Alpe d'Huez - eat-drink-party

In the town

There are dozens of restaurants in Alpe d’Huez representing just about every cuisine. Au P’tit Creux (0033 4 76 80 62 80) never disappoints – we love the tajine de poisson à la citronelle. Au Dahu Grille (0033 476 113 558) is where you’ll find many of the locals eating, and it’s open until 2 am. L’Authentique is popular for both traditional mountain dishes and Italian food (try the reblochon lasagne) and Smithy’s (0033 476 11 32 29) is highly rated for its Tex-Mex – ribs, fajitas and all. While we’ve had good reports about several other eateries, we’re still working our way through them!

The Underground, the Pacific Pub and the O’Bar (0033 6 08 14 51 46) are watering holes where we’ve enjoyed an après-ski libation, while the Sporting, known for good live bands, the Igloo (0033 4 76 80 94 98) and the Cave de l’Alpe are Alpe d’Huez’s dedicated late-night clubby venues.

Mountain restaurants

Including those both on the slopes and directly at their base, there are more than 30 mountain restaurants in Alpe d’Huez. Annoyingly, not all are marked on the piste map – there is a separate little guide listing all of them. We’ve found that most are at least acceptable, with some especially excellent.

Our personal favourites are the attractive new restaurant, Signal 2108 (0033 6 28 28 81 88) and the sunny terrace of the Perce Neige (0033 476 80 69 67) above Oz which is delightful – book in advance here to be sure of a table. The Chalet du Lac Besson (0033 476 80 65 37), on the edge of a frozen lake, is a bit out of the way but well worth a visit for grills over an open fire (and they do cheap children’s portions here too).