3 Cultures, 3 Restaurants: My Lausanne Food Guide

With roughly 35,000 students across 11 institutions — including EPFL and UNIL sharing Switzerland's largest campus — Lausanne is a quintessential student city. That also makes it remarkably international: different people, different cultures, and most importantly, different cuisines, all packed into one compact city by the lake.

I personally see food as a hobby, not just fuel. So here are my three favorite restaurants in Lausanne, each from a different culture. You won't be disappointed. Prices are slightly above your average pizza or kebab place, but absolutely worth it.

1. Kung-Fu Cuisine 功夫小厨 — Chinese

Rue de l'Ale 16, 1003 Lausanne (near Flon) · 15–25 CHF

An authentic Chinese restaurant specializing in Jilin-region cuisine, and it's always packed — for good reason. I'm no expert in Chinese food, but this place blew me away. The portions are enormous; you could easily order one dish and split it between two people. My personal favorite was the vegetable noodles. Every single one of my Chinese friends recommended this place before I went, and they were absolutely right.

Kung-Fu Cuisine — always packed, for good reason

Vegetable noodles — massive portions (apologies for the fork)

2. IstanBleu — Turkish

Rue de la Mèbre 2, 1020 Renens · Pide 14 CHF, Kebab 20 CHF, Mantı 15 CHF

In Switzerland, most Turkish-run places tend to be pizza or kebab shops. Finding a proper Turkish restaurant with authentic, diverse flavors is genuinely rare — and IstanBleu is one of those rare finds. It's in Renens, near the train station, where much of Lausanne's Turkish community lives alongside two mosques. Inside, you're greeted by Turkish music, water served in copper cups, and a Kemal Sunal portrait on the wall. Their mantı (Turkish dumplings) and pide are outstanding.

Lab dinner at IstanBleu — pide and mantı night

3. Café Restaurant Shiraz — Iranian

Avenue du Léman 19, 1005 Lausanne · 25–30 CHF

This is the favorite restaurant of every Iranian I know in Lausanne. I've tried several Iranian places here, but Shiraz is the best. The moment you walk in, you feel transported — the Persian music, the decor, everything. It's a bit more upscale and pricier than the other two, but the quality matches. My Iranian friend told me that wealthy Iranians in Switzerland come specifically here, and after trying it I understand why.

I had the kebab kubideh. At first glance it looks like Turkish Adana kebab, but the two are quite different. Kubideh uses finely ground meat seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and grated onion — the flavor is delicate and subtle. Adana, on the other hand, is hand-chopped with lamb tail fat, chili flakes, and cumin, giving it a bold, spicy kick. But the most interesting difference is in the serving: at Shiraz, the butter comes separately on the side, and you mix it into the saffron rice yourself. That butter-meets-saffron-rice moment is something else entirely — a small ritual that changes the whole dish.

Café Restaurant Shiraz — Persian ambiance in the heart of Lausanne

They also serve doogh, a yogurt drink similar to Turkish ayran but with a minty twist. Right next door there's an Iranian grocery store where I buy sumac — surprisingly hard to find in Switzerland.

All three are absolutely worth the visit. Lausanne's diversity means you can eat your way around the world without ever leaving the city.