0
0
Share with your friends










Submit
  • Home
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Privacy
  • Property
  • Contact
  • Sitemap

Logo

Navigation
  • Ski Resorts
  • Where to Ski
  • How to Ski
  • Snow
    • Snow Report
  • Gear
    • Ski Clothing
    • Ski Equipment
  • Family Skiing
  • Ski Holidays
  • Deals
  • Summer

The Three Valleys’ Secret Mountain Restaurant

By Alf Alderson | on January 11, 2013 | 8 Comments
Ski Holiday
The Three Valleys' Secret Mountain Restaurant | Welove2ski

Owner Eric Jay and St Bernard puppy ‘Happy’. Photo: © Alf Alderson.

It’s pretty hard to keep anything a secret in what is possibly the world’s most popular ski area, but I think I stumbled across one today – Chez Pépé Nicolas.

Chez Pépé Nicolas is a traditional Savoyarde mountain restaurant above Les Menuires that very few skiers know about, even saisonnaires. This may be because you can’t actually access it directly from any of the pistes – led by local resident Caroline Sayer our group of seven had to make a short traverse from the bottom of Montalauver drag-lift, cross a road then drop down a short steep slope to get to our lunch, but hey, a bit of adventure improves one’s appetite.

Our brief off-piste excursion was certainly worth the effort. We received an effusive welcome from owner Eric Jay, whose grandfather Nicolas bought the traditional alpine chalet, in which Chez Pépé Nicolas is located, in 1957 to raise cows and goats from which to produce traditional Tomme de Savoie cheese (which features in many of the restaurant’s dishes).

The Three Valleys' Secret Mountain Restaurant | Welove2ski

Croque monsieur Belleville. Photo: © Alf Alderson.

I enjoyed a croque monsieur Belleville which, at 21€, wasn’t cheap but it was unlike any croque monsieur I’ve ever had, consisting of a superb combination of polenta, turkey and Tomme de Savoie – the ideal fuel for the cold, overcast day we were experiencing.

There was a definite feeling of exclusivity about being one of a small group of diners in this hidden corner of the Three Valleys, the irony being that there were pistes within a few hundred metres of us – yet none of the hundreds of skiers whizzing down them were aware of this cosy, traditional little mountain hideaway.

It’s not a situation that’s likely to exist for long however. Once word gets out I’m sure there’ll be no end of skiers wanting to check out Chez Pépé Nicolas and, if you don’t mind a short hike up a steep slope from the blue Boulevard Cumin piste, you don’t even need to test your off-piste skills to get here.

Share this story:
  • tweet

Tags: Ski Holiday

Recent Posts

  • Morzine – For Skiing and Non-Skiing

    March 8, 2023 - 0 Comment
  • Six Reasons We Love Going to St Anton by Train

    February 1, 2023 - 0 Comment
  • 7 of the Best Wines to Sip on A Dolomites Ski Trip

    January 24, 2023 - 1 Comment

Related Posts

  • 7 of the Best Wines to Sip on A Dolomites Ski Trip

    January 24, 2023 - 1 Comment
  • The Secrets of the Alta Badia Piste Map

    February 12, 2022 - 0 Comment
  • Seven Snowy Reasons to Look Forward to Winter

    November 17, 2021 - 0 Comment

Author Description

Alf Alderson

Alf Alderson is an award-winning adventure sports and travel journalist and photographer based in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales. He writes for a wide range of publications and websites including The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Independent, Toronto Globe & Mail, South China Morning Post and Financial Times. He is the editor of the digital magazine churchoftheopensky.co.uk

8 Responses to “The Three Valleys’ Secret Mountain Restaurant”

  1. Avatar

    January 11, 2013

    welove2ski Reply

    Shhhh..it’s a secret…https://t.co/LeulCeUV

  2. Avatar

    January 11, 2013

    alfinwales Reply

    The Three Valleys’ Secret Mountain Restaurant | Welove2ski https://t.co/gmrvmOM2

  3. Avatar

    January 11, 2013

    skifamille Reply

    A great find in the #3Valleys vis @welove2ski https://t.co/FQUYbDg3

  4. Avatar

    January 11, 2013

    TheSkiBug Reply

    Have never heard of it but guess no longer a secret now!

  5. Avatar

    January 14, 2013

    ErnaLow Reply

    The secret Les 3 Vallees restaurant https://t.co/OOigrNRT @welove2ski @3Vallees_france

  6. Avatar

    January 27, 2013

    ABB Reply

    Just back from Three Valleys and spent some considerable time trying to locate this restaurant as mentioned in the post. Sadly details are a very inaccurate as per the bottom of Montlever etc drag lift, as keen off piste skier in a group of four we all failed to find the place following the post details and certainly no where near a piste. Next time can we have more accurate facts!

    • Felice Hardy

      January 28, 2013

      Felice Hardy Reply

      Sorry you couldn’t find the restaurant. The author of the post has given me some extra instructions: it’s in between the Blvd Cumin blue run and the road from Les Menuires to Val Thorens. You can ski down to it from Montalauver lift and cross the road to get to it.

  7. Avatar

    February 27, 2013

    Ann Corke Reply

    WE’ll have to go to this place Edward, if only to see the St Bernard puppy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Free Updates

Join 16,000 clever people who get the latest Welove2ski content delivered to their inbox

RSSSubscribe 15139 Followers 10135 Fans

The Loveometer

Zermatt: Cool Chalets, Certain Snow and The Majestic Matterhorn
100 %
Tweenager Tips: How to Enjoy Ski Holidays with Older Kids
98 %
How to Go Green On Your Ski Holiday
98 %
St Anton, Austria: Wild Nights, Steep Pistes and Challenging Backcountry
97 %
Weird and Wonderful Ski Fads and Fashions
94 %
  • Home
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Privacy
  • Property
  • Contact
  • Sitemap
© 2020. All Rights Reserved. Created with love by WL2S