Alpe d'Huez Ski Resort Dining

Alpe d'Huez

Dining (in the village and on the slopes)

Alpe d'Huez has an excellent collection of moderately priced restaurants both in town and on the slopes. This resort is not a cathedral to grand cooking honored by those who live their life according to Michelin. But, the cooking is excellent and the value is exceptional. Even France's toughest food critics make the same claim. Come here to enjoy the good things in life and dining is definitely among them.

It is best to call ahead for dinner reservations, especially on Saturday night when the arriving crowds appear. Dining is clustered in several spots within the resort. The old village Vieil Alpe section around the tourist office is one.

Le Passe-Montagne (476 11 34 53) is a cute and popular on Route de la Post, behind the tourist office. It is airy with a deck for sunny days and a fireplace for cold nights. It specializes on mountain cuisine.

Restaurant l'Edelweiss (476 80 65 64) is a woodsy mountain restaurant that specilizes in Savoyard meals such as tartiflette, fondues and raclettes. It is less expensive than Le Passe-Montagne, across the street, Route de la Poste. The presentation is excellently done with touches of a gourmet place.

La Cremaillere (476 80 60 38) on Route de la Vieil Alpe, wreaks with traditional atmosphere. Tables are packed closely and are normally filled with tourists and locals alike. Well-priced pizzas are excellent and cooked in a wood-fired oven. The raclette is presented properly as a hunk of cheese from which diners can scrape the melted bits and enjoy it with potatoes, onions and pickles. The cook also prepares lots of duck dishes from the southwest of France.

Le Genepi (476 80 36 22), Route Romaine, just below the tourist office, is an ancient farm house that is authentically l'Oisans. Try the traditional specialties as well as the beef rib and duck breast.

Au Puits des Saveurs (476 80 65 65), Route Romain, has a nice deck for good weather in spring. The cooking is traditional mountain with a nice children's menu making this a good early place for families.

Les Caves de l'Alpe (476 80 92 44) on Route du Coyulet is a climb from the tourist office, but surrounded by the villages discos and nightlift spots. The Pierrades (meat cooked on a stone), fondues and raclettes are very popular.

Pizzeria Le Roy Ladre (486 80 68 34), rue du Vieil Alpe, is normally packed with those enjoying their pizzas and Italian food. The decibles increase when a table orders La Grolla, the multi-spouted wooded communal Savoy drinking bowl filled with mulled wine.

Another collection of restaurants is around the skating rink, swimming pool and sports center. Here are our choices for the best of this lot.

Pomme de Pin (476 80 42 34) Avenue des Jeux, is built into an old 1881 barn filled with atmosphere. The traditional woodsy dining area is perfect for mountain fare like tartiflette and raclette. The Plat du Jour is only €10 or so and they have a children's menu as well.

Au Grenier (476 80 64 11) packs diners under a barrel-vaulted ceiling with picture windows opening out to a panoramic mountain view. The south-facing terrace is perfect for a springtime lunch in the sun. This is a good place to sample cassolette, a bean dish from the southwest of France.

Au Montagnard (476 80 97 35) serves traditional meals in a traditional setting. Nothing special but consistent.

Le Sporting (476 80 33 45) right next to the skating rink is combination disco and restaurant. Stop in early to the disco side for a drink and then duck into the traditional restaurant for mountain cooking. The place is packed with a crowd that seems to focus on fondue, raclette and pierrades (slices of meat that diners cook at their table on a heated plate or hot rock). Curiously, the restaurant also serves oriental cuisine with the traditional menu.

l'Authentique (476 80 43 31) across from the skating rink is the Italian place of choice for many locals. Here the traditional dishes are served with a mountain twist such as lasagna made with roblechon rather than mozzarella. This can be one of the bargain spots in town.

Le Bato Ivre (476 80 44 68) is very casual with folding chairs and an easy-going atmosphere. This restaurant's main claim to fame is its late-night hours. Come here to get your pizza fix until 4 a.m.

Pizza Roll, Pizza Tchao, and Pinnochio are all pizza places that are all but lined up across from the skating rink. Many locals swear by Pizza Roll, but others line up at Tchao and Pinnochio.

Dining on the slopes

Alpe d'Huez has a fine collection of "altitude" restaurants. Here the restaurants on the slopes are about the same price as restaurants down in the town.

Les Airelles (476 80 79 78) is on the mountain in the Vaujany section of the pistes. Dine inside in a cave carved out of rock or in the attic of the old mountain hut when the weather is cold. Sit outside on the sunny deck when the weather cooperates. The traditional meals and local wines are served with pride.

La Cabane (476 80 42 88) is tucked in a protected nook of the cragy mountains in the Bergers sector of the mountain. It can also be reached on foot by a short walk from the Marmottes gondola midstation. It is also open many evenings for dinner in front of a roaring fire with transportation back to the village by snowcats. Skiers and riders can find serious gourmet meals here.

Chantebise (476 80 40 21) at the midstation of the gondola has a massive deck for dining when the sun is shining. They can close in a portion the dining area during colder weather. Don't come here for charm or gourmet food. On a sunny day, it is hard to beat and convenient for meeting others who may be on foot or for a mixed group of skiers.

la Grange (476 11 03 66) over by the l'Arpette lift midstation, above Oz-en-Oisans, is filled with younger skiers wolfing down pasta, pizza and crepes. Music from the 80s blares from speakers and the late lunch crowd, with plenty of fun-loving Dutch, is clearly having fun, especially in the spring.