Val d'Isere - eat, drink, party
The choice of satisfactory eating-places is fairly limited, unless you include those on the Tignes side as well – and prices, as in the Three Valleys, are pretty shocking for a post-Brexit Brit. But if you have the budget, you can eat well.
Mountain restaurants
Le Signal (+33 4 79 06 03 38), also known as Chez Brigitte after its charismatic owner, is at the top of the Le Fornet cable car, The waiter service restaurant is cheerfully decorated in grape and lime and there’s a yurt for cold days and a cool sun terrace for warm where you can enjoy a drink in comfort. It offers classic French regional cuisine. The self-service is probably the best on the mountain and on cold days the roaring log fire is a welcome bonus.
Unless you are an advanced skier or snowboarder La Peau de Vache (+ 33 479 06 11 20) is not the easiest to reach, situated as it is halfway down the extreme black La Face run. But the less adept and non-skiers can reach it – and return – by chair lift. House specialities are enormous gourmet burgers (one is enough for two) and the welcome is wonderful.
Edelweiss (+33 6 10 28 70 64) on the final descent to Le Fornet is a useful little hideaway with dramatic views. Les Tufs (+33 4 79 06 25 01), beside the Funival bottom station) with its steaks, pizzas and local cheesy dishes, is the best-value sit-down lunch in the resort.
La Fruitière (+33 4 79 06 07 17) is next to – and part of – the Folie Douce self-service restaurant and afternoon party venue gets all the publicity. Food is good, but expensive. Its popularity can lead to stressed service. Spag bol served in a glass jar is a house speciality.
La Tête de Solaise (+33 6 33 12 49 03) used to be at the top of the old Solaise Express chair-lift, but from winter 2016/17 it’s now a couple of hundred metres below the top station of the new Solaise Gondola. The gourmet restaurant is good, but remember to bring your sunglasses – it’s in a conservatory. The other restaurant in the building used to be a large self-service, but is now a cheerful brasserie.
Restaurants in town
The choice is still disappointing for a resort of this high profile. L’Atelier Edmond (atelier-edmond.com), by the bottom of the cable car in Le Fornet leads the pack with an impressive two Michelin stars. Most visitors will be reserving Benoit Vidal’s exotic cuisine for a very special occasion, but do try his adjoining Bistrot – great lunches and dinners at a more down-to-earth price.
La Table de l’Ours (hotellesbarmes.com) is the top (and most expensive) of the three restaurants in the five-star Les Barmes de l’Ours hotel. It has only one Michelin star, but prices are equally high.
La Baraque (+33 479 06 18 19) on the main street near the Galérie des Cimes is the wise choice for diners with more mortal wallets, by far the best restaurant in town and much the most welcoming. This is where the locals eat, which say it all. You can also enjoy a quiet early evening drink here or a noisy one later on – it regularly has live folksy music.
La Grande Ourse (grande-ourse.com) on the edge of the nursery slopes has been going for 80 years and, happily, despite fears that it may be forced to close over a property ownership dispute, it still appears to be functioning for this winter. Many regard the classic French cuisine as the best in town. It has a sunny terrace, making it a great spot for lunch – try the fish dishes.
Le Lodge (lodgebar.net) and La Casserole (+33 479 41 15 71), both by Dick’s Tea Bar, good for steaks, pizzas, and cheesy Alpine fare.
Après-ski & nightlife
The French have never been much good at après-ski, failing to compete with Austrians, Swiss, and, Italians who see lift closing time as an opportunity to party the early evening into oblivion.
Val d’Isère is increasingly one of the exceptions to the rule. Celebrations begin up the mountain at La Folie Douce by mid-afternoon, featuring DJs, live music, and dancers.
Cocorico, its main competitor, on the piste by the bus turning circle at the front de neige, is increasingly popular – in part because you don’t have to ski down from here, you just stagger 10m to the bus stop.
The Moris Pub, Blue Note, and the Pacific Bar attract a largely Brit clientèle while Le Petit Danois grabs the Scandi crowd. Fall Line, Café Face and Dick’s Tea Bar start off mellow but become increasingly noisy as the evening – and the night – progresses. Way after dark the basement of Cocorico opens its doors as La Doudoune and closes them again at 5am.
