grande setting and plenty of show: https://boucheriedumolard.ch

But Boucherie Nardi owned by Ludovic Perroud, is a store of ordinary size and that of a village butcher. One of the great specialties of the butcher are the beef and short ribs.

Boucherie Nardi
Rue du Temple 4
CH-1096 Cully
T. 021 799 21 11
Closed Thursdays and Saturdays afternoons – all day Sunday

The smiling face of the sommelier who has a pulse on all those marvellous local white and red wines. We had a chance to try several local wines made in different sales. I still think many people underestimate Chaesselas grape, as it remains amongst our favourite white varieties. In France it is mostly grown in the Loire region where it is converted into a blend with Sauvignon blanc called “Pouilly-sur-Loire”.

Don’t miss this Auberge du Raisin and be sure to reserve, as the dining room is always busy with fondue smells, aged meats prepared by the open grill and charred to perfection over open flames.

https://www.aubergeduraisin.ch