Dining in Serre Chevalier
Serre Chevalier and the surrounding area boasts a strong range of restaurants and grocery shops, although for some of these it's handy to have a car.
Serre Chevalier Mountain Restaurants
There are about a dozen places to eat spread across the mountains of Serre Chevalier, most of them mirroring service in the valley with friendly service, quality cuisine and prices as reasonable as they’re going to be at the top of a mountain.
L'Echaillon, 2200m up on the Fangeas piste down from the summit of the Casse du Boeuf and served by a high speed quad is typical, with traditional cuisine and a sunny terrace from which to admire the beautiful scenery all around you.
La Relais de Ratier (+33 (0)4 92 24 08 76; lerelaisderatier.com) in the Chantemerle sector is larger, located 1900m up on the Serre Ratier Plateau at the top of the first section of the Chantemerle cable car, it has three terraces with great views. You’ll find everything from spaghetti to tartiflettes and the local speciality - cabbage pie! You can also buy a fixed-price ‘skier special meal’ including hot dish, sweet and drink.
Restaurants in Serre Chevalier
There are now a hundred places to eat spread mostly through the four main resorts as well as in the smaller villages in between. The vast majority of these are small, traditional, family run establishments serving regional mountain cuisine to a fair standard with the typical local friendly service. You can also find creperies, pizzerias and most highly starred gastronomic experiences.
There are dozens of choices in each village, most of them good, but a selection of the best would include in Chantemerle La Cabassa (Allée des Boutiques; +33 (0)4 92 24 06 83), good for quick food like a crepe, and La Boule De Neige (Rue du centre; +33 (0)4 92 24 00 16) is great for French cuisine.
In Monetier, La Fruitiere (3 Rue Saint-Eldrade; +33 (0)6 12 03 25 87) is open from breakfast to 11pm serving French specialities, including local pies. Le Kawa (Rue des Glaciers; +33 (0)4 92 24 42 82) is another good choice.
In Villeneuve Le Mojo (Rue de la Guisane; +33 (0)4 92 24 83 93) has an international menu and a good après ski scene. Le Rock Noir (Place de l'Aravet; +33 (0)4 92 24 74 27) has a good selection of local French dishes.
Grocery Shops
One of the best aspects of the strong year-round village culture that sits behind Serre Chevalier’s resort bases is that each centre has those French food stores we Brits know and love – the boulangerie, the boucherie, the patisserie and all the rest supplying good locally produced food fresh daily, as well as the inevitable small supermarkets to bring in ‘the rest’ of the world’s food basics we find it hard to do without.
Monetier is typical of the three ski villages having a small Sherpa supermarket in the village centre which organises deliveries to your accommodation on request. You’ll also find several bakeries and patisseries and a butchers shop that sells fresh vegetables, dairy and ready-made meals as well as the full range of meat products. There’s a weekly market, although unfortunately at the end of most people’s ski weeks on Friday, but it’s good for cheese and dried meats.
Locally caught fish such as trout and locally made cheese and pates can also be purchased.
Briancon has the biggest selection of food shops in the area with two larger supermarkets and a bigger selection of family-run food shops.