Skip to main content
SeeValdIsere

Val d'Isere Apres Ski Report: 29th March 2012

Heading to the new Iseran Traiteur for an afternoon in the sun

featured in Nightlife reviews Author Katherine Harle, Updated

Just like Bob Marley sang, here in Val d’Isere the sun is shining and weather is sweet. Unlike Bob though, this doesn’t make you want to get on your dancing feet but rather grab a chair in the sun and kick back and relax.

So with this in mind and being in need of a lunchtime fix, some friends and I headed to the new deli in town to see what it was all about.

Located just opposite the bus station next to the Canyon restaurant, Iseran Traiteur is a swanky looking place. Opened by Antoine, whose former business “@table” offered a range of dishes from around the world for takeaway or to eat-in in the small café style premises. This year he’s branched out and is offering a whole lot more.

We headed there around 2pm and the sun was blazing so we grabbed a seat on the terrace and went inside to see what was on offer.

There’s a good range of dishes from Asian style cuisine including Thai curries and Thai style wok fried beef to North African cuisine including Lamb Tagine and Couscous to more traditional dishes including Lasagne, Beef Bourguignon and of course Savoyard dishes of Tartiflette, Gratin and Raclette.

However, we were just looking for a snack and with this being a deli there’s a great selection of local ham and cheeses and the staff are happy to whip you up a sandwich of choice with their home-baked bread.

So we ordered a sandwich then went back to our seats in the sunshine. The service was quick and friendly and the sandwich was super tasty and after our feed we decided to stay and make the most of the beautiful weather.

The other thing that’s new about Iseran Traiteur is the wine selection. Antoine has approximately 135 wines in the cellar ranging from just €11 to €2300 so there’s something to suit everyone’s budget. Luckily he was there to give us the low-down on all things wine related.

All the wines are French as of course when in France people want to sample the local produce, whether it be regional or national. Antoine has gone in search all around France for the best wines available and he offers them at a reasonable price.

We opted for a bottle of rose from Provence which was perfectly suited to the weather and we were honestly informed about which one to choose. We went for the Chitny which was a very light rose and went down very well thank-you very much and was very reasonably priced.

As we moved on to the second bottle, we decided to get some nibbles in and so we ordered a Plateau Aperitif which came as a selection of hams and cheeses from the deli served with some more of their home-baked baguettes.

It was the perfect afternoon in the sun until of course the sun moves behind the mountain and suddenly the temperatures drop. Luckily now with the clocks changing last weekend that wasn’t until after 5pm. So we grabbed our things and moved inside where there are some unique wine-barrel tables and stools.

Which was when Antoine invited us to see the cave and give us a tour and more of an explanation about all the wines he has to offer, we even got to see the €2300 bottle although I didn’t want to pick it up…just in case!

If you’re into your wines then I’d definitely recommend organising a taster session for six to eight people where you will be offered a selection of wines and ham and cheese plates to suit your tastes and budgets.

The deli opens at 8am and is open until 9pm. They offer continental breakfast with croissants and pastries as well as coffees and teas and if you fancy a sandwich, there are those too.

There’s also a lunch box on offer throughout the day. This is the dish of the day at a bargain €10 with a good selection including tasty morsels such as skewers of Scallops and Lotte, a white fish, or Veal in gravy with green beans or Fillet with green pepper and Gratin Dauphinoise. Check the board outside for what’s on offer that day.

So for any information whether you want to order food to collect of enquire about wine tasting you can get details here.

Well, that’s it from me for this week, have fun and stay safe. TTFN.