Chamonix Apres-Ski Report: 16th January 2013

First on the cards was a posh night out at one of Chamonix's 3 Michelin starred restaurants, Le Bistrot at 4* Hotel Morgane. We went on a Wednesday night, when there was live music from a pianist/singer who set the scene with some soothing jazz and lounge music. Le Bistrot is the kind of upmarket place where you can easily spend a month's rent in one night if you wish, we preferred to keep a roof over our heads though so we opted for the special menu at 50€ for 3 courses and a dessert.

To start we both had the salmon gravlax; zesty strips of cured salmon served with celeriac mousse and vegetables that had been dressed in some sort of light citrus vinegar, it was very flavoursome and a great kick-start for the taste buds. In between courses the waitress brought over a little "amuse bouche" to cleanse our palates in readiness for the next dish, some sort of creamy cauliflower-tasting thing. We then moved on to a beautifully cooked piece of cod with a crispy skin and crunchy strips of onion on top, complimented by a parmesan cream and turnip "boule d'or" - a small sweet version of a turnip, which translates rather grandly as "ball of gold". For the final course my friend enjoyed a piece of roast chicken with a crunchy potato croquette while I tucked into an array of roasted scallops served with a Jerusalem artichoke mousse and julienne vegetables. The scallops were perfectly cooked through, crisp on top and still tender in the middle, while the Jerusalem artichoke mousse was something I'd never tasted before which proved to be light, creamy and delicious. Dessert was also a bit of a revelation as it was Savoyard kiwi fruit (who knew kiwis were grown in the Savoie? I certainly didn't!) served with a layer of crème brûlée; a deliciously fresh and tangy end to a rich meal.

We could have sampled 3 different wines to complement our meal for an extra 30€, or there are other menus for 65€ that include 4 course, cheese and dessert or 85€ for 5 courses, cheese and dessert. Certainly not a budget night out but surprisingly good value when you consider the extremely high quality and inventiveness of the dishes.

The atmosphere at Le Morgane is très sophisticated with soft lighting, furry rugs, chic furniture and not a wooden ski or cowbell in sight. It is a short walk from the centre of Chamonix, near to the Aiguille du Midi lift station in the "Cham Sud" area, but it feels like the kind of restaurant you might find in one of the more swanky quarters of a cosmopolitan city, rather than in one of the less posh quarters of a traditional Alpine town.

Just a few nights later we found ourselves pushing the boat out yet again (hey, we both worked Christmas and New Year so we've earned a bit of indulgence...) when we went for dinner at L'Atmosphere. This is one of Chamonix's most well established restaurants with a solid reputation for fine cuisine; it's always busy and I've only ever heard good things about it, so we were dying to give it a try. Tucked away beside the river you go down a short flight of stairs that you could easily mistake for being a delivery entrance for the shoe shop next door, its inauspicious entrance gives way to an elegant bar where you are greeted by friendly staff who take your coat and lead you to your table. The dining room is split up into lots of little nooks and crannies that make the chic modern style feel very cosy and intimate. The most popular tables are those alongside the long window that looks out over the river, so make a special request when booking if you want one of these!

We started with good intentions of ordering from one of the set menus but made the fatal error of asking the waitress what the fish of the day was. As soon as she mentioned risotto with scallops and lobster all thoughts of minding the pennies went out of the window and caution was thrown to the wind. Once we'd made the plunge into the a la carte menu we decided to choose cunningly and order things that we would both like to try so that we could share our dishes and have a good old tasting session. Between us we sampled the Salad Atmosphere (16€) and the mashed potato with olive oil and smoked char served with avruga caviar (15€) to start. The salad was big enough that it would have made a decent main course or a lunch; large slivers of tender smoked salmon were served over mixed salad leaves with a couple of succulent flambéed red prawns and a lovely creamy-coleslaw-type thing made of shrimp and dill. I wasn't sure was to expect when I ordered the mashed potato but it was a far cry from stodgy spud; a thin base of light creamy mashed potato piled up with delicate morsels of pink char, the smoky flavour of which was offset by a dollop of crème fraîche and tasty beads of avruga caviar.

Next up was the highly anticipated risotto (32€) and a steak served with potato gratin and root vegetables (32€). The risotto was every bit as good as the waitress had lead me to believe; creamy without being gloopy and laden with delicious flavours, the scallops were every bit as good as those at Le Morgane but completely different in their context. If I claim not to be sure which ones I preferred do you think I could justify going back and trying them both again...? My other half was most happy with his meal as well; a thick piece of tender beef cooked to perfection and served with what he assured me was a very good Bearnaise sauce (I tried it and liked it but I'm no expert when it comes to Bearnaise, not in his league anyway). I was a big fan of the potato gratin though and he was lucky that I was filling up fast otherwise he might have had to sacrifice more of it in the name of research. To be honest, the starters were significantly bigger and richer than either of us had been expecting so we were a bit fuller at this point that we intended to be; if we go again I might be tempted to share a starter to better appreciate the main course.

We didn't think that we could possibly squeeze in a dessert but the very persuasive waitress was back wielding a menu; don't get me wrong, she was in no way pushy but she clearly enjoyed recommending her favourite dishes and seemed genuinely pleased when we opted for something that she personally approved of. Not that we exactly needed our arms twisting but somehow we ended up with an Irish coffee and a black chocolate crisp with pistachio cream and morello cherry sauce (9€). The waitress did not fail us this time either, they were both extremely good choices. I felt a bit of a barbarian though when the chocolate crisp arrived beautifully presented as thin crunchy discs of dark chocolate sandwiched with light pistachio mousse and the only way I could find to eat it was to smash into it with the back of my spoon so that it all splattered out sideways; ho hum, it wasn't on the plate long enough for anyone to notice the scene of destruction. I also have the world's best boyfriend in the respect that he DOESN'T LIKE CHOCOLATE, meaning that any unwanted chocolatey bits get donated my way. I can confirm that the chocolate petit four that comes with the Irish coffee is amazingly good - a mouthful of incredibly rich velvety indulgent amazingness. I'm seriously not exaggerating, its amazing (have I used that adjective often enough for you to get the idea yet?). Order coffee even if you don't like it just to try the chocolate.

The bill was steeper than we expected at 150€ between us but neither of us could fault the food, the service or the surroundings. If you wanted to do it on a tighter budget you could opt for one of the set menus which include a 25€ lunchtime menu, a 28.50€ Savoyard menu or a 32€ tradition menu - or you could share starters and desserts as the portions are so generous. The options for vegetarians are fairly non-existent but there are plenty of fish dishes and the staff were so accommodating that I imagine they would probably adapt a meat dish for you to something more veggie-friendly.

Chamonix has a huge array of fine restaurants, including 3 with Michelin stars (Le Morgane, Albert 1er, Auberge Bois Prin). The quality here is so high that anywhere substandard would simply go out of business within their first season, so you can be sure that anywhere that has been open more than one winter must be good! You can find all restaurant listings, as well as our very own reviews here >>

As well as stuffing our faces there is plenty going on in Chamonix this week; on Wednesday we have the first of many Guest DJ nights at South Bar, with Marc Darwin laying down some dirty dubstep and drum'n'bass until 2am. Chamonix Chamois ice hockey team will be playing matches on Friday and Sunday, tickets are 12€ on the door and there is a bar/restaurant right next to the rink so you can watch the action from the warmth of the lounge! Playing every night this week at MOO Bar is former Chamonix apres-ski legend, Jerry Haglund, make sure you catch him in concert before he legs it back to Sweden... All this and more can be found on our events calendar - have a great week!