Le Deck Restaurant — Restaurant in Puidoux

A visit to the Deck terrace (not the restaurant) to admire the stunning view and taste some of the amazing local wines with a very curious American client. I reluctantly give it 3 stars because giving it 5 would be dishonest, even though I wish I could. Here's why.

The view is indeed breathtaking. Even after around fifty visits, still as impressed as ever. The staff is delightful, truly. The service is of a hospitality school: charming but laborious. This means you need some tolerance. Sometimes, a little helping hand, but a good sense of humor easily irons out those small issues. The trainees work very hard.

So why only 3 stars? Situated in the heart of the Lavaux vineyard in Switzerland, the Deck offered only one vaudois white wine, not even from the neighboring vinemakers. The rest of the wine list consists of foreign wines. No Saint-Saphorin, Calamin, Villette, Epesses, Lutry, or Dézaley. A little surprised, I opted for an Œil de Perdrix or a Dôle Blanche, but the poor server seemed lost, offering only mediocre French rosés. Whispering Angel? Forget about it, my good man!

The establishment has clearly taken a turn, likely directed by a French person who appears either ignorant or disdainful of local treasures and catering to passing by tourists. I decided to diplomatically bail out with my bewildered client. We drove down through the vineyards towards Rivaz, where is the most charming little wine stand, offering local wines. The person there treated us to a tasting with plenty of details and anecdotes, along with some excellent bread! My client now with stars in his eyes: "Now I'm really in Switzerland, thank you!" (His father's bomber, damaged after a raid over Milan, had landed in the area).

The Deck, for photos, is beautiful, really, but it remains a 3-star experience. Sorry. Management, get your...

We went to this restaurant two days ago. The view was fantastic and food was good.

However, the level of service was not expected.

1st of all, people wearing mask is discriminated. My friend and I live in UAE, where mask mandate is still in place. As the current Omicron BA.5 spikes, we are used to it and feel more comfortable to wear one at least before we start to eat while in restaurant. The gentleman at the reception seriously shouted at us and asked us to take the masks off. He said we should not wear in his restaurant because it is “covid free”. I think wearing a mask is a personal choice. We would have NOT been to this place if we had been told people wearing masks are not welcomed. Anyway, because of the fantastic view, we took our masks off and followed their “rules”.

We were seated in the outdoor area- in the middle of the terrace surrounded by many other tables. The view was blocked. Two minutes after we sat down, we saw another table with an unblocked view finished and left. Since we haven’t started ordering yet (no water is served), we politely asked the waitress if we could move to the other table. She rejected and told us it is their company policy not to change tables. We understood and accepted. When we finished and were about to leave, the lady in the table next to us made the table change request because she felt too hot sitting in the sun and wanted to move to another table with shade. The waitress agreed in front of us immediately. We don’t understand why she broke the company policy for her. My friend asked her and she just said sorry.

Anyway, the view and food was good, but we did not feel welcomed. Maybe we’ve...

Stunning view but…

For a 15 points GM i was expecting more than what we got… Little waiting in the beginning but it’s fine, choosing the dishes, easy , great recommendations , wine excellent…until that point we are pretty good, going up on the satisfactory ladder. Appetizers absolutely fabulous, and here we should stop if we want to keep the 5 star….after this point when they have received couple of compliments seemed they relaxed and doesnt really bother to give a great service… As main ordered sea bass, with some squids on the side, barely touching the fish,going for some squid, and after the first bite feeling cracking sand under my teeth…sent back the dish got a new one, this time they were more careful put the squid on the side not on the plate, 4 little pieces in a bowl. Take the first bite , again sand, trying the second one sandy again, then saw one piece was full with sand… told them again, of course apologizing million times, but the job was done. Closing the night didnt take anything else, and they also didnt bother to compensate…they offered 1 limoncello and coffee for free to my boyfriend, thats it. We canceled all reservations for the weekend. I dont need to pay 50chf for a fish/ squid which was not even properly washed, i can then go to a lido in italy, there i dont have sandy meals. Other notes: no fish knife, had to ask, nothing crazy but its a GM. Expectations are high. Also dont serve the white wine when its hot out there, filling up the glass just to get rid off the bottle, and before didnt even bother to come and serve any wine… Disappointed, poor service…really really poor service, prices are not justified because...