Maison Carrier

A Savoyard farmhouse rebuilt from old timber

The Maison Carrier is the regional-cuisine restaurant of the Hameau Albert 1er, the Carrier family's hotel in Chamonix. It occupies one of the three Savoyard farmhouses that Pierre Carrier and the architect Bernard Ferrari built with timber salvaged from abandoned farms and mountain chalets; the complex was finished in December 1997. Inside there are wooden walls, antique furniture, a collection of Savoyard pottery and blue-and-white checked tablecloths, with small-paned windows looking onto the Mont Blanc massif. When the weather is good, tables spill onto the terrace over the garden lawn.

What to order

The cooking is Alpine, with Savoyard roots, using mountain produce, cheeses from the two Savoies and lake fish; the vegetables and herbs come from its own garden. Many dishes are cooked slowly for hours. The house dishes are the boudin (€23), the Savoyard fondue (€35), the soupe aux cailloux, the farçon, plum rissoles and the Savoy sponge. The menu also has pike quenelles (€33), trout (€29) and venison loin (€32).

Dessert is a show in itself: the Vré, an old wooden cheese-curing cabinet turned into a grandmother's tart trolley (€18).

At lunchtime there is a set menu at €31 for two courses or €39 for three; in the evening and at weekends only the full menu. The children's menu, up to age 12, costs €17, and the tout cochon (all-pork) menu €59. In the afternoon, Wednesday to Sunday, they serve afternoon tea with the tart trolley and a hot drink for €20, and charcuterie and cheese boards.

Getting there

It is at 44 route du Bouchet, a five-minute walk from the centre and very close to the Montenvers train station. It has free parking for restaurant customers.