Grotto de la Fontaine

The story

Grotto de la Fontaine in Sion: Refined Northern Italian Cuisine Since 1996

The kitchen and its hands

Grotto de la Fontaine has anchored a quiet corner of Sion’s old town for three decades, earning a steady Gault&Millau score for its disciplined Northern Italian cooking. Régis runs the pass alongside his son Thibaut, who recently stepped into the family operation. Their approach avoids heavy sauces and complicated plating in favor of straightforward craftsmanship. Every sauce, dough, and broth starts from raw ingredients, meaning the menu shifts regularly with local harvests.

Signature preparations

Diners frequently return for the hand-cut pastas that define their Italian cooking. Tagliolini tossed in wild garlic pesto and dried tomatoes arrives with a bright herbal note. The Sardinian gnocchetti bring together cuttlefish ink, fresh Skrei cod, and lemon zest for a deeply savory course. Rustic casarecce paired with oyster mushroom fricassee shows how they adapt Alpine ingredients to classic formats, followed by a citrus sorbet finished with bergamot and limoncello.

The dining room and cellar

The forty-seat space sits comfortably within the historic architecture, keeping acoustics low enough for unhurried conversation. Wooden tables and unadorned walls let the food occupy center stage. The beverage program highlights crus from Valais and northern Italy rather than chasing global trends. Many selections pour directly from bottle, encouraging guests to explore unfamiliar terroirs alongside familiar wine styles.