Val Thorens Snow Report: 16th December 2013

More of the 3 Valleys opened this weekend, including la Tania, the lower Courchevels and St Martin de Belleville, meaning the majority of the ski area is now open. In Méribel, just the Mont Vallon remains closed: the head of the valley is perfectly white and enticingly groomed but frustratingly out of reach still. The slopes are noticeably busier than last week and today we were slightly shocked to be obliged to stand in a lift queue for almost a whole minute. Next week we expect normal high season numbers on the slopes over Christmas.

This week, in a spirit of enquiry (oh, all right, greed) we’ve been trying out two restaurants on the slopes: a brand new chic outfit in Courchevel called la Cave des Creux, and an old favourite now under new management, Le Blanchot in Méribel.

La Cave des Creux is a beautiful chalet-style restaurant at the top of the Gravelles chairlift. Built this summer by young ESF instructors, this has an on-trend chalet/industrial/vintage style interior and a sun terrace with gorgeous views.  The little touches like snugly blankets on your chair, sheepskin-lined recliners and discrete patio heaters tell you that you are about to be properly pampered. The service is indeed charming and the food is good. The only downside is the price. We had the burger and chips at a steep 26€ and noticed the plat du jour was 28€ (for comparison, a dish of the day in Méribel Valley is around half that price and around 10-12€ in Les Menuires).

If a Jeroboam of Cristal champagne at 5,000€ is your thing, then you’ll love the Cave des Creux. If you don’t want your credit card to jump out of your wallet in fright and run away down the piste, you might choose to lunch elsewhere.

Le Blanchot Restaurant at the Altiport in Méribel has long been a favourite of mine (and indeed, a favourite of my snow-depth Labrador, who has often done a bunk and been found begging on le Blanchot terrace. He’s a dog capable of appreciating the Blachot’s gastronomic cuisine). Over the past few years, the food quality has remained high but prices have been growing even higher so we were interested to see what changes the new owner, Bernard, would make.

“Professionalism with a smile” is Bernard’s stated aim, together with quality ingredients and greater comfort. I’m pleased to report that the new team are indeed friendly and efficient and the food very good and a tiny bit less fancy.

The prices are lower than before and seem fair for the high quality of the food (main courses €13 – €35 and the set three course meal at €40). It seems as if Le Blanchot is once again the place to visit for a special lunch.

This report is meant to be about snow not restaurants, so I’ll finish with the good news that snow is forecast on Thursday night so we should see an beautiful white resort for Christmas week.