Back from the Past II, A restaurant review

As has been said in my last post, Megève is full of very good restaurants, the most difficult task is to pick one !

We were 6 adults that evening and we all wanted to have an authentic experience : we were craving for real "comfort" food, that is to say veeery rich, in a warm atmosphere, you know, with walls covered with dark wood, rustic furnitures, red and white checkered tablecloth, plenty of bibelots and of course the unmissable old-fashioned paintings. You know what ? We found it !!

"Le Torrent" had it all, plus we had heard good things about it by word of mouth (it is a new restaurant). As it was within walking distance from our Chalet, we immediately called to make a reservation.

That evening, the restaurant was full. Nevertheless, the waitress was very pleasant and we even had the Chef himself take our desserts orders.

First we had a glass of Champagne (I know It is not really typical from the French Alps but we wanted to celebrate something). As a starter I ordered "bone marrow on slices of toasted baguettes" ( I can see you grimacing and thinking "OMG ! Did she really order bone marrow ??"). The marrow was excellent (I really love it) but the baguettes were  too greasy to my taste. I thought they had been sauteed with butter but the Chef explained to me that the "grease" was coming exclusively from the marrow on top ! 4 of us ordered sauteed scallops with soy-honey sauce and the 6th one had salmon rillettes. Actually, I was the only adventurous one ! I enjoyed the way the plates were decorated and garnished (see the pictures).

 

Bone marrow, scallops and salmon rillettes.

As a main plate, I ordered "spiced lamb crumble" but asked before if there was cinnamon in it (I am not really fond of it) and the waitress said "no". But to my big surprise, there was actually cinnamon !! I could smell it without the slighest shadow of doubt ! Well, I did not really mind as it was in a savory dish but I really really cannot eat it in sweet dishes...The other guests were very happy with their choices : veal rib cooked with real hay (foin), trout from the local river, sirloin steak served with a risotto and carrots, each in a yogourt glass.

  lamb, veal, trout,steak

The desserts were a lot of fun as you can see in the pictures : I had a poire belle helene (poached pears with hot chocolate coulis) served in a glass and topped with an excellent whipped cream and a home-made biscuit on the side, 2 had the chestnuts cold soup also served in a glass, topped with Chantilly and decorated (how sweet) with a little marshmallow chocolate bear. This is a new trend in restaurants : the "regressive" desserts, that is to say desserts using candies or other sweets from our childhood. I will write a post about it very soon.The other desserts were more classic (duo of creme brulée and lemon/ginger sherbet).

Pears, Chestnuts, crême brulées, and coffee.

Ah and I forgot to mention that this restaurant was non-smoking ! Very good point. Overall, a nice dinner in a warm and cozy atmosphere, a visible Chef (which should always be the case in other restaurants), some creative dishes. I was invited so I don't know the bill, but I am quite sure the the 3-course menu did not exceed 30 euros per person.

Le Torrent, 18 rue Ambroise Martin, 74120 Megeve, France. Tel : 04 50 58 92 21

Other good adresses in Megève :

• Restaurants : L'Auberge du Grenand, typical food from Savoy (raclette, fondues,..), Au Grenier de Megève, Da Raffaele (high end Italian Restaurant), Chez Luc (Great food, great Terrace, Luc is very nice), La ferme de mon Père if you can afford it (personnally I can't!) 3 Michelin stars !, Le Flocon de Sel, 2 Michelin Stars, Les Drêts, Le Puck an excellent brasserie., Le Coeur de Megeve for its amazing hot spiced wine...
• Hotels : All the hotels belonging to the Sibuet family (a local family) are amazing. Check out their website, you will be impressed. My favourite is les Fermes de Marie, I have promised myself that, if one day I win the lottery, I will stay there 2 weeks. For the moment, all I can do is having a hot-chocolate-and-cake there after the ski and it is a real treat. The service and the cakes are top-notch.

Comments

[robin]

Anne-

Looks like you had a lovely time! The hotels you suggested look very lovely....can't be inexpensive! It looks like the weather was mild, not much snow? And I must ask...what does 'bone marrow' taste like?

Robin