L'Impossible Restaurant Review

The Italian family run restaurant feels entirely different from the traditional Savoyard vibe of many Chamonix establishments – the grand yet not overstated décor with impressive chandeliers and a huge, open log fire gives the restaurant a very special feel whilst remaining warm and homely.

The menu provides a vast variety of options, with four, three-course set menus started at 37€, an array of soups at around 15€ and pastas, fish dishes and creative meat plates ranging in price from 15 to 29€. All this is accompanied by an extensive wine list of French and Italian wines – I would certainly recommend allowing the knowledgeable owners Martha and Donatella to recommend wines to complement the dishes on their menu. Their choices for us were inspired and really made our dining experience.

Whilst browsing the menu, we were welcomed with a cold, sparkling glass of Prosecco - a very classy start to a special evening. This was shortly followed by an interesting amuse-bouche of Lentil Dahl with balls of bread cooked in olive oil.

Martha selected a lovely light Italian Pinot Blanc to accompany this and our starters. To begin, we chose the Ricotta and Parmesan Mousse with herbs and Chestnut honey served with a salad of small sprouts and ginger and pear in a syrup gratined with ‘Pecarino di Pierizo’ cheese and the Minestrone soup of beans, Savoy cabbage and potatoes with sage and rosemary oil. The selection of flavours in the former combined brilliantly to give a delicious mix of sweet fruit and slightly bitter cheese, whilst the chunky vegetables in the hearty soup provided different tastes with every mouthful.

We followed this with the organic guinea fowl leg stuffed with porcini mushrooms and hazelnuts, leek sauce, apples and Espeletti chilli with La Ratte potatoes and Steamed Broccoli and the fillet of line-caught sole with a fennel sauce, potato rosti and savoy cabbage and sweet root vegetable salad. My rich game main was exquisitely complemented by the smooth and fruity Connonau di Sardegna selected by our host, bringing out the flavours of the red meat wonderfully. The lighter fish main was also a beautiful selection of ingredients, brilliantly cooked.

To finish, we selected a hazelnut fondant with a nougat parfait and chocolate sauce from the ‘traditional dessert’ menu and a pear and chocolate tartlet served with saffron ice cream from the intriguing ‘natural dessert’ menu, where all dishes are cooked without sugar, eggs, butter, cream of milk. Donatella explained that her husband, the head chef, uses dairy and gluten free alternatives such as rice flour and soya milk in these desserts. The warm fondant was very creamy and generally delicious, whilst the tartlet was a tasty, if very crumbly cake (perhaps due to the alternative ingredients) and saffron turning out to be an awesome, interesting ice cream flavour.

L’Impossible provides a really special fine-dining experience with personal friendly service and brilliantly unusual cuisine, refreshingly lacking any pretentiousness.