Restaurant du Montenvers

Lunch facing the glacier

The Restaurant du Montenvers is the dining room of the Refuge du Montenvers, the stone hotel built in 1880 next to the train's arrival station, at 1,913 m. Its menu boasts that Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas and many of the mountaineers who opened up the massif's faces sat at this table. The dining room is all wood, with upholstered benches and small windows onto the needles; outside, the Mer de Glace and the Dru. It is open every day for lunch and dinner, and it is the only way to sit down and eat in peace on the Montenvers excursion.

What to order

The cooking is mountain fare, with local produce according to the season. On the winter 2026-2027 lunch menu, the refuge's specialities are the Savoy diot cooked in white wine with creamy polenta (€25), the tartiflette with salad (€24), the Savoyard croûte with Beaufort and mushrooms (€25), the Val d'Arly fondant with potatoes and charcuterie (€27), a Beaufort risotto (€23) and a trout fillet (€27). Starters run from €15 to €20 and desserts from €12 to €13, with a Mont Blanc entremet and a bilberry tart.

From 14:30 the menu changes to the altitude break: boards of Savoy cheeses and charcuterie from €20 to €27, and desserts. If you do not want to sit down, the Bar des Glaciers, in the same building, sells sandwiches and quiche and follows the train's timetable.

Getting there

You can only get there on the Montenvers rack railway, about 20 minutes from Chamonix, or on foot in summer, about three hours uphill. The train ticket is bought at the station, at the foot of place de la Mer de Glace. The train is closed from 2 November to 4 December 2026, and then there is no way up for lunch.