Avoriaz - eat, drink, party
Village restaurants
There are around 20 restaurants in Avoriaz, the most exciting of which is the new Garde-Manger Dining Room (00 33 4 50 74 20 02) where chef Jean-Luc Woehl cooks in front of 20 diners using only fresh local ingredients. The daily menu has a choice of three starters, main courses and desserts for a fixed price of €40. More info here.
Christophe Leroy’s Table du Marche (00 33 450 740811) at the Hotel des Dromonts has French gourmet aspirations and an imaginative wine list - with prices to match. The other restaurants are fuelling stations geared to the international market with menus that try to be all things to all diners – a standard mix of Savoyard specialities, steak frites, pizza and pasta.
Picking the right one on any given night is a matter of luck as cooking and service are subject to mood swings. La Reserve (00 33 450 740201) is one of the more reliable, with quality fish and cheese dishes, while Le Bistro (00 33 450 741408) is cheerful and good value, with a range of mountain specialities at around €22 per head including wine. Otherwise take a punt at Le Crepy (00 33 450 741280), La Cabane (00 33 450 742060) or Les Fontaines Blanches (00 33 450 741273). Au Briska (00 33 450 740904) is the cosy romantic option. La Chalande (00 33 450 791969) in Ardent is the other side of the coin, delightfully French in an ancien regime way.
Mountain restaurants
Plan your day around lunch in Les Lindarets, a hamlet with a disproportionate number of rustic restaurants. The best are Cremaillere (00 33 450 741168), known for its bonhomie and its chanterelles, and La Terrasse (00 33 450 741617) which delivers what its name suggests on sunny days; good food professionally served is a welcome bonus. Chez Flo (00 33 450 741994), with a huge terrace opposite the cablecar station in the middle of Avoriaz, works well for groups that include non skiers.
Apres-ski and nightlife
Chapka (00 33 450 74 26 50) is both merry and hip, with Premiership games on TV, pool tables, live music and a range of appetising snacks. La Cabane (0033 450 74 20 60) is also popular. Danish-run Le Place (00 33 685 22 61 53) fills the gap between pub and club, with live bands on occasion. Lots of action in Le Fantastique (00 33 450 74 09 15), Le Yak (00 33 450 49 51 66) and Shooters (00 33 450 74 07 22) which fill up after midnight and go late late.
Festivals
Every year the resort is part of Rock the Pistes, a festival where various daytime stages are set up around the Portes du Soleil ski are, with bands and Djs belting out the tunes, and music events and gigs happening in the resort in the evenings too.
Avoriaz Jazz Festival is now recognised as one of the main jazz festivals in France, and takes place from 6th - 13th April 2013 in the concert hall and various cabaret venues around the resort.
Snowcarbon Founder, Daniel has made a two-minute film about Avoriaz, interviewing British skiers found at random on the slopes, to ask what they think about the resort, which you can see here:
