La Buvette des Bains

As soon as I arrived to Geneva my father told me that before I leave I would have to try the traditional Fondue. (Luckily I didn’t choose France or he would have made me eat Escargots or something). I love the idea of a Fondue – especially if it’s chocolate – but here the traditional fondue is with cheese. If I had to eat so much cheese at once, I at least wanted to make sure it’s the tastiest cheese in town. So I did my research online and asked a few of my Swiss friends, and they all mentioned the same place “La Buvette des Bains”.

The restaurant is located on Les Bains de Paquis and you can reach here either by foot from Mont Blanc Bridge and walking down Quai du Mont-Blanc or you can take the muette from Eaux-vives to Paquis and walk a couple of minutes.

It is not the most beautiful looking venue, but I guess they say “don’t judge a book by its cover”. It’s not the appearance of a place that matters but the quality of the food. At least this is what I’ve learnt by being in Geneva – The most beautiful looking places are sky high priced and do not necessarily serve the best quality food.

La Buvette des Bains has a smaller indoor room and a larger outdoor area for when it’s not too cold. There are numerous wooden tables that you share with other people. In the summer this place is swarming with people as you can sit and enjoy your meal whilst also enjoying the beautiful weather. However in the winter luckily you have the alternative of going inside the warm marquee.

The menu is quite varied as you can come to this place at all hours of the day; they serve breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. In the summer they also have a choice of tapas. Most popular choice is their cheese fondue, followed by a wide variety of salads and a couple of “dish of the day” options which usually include a vegetarian option too. But most people go there simply for the fondue, which costs 23 CHF per person. We shared a fondue between three, so I would recommend sharing at least between two of you because it is a lot of cheese for just one person. The fondue is served on a hot metal plate with a candle underneath it to keep the cheese melted and some soft white bread that you pierce with a fork and stick in the fondue.

We had quite a comic incident when we went. There was an oldish man sat next to us and as soon as he saw our fondue he asked to have some. Which I already found pretty weird, but even worse when he was about to use his dirty fork he had been eating with. My mother straight away told him to go and get a clean fork and then we let him have a bit of our fondue. I found this incredibly weird!

Anyway, the fondue left us full and satisfied, and even though I have never been too much of a cheese fan even I admit that was good! The great thing about the restaurant is that it is located next to one of the most popular beaches in Geneva therefore if it's a nice day you can go and sit on the sand and appreciate the beautiful surroundings.

If you are planning on coming here for a fondue I would try booking a table : Buvette des Bains

And they do not accept credit cards.