Where to Eat in Tremblant

Have lunch in Tremblant village. At the bottom of the south face. Lunch on the mountain is a must for many skiers but, as with almost all North American resorts, the on-mountain ‘dining’ is better described as fast food. The village lunch spots are much more charming and you’re only nine minutes from the peak on the Express gondola. On the plus side, if you do go to either of the two mountain restaurants you can pick up soup and bread relatively cheaply.

This is because the mountain restaurants are nothing to write home about, sadly, despite this being French Canada. Le Grand Manitou (+1 819 681 3000) at the summit does boast some stone and wood walls, but it is still canteen-like, and the Fourchette du Diable (+1 819 681 5762) at the bottom of the north face only merits a visit for a hot chocolate or a soup. It is a shame, as just next door to the Fourchette du Diable is the charming, disused old ski school building, which is crying out to be converted into a nice restaurant. We promise to promote any entrepreneurial reader who wants to give it a go.

The atmospheric restaurants are found in town

There are about 15 proper restaurants in the pedestrian village in addition to the hotel restaurants and fast food joints. Les Artistes (+1 819 681 4606) is a nice, atmospheric restaurant that does good, French-style food and offers reasonable-value set meals, which makes budgeting easy. For finer dining, try L’Avalanche which serves ‘modern French and North American dishes with Mediterranean and Asian flavours’. It also has a weekly live musician. Alternatively try Tremblant’s finest – the award-winning Aux Truffes, but don’t expect it to come cheap. It is renowned for fresh Quebec duck foie gras but also venison, seafood, and of course, truffles. Traditional Savoyarde food is available at La Savoie, with fondue, pierrade and raclette on offer.

For those who came to Canada to get away from all that, O Wok does excellent Asian cuisine. Yamada is an unusual Japanese place in the Westin Resort & Spa, with dishes that include sashimi pizza. There are plenty of other cheaper Italian and more American-style eateries such as Pizzateria and Resto-bar Casey’s.

A sugary treat

Our blogger Roger Bray discovered maple taffy while he was in Tremblant recent. He reports: “In spring the locals wait until the sap starts to ooze and drop straight from the tree onto the snow, where is solidifies. Outside La Cabane a Sucre the syrup is poured onto ice formed in the recess of one end of a barrel and left for 45 seconds. Then it’s rolled up on a stick and eaten like a lollypop”.

See also our feature on The Best Mountain Food All Skiers Should Try At Least Once.