Eating in the 3 Vallées
We love French food so when we come to the French Alps we are usually skiing hard but eating even harder 😂 on en fait tout un fromage! as we say in French (translated as “to make a whole cheese about it” aka make a big deal of something)
The 3 Vallées is world-renowned as a ski area, boasting the largest pisted area in the world (we wrote more about skiing in the 3 Vallées here).
Given that we’re talking France here, there are also many fantastic options for treating yourself to a lovely dinner or lunch - everything from local Savoyarde fair to French Haute Cuisine. Here are a few suggestions for on slopes lunches from our recent experience:
The restaurant, shame it was snowing. No mountain views…
Restaurant entrance.
Chalet Pépé Nicolas: A lovely authentic and cosy family run restaurant using all-local products and traditional home-made methods.
A bit hard to find on a snowy day and when the main slope leading to the restaurant is closed!
This place can be a little hard to find especially if the la Chasse slope is closed (which it was during our stay despite plentiful snow elsewhere) but they can do a minibus pick up from Les Menuires too. (Phone them to arrange the pickup - usually by the bridge down from Reberty chairlift)
But it is well worth taking the time to have lunch here in this super-cosy and authentic alpine restaurant with a great family history that they are clearly very proud of. All ingredients and suppliers are sources locally. We went on a snowny day so the terrace was closed. It should be a fabulous restaurant to enjoy mountain sunshine.
We both had the lamb shepherd’s pie which was first class - delicious and hearty and the traditional blueberry dessert was stunning and full of flavour. Will definitely be back, and we would love to return here in the summer to see the working mountain farm and enjoy eating outdoors.
Blueberry tart and homemade vanilla ice cream, so yummy!
Lamb parmentier
they also have a boutique with local products! Génépi, liquor, postcard, Savoyard decorations, mountain plaids, goat skin, rabbit skin, sheep skin, etc. You will also find a multitude of souvenirs, and lots of things for children!
Chez Pépé Nicolas Boutique
“I can’t stand people who do not take food seriously.”
La Fruitiere Val Thorens: Atmospheric slightly-flashy restaurant attached to the Folie Douce bar chain.
On a completely different tack we have La Fruitiere, which you can find next to most Folie Douce bars in locations including Méribel, Val D’Isère and Val Thorens.
La Folie Douce Val Thorens
I know this place has its critics, but we’ve only ever had a great time here - the lunch atmosphere is pretty vibrant, perhaps even verging on boisterous and of course there is a whiff of pretentiousness in the oversize bottles of rosé being ordered but we’ve found the food to be consistently excellent (burger = wow, truffle mac amazing) desserts are great and of course there is plenty to choose from on the wine list.
Inside eating at La Fruitiere Val Thorens.
Mac & Truffes
Café gourmand
True it’s not the best ever value for money, but the quality is there and if you want a good party vibe I would definitely check it out, and you can pop into the Folie proper afterward for a little dance, or (top tip!) just soak up the atmosphere from the adjoining terrace on the sunnier days for a slightly more laid-back experience of the Alps #1 party place.
A bit of dancing after your meal!
“How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”
We came in here for lunch when it was blowing a gale and -10 outside. Found much needed respite in this cosy and upmarket restaurant (booking for lunch definitely recommended). Beef stew was excellent as was the steak. The dessert buffet was irresistible. Some very good wines on offer too. Perhaps a little on the pricey side but you expect that up on the mountain. I expect on sunny days the outside terrace would be excellent as well. Will definitely be back.
Beautiful chalet. The inside decor is pretty too!
Steak frites
Dessert buffet - so much to choose from
La Casserole. In Courchevel, this is one for the sunnier days, as the south facing terrace here is just perfect for enjoying a nice cold glass of rosé (however we agree with some of the negative views that talk about under-staffing at peak times, we find this a common problem in many piste-side restaurants).
Posh lunch on the slopes!
Other places we didn’t manage to get to but will be back to try next time: Ours Blanc and Au Petit Rendez-Vous in Les Ménuires, La Fruitière in Méribel.
