Menyu

Local guide · Canton of Vaud

Restaurant owners in Lausanne: one menu, current from terrace to dining room

Lausanne, Switzerland’s fourth city, has 145,596 residents, and the University of Lausanne alone counts 17,663 students. A seasonal terrace there costs CHF 43 per m², from 1 April to 31 October. Your menu can follow the seasons without reprinting, translated and with its allergens.

Put my menu online from a linkPrices, allergens, VAT: the Swiss rules

Terrace table in a sloping pedestrian street in Lausanne on a summer evening, with a red QR code stand, trout tartare on polenta crisps and a glass of white wine, the lake in the distance
AI-generated illustration

Key facts

Lausanne in figures

residents on 31 December 2025, Switzerland’s fourth city1
145,596
students at the University of Lausanne in the autumn 2025 semester2
17,663
arrivals in the city in 2025, against 14,577 departures1
14,504
per m² for a seasonal terrace, 1 April to 31 October; CHF 73 for the full year3
CHF 43

According to the guides

Six MICHELIN Guide restaurants, from Grand-Chêne to Ouchy

These six Lausanne addresses are in the 2025 MICHELIN Guide Switzerland selection, in force on 21 October 2026: a two-star restaurant, the EHL’s starred restaurant, a Bib Gourmand and three selected addresses, from Japanese to Italian. The 2026 selection comes out on 2 November.

These restaurants are not Menyu customers and were not contacted. The list comes from the MICHELIN Guide; on 21 October 2026 each one’s website showed its hours, menu or bookings.

  1. La Table du Lausanne Palace

    Lausanne Palace, Rue du Grand-Chêne4 · Modern French cuisine · €€€€

    • 2 MICHELIN Stars 202556

    Contemporary cooking with French roots and charcoal cooking, a view over Lake Geneva and a business lunch menu on Wednesdays and Thursdays.4

    Guide MICHELIN listingRestaurant website7

  2. Le Berceau des Sens

    EHL Hospitality Business School, Route de Berne8 · Modern French, classic cuisine · €€€

    • 1 MICHELIN Star 202556

    The kitchen team brings together several Meilleurs Ouvriers de France who teach there and their students, in a bright room facing the mountains.8

    Guide MICHELIN listingRestaurant website9

  3. Myò Sushi Bar

    Esplanade de Montbenon, opposite the Palais de Justice10 · Japanese cuisine · €€

    • Bib Gourmand 20256

    Sushi, teppanyaki, beef tartare with wasabi and soba noodles, served on high stools; in summer the terrace looks over the lake.10

    Guide MICHELIN listingRestaurant website11

  4. La Grappe d’Or

    Cheneau de Bourg12 · Italian cuisine · €€

    • MICHELIN Guide selection 20256

    Northern Italian cooking, from Venice to Ventimiglia, and a more affordable dish each week alongside the menu.12

    Guide MICHELIN listingRestaurant website13

  5. Maza

    Rue Marterey, in the pedestrian zone14 · Fusion, international cuisine · €€

    • MICHELIN Guide selection 20256

    Robin and Julien Burnier serve sharing plates spanning Europe, Asia and the Middle East, such as trout tartare on polenta crisps.14

    Guide MICHELIN listingRestaurant website15

  6. La Croix d’Ouchy

    Avenue d’Ouchy16 · Mediterranean, traditional cuisine · €€

    • MICHELIN Guide selection 20256

    Classic seasonal cooking, a “menu suggestion” also served at lunch, and some dishes to take away.16

    Guide MICHELIN listingRestaurant website17

Growth

A city that keeps renewing itself

On 31 December 2025 Lausanne had 145,596 residents, Switzerland’s fourth city; the canton of Vaud had 863,650. The city gained 723 residents in a year (+0.5%).1

That small net change hides large flows: 14,504 arrivals and 14,577 departures in 2025, with 1,463 births and 978 deaths.1

For your menu

About 14,500 people arrive each year and almost as many leave: your clientele changes, and your menu online introduces you to each newcomer.

Students

More than 17,600 students at Unil

The University of Lausanne had 17,663 students in the autumn 2025 semester, 59% of them women. It passed the 12,000 mark in 2010.2

The city presents Lausanne as a place of learning, hospitality included: at the EHL Hospitality Business School, Le Berceau des Sens is a Michelin-starred teaching restaurant where chefs and students cook together.918

For your menu

For student guests, the lunch deal should show at lunchtime, and the vegetarian option without a search.

Visitors and languages

Olympic city, international headquarters

The city describes itself as an Olympic city and a popular tourist destination that also hosts many international companies, multinational headquarters in particular.18

French is the main language of French-speaking Switzerland, and the Swiss foreign ministry notes that English is gaining ground in international dealings and as a common tongue between language communities.19

For your menu

A menu in French and English already covers a good share of the room; other languages can follow your guests.

Local food

48 MICHELIN restaurants, as far as the other shore of the lake

For Lausanne and its surroundings the MICHELIN Guide lists 48 restaurants, from Crissier to Évian-les-Bains: one with three stars, two with two stars, eleven with one star, ten Bib Gourmands and 24 selected addresses.6

37 of them have a terrace and 14 a view the guide rates as exceptional; 37 offer vegetarian options, 24 gluten-free and 9 vegan.6

For your menu

With so many terraces, the outdoor season matters: the daily menu has to follow the weather and the market without going back to the printer.

Local rules

Terraces: two permits and a fee per m²

In Lausanne, running a terrace needs two permits, one from the canton and one from the city, and only licensed daytime establishments qualify. The process goes through planning permission, the works put out to public consultation, then the operating permit. Nothing is guaranteed: the location and the impact on the surroundings are assessed.3

The permit is annual or seasonal, from 1 April to 31 October. The fee is CHF 43 per m² for the season and CHF 73 per m² for the year. Operators must keep noise down, especially from 10 pm, and playing music or showing images on the terrace is banned.3

The city advises calling its establishments and businesses office (Bureau des établissements et des commerces) before starting: Rue du Port-Franc 18, +41 21 315 20 20, [email protected]. Its page was last updated on 20 August 2026.3

For your menu

The seasonal terrace period ends on 31 October: the menu moves indoors, the QR code stays on the table.

With Menyu

What Menyu brings to a Lausanne menu

Menyu puts your menu online behind a QR code in your colours. In Lausanne it follows the terrace seasons and the dietary needs of a young clientele, with prices shown in francs; there is no online payment in Switzerland, though.

  • The game menu in autumn, the terrace in spring

    The QR code always leads to the same address, and the content changes when you decide: a game menu in October, summer dishes in April, without reprinting. A category can also show at set hours only, such as the lunch deal.

    • Fixed address, content you change without reprintingIncluded
    • Categories shown by time of dayIncluded
    Create my menu QR code

  • Vegetarian, gluten-free: a filter instead of a question

    Guests filter the menu themselves: vegetarian, or free from whichever allergens they choose. Each dish shows its allergens, from the 14 groups of the Swiss list.

    • A vegetarian filter and one for each of the 14 allergensIncluded
    • The 14 allergens, dish by dishIncluded
    Make my allergen chart

  • English for the international headquarters

    Menyu translates the menu content into 25 languages, English, German, Italian and Spanish among them. The translation is automatic, so read it through before publishing. The menu’s buttons stay in French or English.

    • Content translated into 25 languages, to reviewIncluded
    See everything the menu does

Limits

What Menyu does not do

  • No online payment for a restaurant in Vaud: payment accounts can only be opened in France.
  • The optional sign-up phone field expects ten digits in French format: a +41 number is rejected and a 021 one would be saved as +33. Leave it blank.
  • Menyu’s subscription is paid in euros, even if your menu shows its prices in francs.
  • One account covers one venue: a place in Ouchy and another in the centre means two accounts.

Questions

Questions and answers

How do I get a terrace permit in Lausanne?

You need two permits, from the canton and the city, and only licensed daytime establishments qualify. The process goes through planning permission, the works put out to public consultation, then the operating permit.

The city advises calling its establishments and businesses office first, on +41 21 315 20 20 or at [email protected].3

What does a terrace cost in Lausanne?

The fee is CHF 43 per m² for a seasonal terrace, from 1 April to 31 October, and CHF 73 per m² for a year-round terrace.3

Can I play music on my terrace?

No. Playing music or showing images on the terrace is banned, and operators must avoid disturbing the neighbours, especially from 10 pm.3

Which VAT rate applies to takeaway food?

Meals eaten on site are taxed at the standard rate of 8.1%. Food to take away or delivered, excluding alcoholic drinks, is taxed at the reduced rate of 2.6%, provided these sales are clearly kept apart from restaurant service; otherwise the standard rate applies.

Menyu does not connect to your till: keeping sales apart happens in your own system.20

VAT, prices and allergens: the Swiss rules
Can my Menyu menu show prices in francs?

Yes. In the settings, choose Swiss francs, then type your prices in francs: the menu shows them as they are, with nothing converted. The price-indication ordinance requires restaurants to show the actual price in Swiss francs.

Menyu’s own subscription is billed in euros.21

I run two places in Lausanne: is one account enough?

No, one account covers one venue. Each account picks its own plan, billed in euros: Essentiel at €49 a month, Premium at €79, Beyond at €149, with a seven-day trial on Essentiel.

Compare the plans
Will my Vaud phone number work at sign-up?

No. The optional field expects ten digits in French format: a +41 number is rejected, and a 021 one would be saved with the +33 code. Leave it blank.

Are the restaurants on this page Menyu customers?

No. They come from the 2025 MICHELIN Guide selection, which lists 48 restaurants for Lausanne and its surroundings. We did not contact them. The 2026 selection is unveiled on 2 November.622

Method

How this page was made

Written by the Menyu team, a publisher based in Montpellier, from the pages cited, read on 21 October 2026: the Federal Statistical Office, the City of Lausanne, the University of Lausanne, the Swiss foreign ministry, Fedlex, the MICHELIN Guide and the restaurants’ websites. Distinctions are those of the 2025 MICHELIN Switzerland selection, in force that day. The restaurants listed are not Menyu customers. The illustration is AI-generated and shows no real place.

Sources

  1. Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), Bilan de la population résidante permanente, par canton et ville, de 1999 à 2025dam-api.bfs.admin.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  2. Université de Lausanne (Unil), Enseignement en chiffres, rapport annuel 2025wp.unil.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  3. Ville de Lausanne, Aménager une terrasselausanne.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  4. Guide MICHELIN, La Table du Lausanne Palace, Lausanneguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  5. Guide MICHELIN, La liste complète des étoiles du Guide MICHELIN Suisse 2025guide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  6. Guide MICHELIN, Restaurants MICHELIN, Lausanne et ses environsguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  7. La Table du Lausanne Palace, Site officiel de La Table du Lausanne Palacelausanne-palace.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  8. Guide MICHELIN, Le Berceau des Sens, Lausanneguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  9. Le Berceau des Sens, Site officiel de Le Berceau des Sensberceau-des-sens.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  10. Guide MICHELIN, Myò Sushi Bar, Lausanneguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  11. Myò Sushi Bar, Site officiel de Myò Sushi Barmyo.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  12. Guide MICHELIN, La Grappe d’Or, Lausanneguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  13. La Grappe d’Or, Site officiel de La Grappe d’Orla-grappe.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  14. Guide MICHELIN, Maza, Lausanneguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  15. Maza, Site officiel de Mazamaza-restaurant.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  16. Guide MICHELIN, La Croix d’Ouchy, Lausanneguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026

  17. La Croix d’Ouchy, Site officiel de La Croix d’Ouchyrestaurant-croix-d-ouchy.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  18. Ville de Lausanne, Portrait de Lausannelausanne.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  19. DFAE, Présence Suisse, Languesaboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  20. Fedlex, Loi fédérale du 12 juin 2009 régissant la taxe sur la valeur ajoutée (LTVA), RS 641.20fedlex.admin.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  21. Fedlex, Ordonnance du 11 décembre 1978 sur l’indication des prix (OIP), RS 942.211fedlex.admin.ch · accessed 21 October 2026

  22. Guide MICHELIN, La cérémonie du Guide MICHELIN s’installe à Andermattguide.michelin.com · accessed 21 October 2026