Switzerland
Level 1 for supermarket self-catering and city dining; less forgiving if you rely on traditional restaurant menus where cream and butter are the invisible default.
Level 1 is driven by supermarkets and city vegan venues — traditional restaurant menus are a separate challenge entirely.
Rank & context Switzerland ranks #23 globally — a score driven by exceptional supermarket infrastructure and a well-developed urban vegan dining scene rather than the accessibility of its traditional cuisine. Major cities score considerably higher than the national average: Zurich and Geneva rank among Europe's strongest cities for dedicated plant-based dining, with Basel and Bern close behind.
Liechtenstein This page covers Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein functions as a practical extension of the Swiss network — it uses the Swiss franc, shares access to the Coop and Migros supply chain, and visitors can rely on the same supermarket infrastructure. Dedicated vegan restaurant options in Vaduz and surrounding villages are very limited; self-catering from Swiss stores is the most reliable strategy when travelling through the principality.
Language regions Switzerland has four official languages divided by canton: German is spoken across the north, centre, and east (roughly 63% of the country); French in the western cantons — Romandie, encompassing Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Fribourg, and western Valais; Italian in Ticino in the south; and Romansh in parts of Graubünden. Your menu and kitchen staff change language as you cross cantonal lines. Ordering scripts are included below for German, French, and Italian.
Labelling law Swiss allergen disclosure rules are strong and broadly comparable to EU standards for packaged supermarket products — milk and eggs are clearly indicated on most pre-packaged items. This is genuinely useful for self-catering. It does not cover animal fat, meat stock, or restaurant cooking methods. Always check labels on packaged food and never assume a restaurant dish is safe without asking.
Vegetarian ≠ vegan Swiss menus increasingly offer vegetarian options, but vegetarian cooking in this context routinely includes cream (Rahm), butter, cheese, and eggs. A dish labelled vegetarisch or végétarien in a traditional Swiss restaurant is not a reliable vegan option. Always ask specifically about dairy, eggs, the cooking fat, and the soup base.
What not to rely on Do not rely on traditional restaurant dishes without checking for cream and cooking fat — Rahm is invisible on the menu and present throughout traditional Swiss German and alpine cooking.
German is the primary language across northern, central, and eastern Switzerland. French applies in the western cantons — use the French phrasebook in Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, and western Valais. Italian is the dominant language in Ticino — use the Italian phrasebook there. Pronunciation guides below are approximate — show the German text directly to your server if you are unsure how a phrase sounds.
Say this first at every restaurant — not just specialist venues
Ask before any sauce, soup, or vegetable dish at a conventional restaurant
Essential before ordering Rösti — ask before, not after
Ask separately from the cooking fat question — both are needed
Ask before any soup order at a conventional venue — vegetable soups often use meat stock
Ask before eating table bread — Zopf contains both egg and butter
Generic egg question — covers batters, pasta, sauces, and baked goods
Use after confirming what the dish contains — a specific positive request
Opening question at any restaurant — helps establish what is possible
What Actually Works
Both chains carry dedicated vegan ranges — Coop's "I'm Free" and Migros's "V-Love" lines — with clear V-Label certification and allergen marking on most products. Stock up before heading to rural areas or mountain villages where restaurant options are minimal. The supermarket infrastructure is consistently strong across the country and throughout Liechtenstein.
Zurich and Geneva have substantial dedicated vegan restaurant scenes. Basel, Bern, and Lausanne have solid coverage. Use HappyCow before arriving in a new city rather than walking in and adapting from a conventional menu — dedicated restaurants remove the cream and cooking fat questions entirely.
At any traditional Swiss restaurant, assume cream and butter are in play until confirmed otherwise. Ask about the cooking fat before ordering Rösti, ask about Rahm before any sauce or soup, and ask about table bread before eating it. Carry the German, French, and Italian scripts depending on your region — the language of the menu changes as you cross cantonal lines.
Swiss allergen law aligns with EU standards — milk and eggs are clearly indicated on most packaged supermarket products, usually in bold. This is genuinely useful for supermarkets and pre-packaged food. It does not solve café menus, bakery cabinets, or restaurant cooking methods — the label law protects you in Coop, not at the Gasthaus.
Where It Gets Harder
Switzerland's Level 1 ranking reflects its cities and supermarkets. Step outside those systems and the experience shifts considerably.
Outside the main centres, traditional alpine Beizli and Gasthäuser have minimal plant-based options. Rösti with butter and cheese-based dishes dominate, and there is little accommodation for plant-based requests. Outside the main centres: assume supermarket first, restaurant second. Mountain huts (Bergrestaurants) are the hardest environment — carry food from a Coop or Migros before departing.
Traditional Swiss restaurant menus are heavily dairy-focused — fondue and raclette are obviously non-vegan, but the hidden issue is that cream and butter permeate dishes that look plant-based on the menu. A mushroom dish or vegetable gratin is rarely dairy-free without a specific request. Butter on bread, cream in soups, and butter on cooked vegetables are all auto-added defaults. Vegetarisch does not mean dairy-free.
Crossing from German-speaking cantons into Romandie (French) or Ticino (Italian) means your ordering script changes. English is widely spoken in cities and tourist centres, but at smaller local restaurants in rural French and Italian Switzerland, the German script will be met with blank looks. Carry all three language scripts if you are travelling across multiple language regions.
Liechtenstein has no dedicated vegan restaurant scene in Vaduz or surrounding villages. The culinary tradition mirrors alpine Swiss German cooking — cream, butter, and lard in the kitchen with minimal accommodation for plant-based requests. Rely on the Swiss Coop and Migros network before entering the principality, and treat Liechtenstein as a self-catering destination rather than a restaurant one.