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Courchevel's Mountain Restaurants
| Mountain Restaurants in the Courchevel Valley |
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Our intrepid Courchnet snow reporter, Alan Furniss, has produced this detailed write up from his extensive experience of skiing and dining in the Courchevel Valley, so you can be sure that the following restaurants and been thoroughly tried and tested. Bon Appetit! |
| Restaurants accessible on skis in Courchevel |
This review is intended to help you to choose where to eat at lunchtime in Courchevel. All of these restaurants are accessible directly from the pistes or with a maximum of 50 metre walk.
First of all here are a few general tips. A trip to the Tourist Office to pick up the very small book called ‘Le Guide des Restaurants’ is well worthwhile. This booklet is designed to be carried with you and has all of the data on all of the restaurants in the valley (the phone number, opening times, type of food and price range). It’s presented in French and in well translated English.
What it doesn’t do is give any opinion of quality of food or service. For that, however, you can rely on Courchnet.com!
Once you’ve decided where lunch is going to be, a quick phone call around mid-morning to make a reservation will usually guarantee you one of the best tables. French people seem to be programmed to eat at exactly 1 o’clock. So even in low season, most restaurants (especially self-service) are busy at this time. It’s better to book a table for 12.30 with the added benefit of skiing on deserted slopes after lunch.
Contact details for all these restaurants (and links to their websites where possible) can be found under Restaurants, Mountain Restaurants or Gourmet Restaurants. Bon appétit! |
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last updated 12-Aug-2008 |
| Great food & terrific value - The Top Spots! |
Enjoying the sun at Les Chenus
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Les Chenus (+33 (0)4 79 08 06 84)
Situated at the top of the ‘Chenus’ bubble and the top of the ‘Coqs’ charlift, this is one of the only surviving Self-Service restaurants in the Courchevel valley as each year all the rest have moved inexorably upwards in price (..& sometimes even in quality too). The kitchen is very open at the head of the self service ‘snake’ which takes you past bread, salads (great choice), main courses then desserts, soft drinks and wine. The same chefs are in the kitchen every year, which is always a good sign and some of the Securité de Pistes (with avalanche dog under the table) eat here frequently.
A dozen or so dishes are on display for you to choose from each day. A simple vegetable soup at €7.50 to homemade ravioli for €10.90 to Roast chicken for €12.90 about covers the range. Their bottled house wine (Cuvée Chenus) for €9.50 is excellent.
Outside on a sunny south facing balcony is the place to be, overlooking one of the great runs in skiing, ‘Combe de la Saulire’. It probably seats 300 people and during the busy season it is packed by 12.30 and the queue for the self service is around 40 minutes. This is one place that requires you to eat early if queuing is not something you enjoy.
Although it doesn’t have a specific children’s menu, it’s such good value with such a broad range to choose from that kids seem to like it (I think it helps that they can see what they’re ordering, rather than being surprised when it turns up after reading a menu).
Easily accessible by non-skiers via the Chenus bubble from 1850.
Le Bouc Blanc(+33 (0)4 79 08 80 26)
This restaurant is reached via the red run ‘Lanches’ or the blue run ‘Arolles’ and is located just next to the top station of the La Tania bubble. Consequently it’s a good place for lunch if one of your group isn’t skiing as access is easy from this bubble. It has a huge sundeck for sunny days seating around 400 people and inside it is beautifully decorated with seating for maybe another 150 over 2 floors. The best tables are upstairs on a cold day and on the sun-deck on the 4 tables right alongside the restaurant when the sun’s out.
With that number of customers, you could reasonably expect to be in for a long wait for your food on a busy day. Nothing could be further from the truth! Order the Plat du Jour for €13.00 and I guarantee you’ll be served inside 90 seconds. A steak at €17.00 might take 3 minutes! The food is varied and of unfailing good quality. The Plat du Jour could be beef bourguignon, braised duck, roast chicken or any one of another 8 specialities – served with your choice of frites or gratin potatoes (Savoyard).
Children are well catered for with a Menu Enfant at €10.00 for a choice of either Hamburger (home made) frites, Knacki (sausages) frites or spaghetti Bolognese. A chocolate or strawberry ice cream is included in the price.
L’Arc en Ciel (+33 (0)4 79 08 38 09)
In the large building in the middle of the slopes where the giant Saulire cable car starts from, there are a number of self service restaurants at piste level. Looking at the building from the uphill side, on the right up a little set of stairs is a sheltered, south facing restaurant called L’Arc en Ciel or Rainbow. This restaurant has been run by the same family for 20 years and has a beautiful little balcony looking over the slopes and facing the sun. The owner is a real character –if you wave to him (because you’re in a hurry and want to order or get the bill) – he’ll wave back to you…then ignore you for 15 minutes for being so rude! Take the whole place at his pace and you’ll have a great lunch. Plat du jour is €15.30 (up from €13.80 last year) and is unfailingly excellent. A Steak/frites is around €17.00 and they do a number of local specialities well (Tarte Beaufort, tartiflette etc). The pichet (jug) of red house wine is unusually good (50cl for €7.00).
Be sure to book though as they only seat 80 people.
L’Eterlou (+33 (0)4 79 08 25 45)
This is not strictly an on-piste restaurant but as it’s only 40 metres from the piste and one of the best places to go in the 3-Valleys, it has to be included in my top 4. As you ski into 1650, usually on the blue run called Marquis, you’re faced with a wall of apartment buildings and what appears to be the only restaurant in town, L’Ours Blanc. Just to the right though there’s a little alley-way. Walk down here for 20 metres & cross the road to L’Eterlou. For sunny days, it has a little veranda seating about 50 and inside it’s extremely cosy with seating for 60.
The place mat is the menu; French on one side and well translated English on the other. They serve a huge variety of dishes from Savoyard dishes to steaks to fondue. They make the best pizzas in Courchevel at €8.80 for a Marguerite and €10.50 for a Chorizo for example. Thin, thin pastry blown up into even thinner bubbles as it’s cooked.
Their icecream selection is tremendous in variety & quality and if you can stand up, let alone ski, after their ‘Poire William’ dessert (Pear ice-cream and a wine glass-full of Poire Williamine poured over the top) then “you’re a better man than I am - Gungha Din” – with apologies to Rudyard Kipling.
Fortunately the easy to use, free Courchevel bus service leaves from around 50 metres away going to 1850 every 10 minutes or down to 1550 & 1300 every 30 minutes. This restaurant is tremendously popular and is also packed out every evening, especially on ‘Chalet girl night off’ due to the easy accessibility. Book or be disappointed! |
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last updated 11-Aug-2008 |
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