Micro Brewery and other Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: Micro Brasserie de Chamonix

Run by 4 Canadians, this is Chamonix's first and only micro-brewery. Also serves up good bar-style food with a french flair. Open friendly atmosphere, 3 types of 'home brewed' beer all the time, and one 'special' new beer every month. Far superior to any tap beer in the other Chamonix bars (especially Stella Artois, which gives everyone I know a headache!)

Favorite Dish: The beers are great. Also vegetarian dishes, hot chicken wings and great desserts.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 33 4 50 53 61 59
Address: 350 Route du Bouchet
Directions: Across from the ENSA field parking lot, near the big roundabout (one that goes to Argentiere, highway or into Cham)

Restaurant Name: La Cremerie du Glacier

This restaurant has been run by the same local Argentiere family since 1926 and is steeped with regional history. (There are at least 2 completely independent and seperate restaurants called the 'Cremerie du Glacier' in the valley -- since both cheese and glaciers are quite common here -- this is the one in Argentiere)

Completely traditional Savoyarde 'comfort food' such as fondus, croutes, omlettes and gratins. Croutes are very fancy cheese-on-toast with wine and a sauce. Gratins are a mixture of potatoes, cheese and other ingredients baked in the oven. Farcon is a special dish and has to be ordered in advance and requires at least 5 people (long preparation time). Casual and cozy atmosphere.

Favorite Dish: Fondu with wild mushrooms or croutes with wild mushroom sauce. The owners choose the absolute best cheeses from the area, and best wild mushrooms (some picked by local mushroom hunters - and validated by experts before being sold - from the surrounding forest covered mountains).

Reservations definitely a must in high season as they fill up fast!

You can ski here from the Grandes Montets piste (on the way down look for the signs on the right of the piste in the woods).

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Theme: Local
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 33 (0)4 50 54 07 52
Address: Chemin de la Glacière, Argentiere
Directions: You will need a 4 wheel drive, skis or snow shoes in winter. It's worth it! Their website has good directions in English and French. Follow the signs posted on the trails nearby. Access starts near the Grandes Montets ski station.
Website: http://www.lacremerie.com/bienvenue.html

Restaurant Name: Grand Central

Grand Central has reopened at a new location as of last winter season, in a bigger space. The menu is extended and there is finally a large indoor seating area. Bagels are available (flown from New York) as always, as well as healthy juices, and now salads and other healthy meal options are available. Nothing fried. Good coffee and a wide selection of teas, and in the evening the bar is open. Run by two Swedish sisters Lotte and Lisa, and now staffed by an array of gorgeous Swedish women it is a great place to go for people watching as well! Outdoor patio is open for the summer. They are now in a great location near the main squares downtown, right next to the war memorial square where the Saturday market is held.

Favorite Dish: Bagels - many options to choose from from traditional lox and cream chees (well St Moret, but it tastes the same) to the 'Elvis' with banana and peanut butter. This is the only place I know of in this whole region to get a bagel (Geneva is next nearest place) so come here if you need a nosh. Also love the chai tea latte.

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Theme: Health Food
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: 165 Avenue Michel Croz
Directions: From the train station, walk towards town center. Grand Central is on your right at the edge of the square with the war memorials, and facing the Credit Agricole bank and (yuk) McDonalds.

Restaurant Name: La Caleche

La Caleche has some of the best fondue, raclette and other traditional dishes, but has a large menu with non-cheese items too (for those who are not fans of cheese). The restaurant prices are higher than some others in town, but the food will not disappoint. It is a popular restaurant and in the main tourist area, but is definitely not one of the downscale 'make a quick buck and sell overpriced so-so food' places at all. They are serious about the food quality and offer a choice of the very traditional such as raclette, or more creative twists on some of the traditional cooking like the scallops in a balsamic sauce.

The interior is very interesting - like walking into someone's antique collection including a full carriage (minus the horse) and other various large items, cockoo clocks, a huge collection of old copper kitchenware and even an old kitchen sink and iron bathtub (yes check this out on the way to the toilettes upstairs). It is a bit less twee in the 'caves' area downstairs, so if you don't like that sort of thing you can request a table below and admire the large wine collection at the same time too.

Often in high season they will have live traditional music one night a week (check the restaurant for postings).

The other bonus is that the restaurant is large (despite its small storefront) and seats over 300 so normally you can find a table here even in busy season after a short wait.

(PS - the english dictionaries I have seen list both fondu and fondue as the proper spelling of this dish -- I seem to use both variants in my pages as I can't make up my mind which I prefer).

Favorite Dish: Coquilles de Saint Jaques (scallops), and for my husband the Agneau (lamb). Lovely sauces, beautifully presented and very good.

Also the menus (fixed price with several dishes to choose from) are a good way to go for those on a budget as menus are priced reasonably - from €18.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Address: 18 Rue du Doctuer Paccard
Directions: Very close to the Post office and town center square. Rue du Docteur Paccard is a pedestrianized street. Near the post office & across from the 'Midnight Express' sandwich shop (which in itself is a good place to get a quick and cheap bite in a hurry).
Website: http://www.restaurant-caleche.com/

Restaurant Name: Gouthe

Gouthe is a wonderful small cafe run by a friendly French couple, with home-baked pasteries and delicious hot chocolate, coffee, smoothies and a big variety of teas. Also a very good hot white wine in winter (vin chaud), which is unique and delicious.

Lunch specials are also available in the summer 'high season' otherwise, strictly for tea time and dessert breaks.

Favorite Dish: Chocolate Mille Feuille, any fruit tart (esp. wild blueberry), hot chocolate (creamy and verrrry chocolatey)

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Theme: Coffeehouse
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: Rue du Moulin, across from mountain guide office
Directions: On the pedestrian 'hidden' Rue du Moulin, which can be entered by turning right at the clock tower and going past 'Irish Coffee' (tourist trap) and down what looks like an alley onto Rue du Moulin.

Restaurant Name: Auberge du Manoir

If you are searching for more traditionally 'French' food (or what Americans normally think of as French food) then the Auberge will suit you. You will find Savoyarde cheese on the menu, but you will also find many other dishes that you can't find at the tourist restaurants in town, which serve mainly Alps style fondus, raclette and other heavy dishes. The food at the Auberge is heavily influenced from the south of the country - lighter and more varied in choices than many places in town, and creatively presented.

The Auberge fills up fast as it's small - I am not sure why it's only a 2 star hotel (it's really pretty). Anyhow, to me it felt like eating in a 4 star restaurant. I highly recommended eating here even if you don't stay here.

The set menus are really good value for what you pay (otherwise take the 'price per person' listing up a notch for items off the set menus). The food here is awsome - everything I had and everything which the people we were with had was excellent. The wait staff here is also super attentive and quick to respond to your requests.

Reservations recommended in high season (i.e. any time in winter or summer!).


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Theme: French
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: +33 (0)4 50 53 10 77
Address: 8 route du Bouchet, 74400 Chamonix
Directions: Route du Bouchet is just off the big roundabout which leaves Chamonix going towards Argentiere. Turn towards Argentiere. Directly across from ENSA (the space ship looking buildings on the left) you will find the hotel entrance on the right of the street.
Website: http://www.auberge-du-manoir.com/en/home.htm

Restaurant Name: Various

Mostly the restaurants in town center are more expensive than the budget of the average seasonaire or snowboarder visiting Cham on a school holiday break.

To save more money for lift passes, the following are some places that serve decent and filling food for reasonable prices. I will not include here any giant conglomerate chain restaurants which rape rain forests to grow more cows for mass consumption and has teams of scientists paid to engineer their food's odors and tastes in order to keep you addicted....

Favorite Dish: Belouga
Midnight Express
Poco Loco
Mojo's

-- these 4 are all sandwich shops on Rue du Docteur Paccard which is in the town center. Midnight and Poco Loco stay open very late.

Belouga is the closest to the only traffic light in town and near some snowboard/mountain bike shops at the 'far' end of the street. Midnight and Poco Loco are closer to town center and basically within a few doors of each other. Mojos is across from the big fountain in the town square (across from the post office).

Which is best ?- It's a personal matter really - try all and find the one you like best. All serve a variety of cold or hot sandwiches, have vegetarian options and serve to go. Mojo's is the healthy option (no fried foods). Poco Loco has a small indoor seating area. This is 'faster' food but not 'fast' -- ie hot food is cooked when you order - they are served within a short wait.

You should be able to eat for around €5-7 with drink and frites (fries) and the sandwiches are very big and filling at all 4.

Other options for saving money are to buy a baguette at one of the many bakeries in town, and shop for some cheese or ham to fill it and pick up a piece of fruit or bag of chips. Several mini grocery stores are found all over the center of Chamonix - Casino and Super U are the 2 chains.

Local bakeries offer small quiches with various fillings, or small sandwiches at lunch time. They usually can heat up them up on request. I have never heard of a bad bakery in Chamonix, though of course everyone has their favorites by the end of the season.

There are many to choose from in town center (Rue Dr Paccard), near the tourist office and near the big roundabout to Argentiere.

In Argentiere there are 2 bakeries and a grocery store all off the main street in town (the grocery store is behind the line of restaurants/bars which include Le Stone Bar).

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Theme: Local
Comparison: least expensive
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: See above

Restaurant Name: Le Bartavel

A smaller restaurant, in summer with outdoor seating and in winter with 'apres ski' heaters set up outside. The daily set menu specials are often very very good and unusual. Otherwise, typical savoyarde food leaning towards an Italian influence such as pizza, pasta, cheese dishes.

Favorite Dish: Pizza here is very good.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Phone: 04 50 53 97 19
Address: Rue du Docteur Paccard (26 cour du Bartavel)
Directions: Center of town, next to the cinema and across from the post office, set back

Restaurant Name: Le Taverne de Chamouny

This is a 'touristy' restaurant in the center of town, yet has consistently very good food (unlike some of the other spots that cater to tourists!). It also has a variety of seafood available, and other regional dishes beyond the typical cheese and pork recipes (though they do also have pierrade, raclette, fondue etc.) Also specialties from Alsace (such as chacroute - saurkraut with various meats or fish).

The prices are definitely tourist prices (ie high!). The name is taken from the old-fashioned way to spell 'Chamonix' (you can see this spelling on old maps) -- so all the Parisians are entirely wrong when they say the name of Chamonix as 'Chamouneecks' - the 'x' is definitely not supposed to be pronounced!

Favorite Dish: Mussels either in curry or white wine sauce - are lovely and fragrant. Spicy fish soup served with cheese and mayonaise sauce and croutons on the side, or the hearty french onion soup are also very good (these filling 'entrees' can easily be your entire lunch).

We have not had a bad meal here yet. Also they serve a special 'game' menu in Fall hunting season (very very expensive). Fresh lobster also available (in tanks).

**Unfortunately I have to update this tip slightly. The food here is still very good, but I recently had a very bad waiter experience here - so I will amend my recommendation to say that the service can be uneven (it was very very slow to get waited on - we clearly had the worst waiter that day and were waited on after several tables who came in after us) and even rude (we got a rolling of the eyes while the waiter was waiting for a small child to order). There is just no excuse for that kind of attitude towards a child.

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Theme: Local
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Address: Center of town, across from the clock tower
Directions: In the pedestrian zone, near the statues and river, right across from the big standing clock tower.

Restaurant Name: La Spiga D'Oro

This restaurant is at the end of the 'main drag' in town as you head towards Les Houches, near some mountain bike rental shops. The fact that it is out of the beaten path but has remained in business for many years shows that the products sold here are good (and worth the high prices). The deli section sells Italian salads and creations that you won't find anywhere else in Chamonix, and due to the fact that we are only 20 minutes from Italy, the items are authentic and fresh. There is also a small restaurant inside which is only open for dinner (reservations recommended) and good on those times when you want to treat yourselves - various specialty menus are available and some require a day's advance notice! They carry the finest Italian produce such as hams, cheeses, and pastas and have a wide selection of Italian wines. Even better, they make their own anti-pasta and sauces which you can also buy from the deli, or eat at the restaurant.


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Theme: Italian
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$31-40  » Currency Converter
Phone: +33 (0)4 50 53 06 49
Address: 80 rue Ravenel-le-Rouge
Directions: From town center (Post office) go down Rue Dr Paccard. At the junction with Ave Aiguille du Midi the name changes to rue Ravanel-le-Rouge - continue straight on past the mountain bike shops and gas station. Restaurant will be on your right.