A local favorite, Petrus is a cafe and brasserie by day in a historical house dating back to 1911, when it first opened as a modest inn and restaurant. Located in the middle of Bregenz, the Belgian and French restaurant is uncomplicated in both its decor and dishes, but the team performs at a high level with ingredients that are always fresh and service that’s always friendly. Locals come for the moules frites, made with hand-cut fries. At night, owners Ursula Hillbrand and Peter Brattinga serve dishes they love to eat themselves, like freshly shucked oysters, bouillabaisse, and beetroot risotto served with Tête de Moine cheese.

Milena Broger, one of Austria’s prominent, award-winning young chefs, took over Weiss Restaurant in 2019 and has taken the dining scene in Bregenz to a new level. Collaborating with partner Erik Pedersen, Broger calls on her experiences working in Japan, Denmark, and Germany, but her goal is to let the Austrian region “speak for itself” with local herbs, vegetables, and natural wine. A six-to-10-course menu will set you back 95 to 135 euros ($104-147), with items like grilled carrots, smoked cauliflower, and pumpkin samosas. If you want to experience Weiss without the tasting menu, check out breakfast or have a burger for lunch.

The Das Schiff hotel, originally built in 1840, has a nice traditional restaurant, Wälderstube, for all the classics like käsespätzle and kaiserschmarrn. But for something more inventive and upmarket, head to Ernele, a fine-dining Vorarlberg pioneer and a gem for food-obsessed travelers. Chef Erna Metzler is like an Austrian Alice Waters, tirelessly focusing on regionality, sustainability, and nose-to-tail cooking. Chef Felix Gross executes Metzler’s vision, utilizing ingredients from the restaurant’s own vegetable and herb garden. Typical menu items include cheese soup, fresh garden salad with pickled vegetables, and grilled meats like veal or deer served with root vegetables. You haven’t really tasted schnitzel until you try the version at Ernele.

You could drive past Hirschen a million times without realizing this 16th-century inn is home to a spectacular restaurant. Like many places in the area, Jonathan Burger and his team work with regional ingredients. In Bregenzerwald, that means local river fish, mushrooms from the forest, and mature cheese from local cows’ milk for breakfast. Lunch is a simple affair of käsespätzle and beef broth soup with fluffy dumplings. By night, the restaurant converts into a bistro offering peppers stuffed with local cheese, grilled venison, and lots of vegetables either char-grilled or poached in butter. Pastries and desserts like strawberry tartlets and lemon meringue pies made by chef Raphaela Wirrer are also worthy of a last bite.

Need a bottle of prosecco? Looking for a bunch of freshly picked tulips and roses for that special someone you met on the slopes? Need a decent pizza in Vorarlberg? Ellen Nenning and Andreas Mennel have turned a traditional gasthof (inn) in a 17th-century building in Bezau into a mixed-used jack of all trades, including a designer boutique, flower shop, and 58-suite hotel with eye-popping decor that Barbie couldn’t resist. The three-story concept also features a wine bar that operates on the honor system (grab your bottle from the cellar, pay for it online, and enjoy it in one of the hotel’s public spaces), as well as some pretty spectacular pizzas; pies come with all the Italian trimmings you’d expect across the border like truffles, prosciutto, and fior di latte. Try the thin-crust 1648 pizza, topped with local bacon, bergkäse (mountain cheese), and fresh tomato.

Emanuel Moosbrugger took inspiration from his grandmother Katharina when developing the concept for Biohotel Schwanen in Bregenzerwald, completely rebuilding the space in 2019 while respecting the century-old parlor that the Moosbrugger family built more than five generations before him. Find a cozy spot among the midcentury furnishings for an aperitif before dinner. In keeping with the spirit of a traditional inn, the hotel doesn’t have a built-out restaurant, instead serving guests in the house’s dining room. Emanuel serves as sommelier, supplying plenty of Austrian wine to guests, while organic ingredients make up a menu of creamy nettle soup, bread dumplings, deer served on spicy red lentils, and apple strudel for dessert.

Calling all carnivores. Head to Bex for smoky, charred hamburgers, succulent roast beef, and exceptional T-bone steaks. Owners Christian and Anna Beck are known for their metzgerei (butcher shop) down the street, which they expanded into a smokehouse and eventually this restaurant. The outstanding meat comes from well-tended animals, who graze on the fresh grass of the Kleinwalsertal Mountains. Start off with the beef tartar, choose the dry-aged steak with a serving of thick-cut fries, and make sure you don’t miss out on the house-made sausages from the smokehouse. The wine is exceptional too. You might need to unbuckle your belt a bit following your meal.

Don’t be put off by Wirtshaus Hoheneck’s inclusion in the Michelin guide; there’s nothing pretentious about this restaurant in Mittelberg — though you are in for a treat. Located in the region of Kleinwalsertal, the restaurant serves meals with stunning views of the mountains. Chef Jürgen Denk knows what he’s doing with local specialties like venison terrine, cheese spätzle, and Vorarlberg ravioli, but you can’t really go wrong when you’re working with ingredients sourced within 80 kilometers, veal and beef from family butcheries Stiegeler and Hillbrand, and local beer and juice from nearby Lake Constance. Stick to traditional dishes and ask for a seat on the terrace, where the view is worth fighting for.

Feldkirch has become a gathering place for young creatives in the mountains, attracting a steady stream of entrepreneurs who want to eat, drink, and party without traveling to bigger cities like Bregenz or Zurich. Jahnhalle is among a wave of restaurants popping up all over Vorarlberg for whom the scene is as important as the food, offering visitors chances to mingle, co-work, catch some live music, or browse an art gallery. Opened by restaurateurs René Gmeiner and Kassian Xander in a former gymnasium constructed in 1904, the restaurant gets especially busy during weekend brunch, when head bartender Luka Matt churns out great bloody marys, served alongside avocado toast, pizza, and cheese plates.

If you fancy a bit of history with your dinner, head to Alter Goldener Berg in Lech, a 500-year-old inn, which has been in owner Daniela Pfefferkorn’s family for decades, located in a local historical monument. The restaurant has all the traditional recipes and dishes you would expect in a stuben (tavern), but all the locals cross-country ski their way to the restaurant for the fondue; almost similar to hot pot, the house speciality features local lake fish that guests cook at the table in hot broth. But if you want to be where the party is during the winter, head out to the Panorama Sun Terrace and order an apple martini, Negroni, or Rob Roy (or a smoothie, a specialty of Pfefferkorn’s) to kickstart your après-ski session with some new friends.

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After a long day on the slopes, head to Restaurant Griggeler Stuba, an intimate restaurant nestled within the five-star Burg Vital resort. Jutting out of Kriegerhorn Mountain overlooking Lech, the restaurant has a wood-burning fireplace, plush seating, and a vast, award-winning wine cellar with more than 4,000 bottles waiting to be explored. Reserve bar seats overlooking the open kitchen, or bring a group and fill a corner settee and let the modern Austrian dishes on the tasting menu come to you, from smoked Carabinero prawns with sea-buckthorn, celery, and bergamot to langoustine with Kaluga reserve caviar and black salsify. 

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If you thought all Austrian ski resorts served carb-heavy dishes with lots of potato and cheese, think again. Der Wolf is one of a few mountain huts in Vorarlberg breaking from the norm. The woodsy design pays tribute to the strong tradition of craftsmanship in the area, while the kitchen serves up a wide variety of foods not typically found on the slopes: spicy Indian curry with basmati rice, kale salad with mixed grains and micro-herbs, ham hock and pea soup, and juicy burgers with fat-cut fries. Owner Christian Wolf, a ski instructor in another life, knows what it means to fuel up for a day of skiing and snowboarding on the Arlberg.

Located 5,500 feet above sea level in the Burtschasattel (the Burtscha mountain pass), a few steps away from the panoramabahn (ski lift) station, Frööd is a refuge for skiers who want something regional, sustainable, and delicious after or before their ski session. Warmer months bring barbecue on the terrace, as cooks grill meats and vegetables from local farmers. During the winter, Frööd gets busy quickly in the mornings with a popular breakfast buffet, and the buzz continues throughout the day with burgers and pizzas. The energy-neutral kitchen utilizes a wood-burning stove fueled by solar power.

A lively atmosphere, Austrian beer on tap, and excellent grub make Gasthof Löwen a must-visit. Located in the sleepy town of Tschagguns, the restaurant channels the vibe of Munich’s Oktoberfest, as busy waiters file through tables of laughing diners to deliver schnitzel after schnitzel. Dumpling soup, Vorarlberg ravioli, and beef roulade round out the menu. It’s fun, and sometimes that’s all you need.