Chez l'Envers restaurant review

Its prime location on the Avoriaz plateau and welcoming atmosphere makes it the perfect place to grab a drink, burger and chips and a seat in the sun from mid-morning to late afternoon. It’s a great meeting point for families coming out of ski lessons. You can't miss it - keep an eye out for the impressive wooden eagle statue outside the building.

Outside you will find people queuing for in-expensive snacks, sandwiches and drinks. It has a very cool and casual feel, making it a great place to stop and meet friends for a swift demi or a fast-food lunch. If you make it inside after not having been totally tempted by the deck chairs, you'll find a traditional alpine restaurant, complete with log burning fire and savoyarde décor. The waiters and waitresses are welcoming, offering you a choice of table if the restaurant isn’t already full to the brim, which is a rarity due to its ideal location and family-friendly atmosphere.

Their menu is simple, but full of delicious hearty French dishes, salads, soups and spaghetti. The cheese fondue is something you can’t visit France without having... So why not eat it whilst looking over snow covered mountains and thinking about the skiing you’ll do later to burn off the cheese?

We were seated by the log fire, handed a menu and offered a jug of water for the table. When our waiter returned to take our drinks order we attempted our best French, however fortunately most of the staff can speak English, and can spot us Brits a mile off! 

Hanging above us was a chalkboard with the Champagne menu; prices range from 9€ per glass to 600€ for 6 litres! The price was surprising considering that the restaurant isn’t what I would call sophisticated or lavish, but they are catering for holiday makers and corporate groups, as well as seasonnaires. We settled for a hot chocolate and an Orangina.

As far as the food menu goes, they cater for all. Whether you are a vegetarian, coeliac, or have little mouths to feed, you will find something to suit your appetite here. Scribbled on the plat du jour boards inside was ‘Pates au Cepes’, a porcini mushroom pasta dish. We ordered this and a warm goat's cheese and honey salad. The restaurant was fairly quiet when we ordered; it was just before their lunch service starts at midday, meaning that it was only around ten minutes wait before the waiter turned up with two huge plates of food for us.

The plat du jour came with a basket of bread and a small bowl of cheese to sprinkle over the delicious creamy pasta. The dish of the day was 15€, not including a small drink or dessert, which is seemingly expensive compared to other restaurants in Avoriaz who do include something with the meal. Although part of what you are paying for here is the service and surroundings, which were both excellent.

The prices of food range from 9.50€ for nuggets and chips, to 32€ for pork ribs or 37€ for a cote de boeuf (a thick, bone-in rib steak) which are reasonable. Having lived here for well over a year now and scan reading almost every menu to pick out the words ‘chevre chaud’, I can whole heartedly say that this was the best warm goat's cheese salad to have passed my lips. At 14,80€, it was a large portion that was beautifully presented, it was filling and flavoursome… What more is there to rave about?

Our waiter came and asked how the food was; prompting us to mumble something flattering through full mouths. After our meal we we’re offered the dessert menu, we were too full to move, let alone eat any more, but we had a look nonetheless. Crème brulee, chocolate fondue, meringue and apple tarte were just a few of the tasty treats that caught my eye. For 9,50€ an ideal sweet to share is the café gourmand – lots of bite-sized deserts served with a coffee. 

Head down to Chez l'Envers in the late afternoon for live music from 3:30pm – their terrace has just been extended and it's the perfect stage to watch the sun setting behind the mountains. I can’t wait to get back there, mainly so I can grab another amazing goat's cheese salad.