La Maison Carrier Restaurant Review
Excellent Restaurant Serving Gourmet French Cuisine & Alpine Specialities
La Maison Carrier is one of two restaurants belonging to the Hameau de Albert Premier Hotel. It is a cosy, traditional French restaurant where past meets present in a typical Savoyarde style chalet. It offers relaxed dining for those seeking quality traditional, unfussy, earthy, local food without resorting to the ubiquitous fondue and tartiflette.
The wooden dining room creates a welcoming and surprisingly intimate atmosphere, and there is a wonderful sunny terrace for al fresco dining during the summer. In fact in the summer this is one of our favourite spots in the valley for relaxed lunchtime indulgence, offering an excellent salad buffet, light summer courses, and excellent value for money especially in comparison to staying right in the centre of town; and the gardens, away from the hustle and bustle, with their particular view of the Mont Blanc are fantastic for whiling away the afternoon with coffee or even a gin & tonic!
You can choose from the à la carte menu or one of the set menus that are very reasonably priced, given the levels of service and quality of the 'amuse bouche', the 'between course palate-refreshers', and even the bread and butter is in a league of their own!
The Menu du Jour, served every lunchtime except Sunday, offers a choice of three starters, two desserts and a set main course for €24, and is an absolute steal. Fans of pork might want to try the Menu "Tout Cochon" for €40. As the name suggests, it's pig all the way for four courses followed by cheese and dessert. The wine list includes some of the very best French wines as well as more modest regional ones, in addition to wine from local vineyards in the Aosta Valley in Italy and the Le Valais region of Switzerland.
For this write-up we headed to La Maison Carrier on a bad weather day for a long lunch. The menu features the likes of pigs trotters with béarnaise sauce and gratin Savoyard, roasted rack of lamb with sautéed potatoes and a rich chicken casserole served with braised lettuce. Whilst you are deciding, you can nibble on an assortment of amuse-bouche and fresh, home-baked breads. Vegetarians are also catered for - try Crème Vichyssoise as a starter and Rissotto Piemontais or Tagliatelles a l’oeuf poche for main.
For starters, we opted for medallions of pork with a red pepper salsa and cream cheese, and black pudding served with sautéed pear and potatoes. The dishes are beautifully presented and the portion size generous. The pork medallions had been slow cooked and were deliciously moist and tender, and the black pudding suitably spicy and satisfying. For our mains, we plumped for a lobster salad with parmesan and vinaigrette dressing and pan fried foie gras served with truffles and a herb salad. Rich food indeed and undeniably delicious! By the time we had finished, our stomachs were happily rounded, and the accompanying wine recommended by the sommelier had had its magically soothing effect. But wait; there was still temptation on offer with a fabulous spread of desserts that you can help yourself to; or the potent smelling cheeseboard, featuring an array of locally produced cheeses from real cheesemakers rather than factories. We can highly recommend the tarte tatin, packed full of fruit and sticky sweet, and the chocolate cake is satisfyingly dark and rich. Finish off your meal with strong espresso and petit fours.
The food at La Maison Carrier manages to pull off an amazing triple whammy – it is sophisticated but earthy and rich in flavours; dishes are both elegant and satisfying; things look good but taste better. Service is slick and unobtrusive and the sommelier will know exactly which wine will suit your food choice. Go when you have time to enjoy the ambiance, this kind of dining experience deserves to be savoured!
