Hôtel Président Wilson Sunday Brunch

One Price, No Surprises

3.5 of 5

Here is a number I can work with: CHF 120 per adult, and the water, soft drinks and hot drinks are already in it. That is the Sunday brunch at the Hôtel Président Wilson, on the Quai Wilson, and the clarity matters. Hotel brunches in this city have a way of becoming a second mortgage by the time the coffee arrives. This one tells you the damage at the door.

The format is shared starters, then a main course in fish, meat or vegetarian, prepared fresh, then pastries. The hotel calls it a multitude of gourmet dishes to share, which is brochure language for a table where everyone steals from everyone. Good. A brunch should be a little communal. Children from six to twelve pay CHF 55 and the under sixes eat free, so the price sheet is built for families who actually plan to sit for two hours.

Service runs on Sundays from noon to two. You can book through the hotel's phone line or the La Fourchette reservation page, and you should, because the lakefront rooms fill. The bill for a pair of adults lands around CHF 240 before wine, which puts it in the same neighborhood as its rivals on the quay. What you are buying is a long, unhurried Sunday with no menu anxiety, a view of the water, and a main course that arrives hot because someone cooked it after you asked.

Order this: The starters meant to be shared, A fish, meat or vegetarian main cooked to order, The pastries to finish
The damage: $$$
Go: Sunday, noon to 2 pm, with the lake behind you
Find it: Quai Wilson 47, 1211 Genève