The story
Since 1993, chef Arno Sgier has been at the helm of Traube in the small village of Trimbach, near Olten. What began as a modest restaurant has grown into a destination for refined French cuisine, earning a Michelin star and 17 Gault Millau points – accolades it has held consistently since 2005. The Michelin guide describes the kitchen as “full of finesse, worth a stop,” and guests return year after year for the quiet confidence of the cooking.
Arno Sgier, a farmer’s son from the Grisons, trained in Flims and worked in kitchens across Switzerland – from Losone to Lausanne – before taking over Traube. “I wanted to work in a warm place,” he says, and his path led him to create a kitchen defined by precision and restraint. His philosophy is clear: top-quality, seasonal ingredients, sourced from local growers and producers, are allowed to speak for themselves. “No show for the sake of show,” the restaurant’s philosophy page states, “but dishes in which the natural taste of the elements is preserved or refined into something new: creative, harmonious, unmistakable.”
Traube offers several menus that change with the seasons. The six-course Traube Menu (CHF 175) and the eight-course Vorspeise Menu (CHF 205, refreshed every four weeks) showcase Sgier’s ability to compose plates that balance flavor and texture. Recent dishes have included Entenleber Pavé with passion fruit and pastinake, green asparagus with quail egg and Lomo de Jabugo, and Skrei fillet with fèves and buttermilk. A separate Gourmet Menu is available for those who prefer a shorter journey.
The wine cellar is a point of pride: over 1,000 labels, curated since day one, with many available by the glass. Sommelier Lennart Speikamp guides guests through the list, and the team – including Doris Sgier as chef de service – ensures a seamless, attentive experience.
The interior is chic and modern, with clean lines and warm materials. In summer, a garden terrace opens for al fresco dining. The atmosphere is refined but not stiff – a place where the focus remains squarely on what arrives at the table. After more than three decades, Traube continues to prove that consistent, honest cooking, rooted in French technique and local ingredients, never goes out of style.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
High quality cooking
All these tartlets everywhere!" remarks Arno Sgier, adding that he doesn't follow every trend. Instead, he kicks off the meal with a coconut curry soup, a brik pastry cube filled with quinoa and peppers, and a praline containing a bean and pumpkin mixture. He then explores cauliflower in several forms (raw and grated, cooked, and as a foam), not forgetting to place some wonderfully juicy sot-l'y-laisse simmered in poultry broth underneath and scatter a few brioche croutons on top. Then the "Grape" menu begins with a tartare, and what a class act: beneath the raw, lightly smoked beef lies traditionally prepared oxtail, accompanied by celery cream, wood sorrel leaves, pickled pearl onions, and two kinds (!) of chips made from onion and celery. Unusual yet surprisingly refined is the course featuring lotus root cooked sous vide and sautéed in butter, paired with pickled sweet melon pieces from last summer, tangy bergamot gel, a salad of celery stalks and apple, Earl Grey tea infusion, and papadum chips. Sgier clearly has no fear of butter! He also uses it to perfectly sear skate wings, combining them with broad beans, wild garlic gnocchi, and beurre blanc. Equally classic is a souffléed egg, still runny in the center, served as the perfect accompaniment to morels and spinach. When the chef serves shanks from young Ormalingen pork, you shouldn't hesitate: the meat is beautifully crisp and brown on the outside, tender and juicy within, served alongside the season's first peas and root vegetables. After the (highly recommended) cheese trolley, dessert delivers the final highlight: a scoop of strawberry sorbet with marinated rhubarb and sweet-and-sour rhubarb gel on shortcrust pastry.
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