Le Rond Point Restaurant

The atmosphere ath Le Rond Point was bustling and pleasantly informal, with families and groups of friends enjoying a hearty lunch before returning to the slopes. This year’s menu offers a mixture of old favourites and some new dishes, with fewer Asiatic influences than in previous years. Starters included mussels, fresh thyme and tomato soup and garlic bread, but we chose the bruschetta with wild mushrooms, caramelised onion and goats cheese with rocket salad (€13). This arrived promptly (as with all the courses we ordered) and the Bruschetta was generously laden with a very tasty topping.

Main courses range from steaks, large salads, pizzas, pasta dishes, noodles, mussels and a choice of rostis, all served with interesting and slightly unusual accompaniments. We tried the ragout of chicken with leek, fennel and carrot with balsamic and garlic on olive oil mash (22€) and the Rond Point’s signature dish of duck leg confis on rosti with roasted radiccio and redcurrants (24€). Both dishes were very tasty and sized for a keen appetite. The chicken was tender with a delicious sauce, and the rich duck confit melted off the bone, and was nicely contrasted by the raddicio. Both were attractively but not pretentiously presented.

By now we were feeling pleasantly replete, but once we had viewed the dessert menu (offering amongst others, tarte tatin, amaretto zabaglione and crème brulé) we had to try at least one pudding and plumped for the hot chocolate cheesecake. Again, portion size was on the greedy end of the scale, but the cheesecake was pleasingly light and we managed to polish it off in moments.

The wine list offered an unusual variety of New World wines alongside more traditional local wines, with bottles varying from 18€ for a Vin de Savoie to 60€ for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. A nice touch is that many wines are also offered in half bottles, and several different wines are served by the glass.

The Rond Point offers good, honest, generously-sized dishes, with enough original touches to make them interesting. Lunch is served from 11:30 to 15:30, and children are particularly well catered for with their own kid’s menu. This is deservedly a very popular restaurant, so it is worth booking a table in advance (note the restaurant is closed in the evening). If you don’t have time for a full meal, a range of inexpensive and tasty snacks are served at the separate Petit Rond Point downstairs, where you can also check out your emails. And if you linger over a late lunch you may decide not to bother heading back onto the slopes, but stay for the legendary après-ski with live bands and the infamous toffee vodka…