New to Samoëns this summer 2021 is the Grand Crêt mountain restaurant. Situated half-way between Samoëns 1600 and Vercland, at an altitude of 1250m, or a 45-minute uphill walk from the car park of La Reposette, Vercland.
Eager to try the new restaurant we booked a table on their opening day and started our walk up at 11:30am. The path starts out as a wide gravel track up past the brand-new high speed Vercland télécabine. You quickly gain height walking through the mountain pastures covered in wild flowers, and are rewarded with some fantastic views of Samoëns and further down the valley towards Le Buet and the Pointe de Marcelly in the opposite direction. The path narrows but remains very walkable, so our advice is to wear your walking shoes or hire an e-bike for the afternoon!
Around 45-50 minutes later we arrived at the Grand Crêt which is situated on the piste with the same name. Welcomed with a smile, we were seated and offered a refreshing cocktail of lemon, white wine, Prosecco and lemonade, which went down all too well! The main outside seating is a large decked area, well laid out with plenty of shady tables. Oh, and the view's not bad too! The main kitchen is located outside too so you can watch the chef conjure up some fantastic flavours in his open air kitchen heaven!
The menu was mixed and of a high standard, wonderful to see some variety in the food being offered. From spinach and feta soup to duck terrine to start, and from exquisite tuna tacos to lamb koftas, salmon salad, and BBQ beef and chicken kebabs. Mine was the huge smoke salmon salad which ticked every box! For dessert we only tried the grilled peaches, but they were delicious too. The excellent service was delivered by a confident team led by the very hospitable owner, Onno, who also runs La Reposette in Samoens.
The interior of the restaurant is decorated in a very cosy mountain chic style, centered around a large log burner. Alps Accommodation wish Onno and his team every success with their new venture and can't wait to try the restaurant in the winter sitting around that cosy fire drinking vin chaud!
For reservations, call +33 (0)7 60 70 78 15.
