Restaurant de la Tour in Châtel-sur-Montsalvens was opened by Odile and Emmanuel Poidevin almost 11 years ago. It has 14 Gault & Millau points, which for crazy ‘point’ people means it is worth visiting. We never look at those scales and we just go somewhere and try the food. Restaurant de la Tour is in our top 3 in the region.
It is situated on the left hand side on the road to Charmey. It’s a nice house with a terrace that offers Dent de Broc view and in summer is a perfect place to have your dinner outside.
When you arrive you already feel very welcome. We ate there few times and Odile Poidevin is a perfect host. She answered our questions calmly and with a smile (sometimes we just didn’t know what something was … like not really well known herbs that are in their menu).
Their menu changes with the season and so we went there every time it changed to try the new dishes. They’re just delicious. There’s nothing really you can complain about. It’s fresh, the ingredients are the best quality and Emmanuel Poidevin – the chef, presents it in a beautiful but not too fancy way.
During our last visit for our appetizers we took:
- terrine of foie gras with figs and dried fruit chutney,
- homemade duck rillettes with pickles and toast with gizzard.
For main dish we went for:
- saddle of rabbit stuffed with goat cheese and wild cumin, sweet clover juice, grilled polenta and vegetables
- deer saddle with pine buds, potatoes in olive oil and vegetables
- entrecote from Gruyère, parmentier crepes, vegetables.
- and as an extra we all took seared foie gras
Dessert:
- chocolate coulant with fir shoots sorbet
- apricot tart and cream with elderflower, apricot sorbet
- strawberry mousse, coriander and candied ginger
It was a feast. Restaurant de la Tour is a must go. Their foie gras and other dishes are to die for. Unfortunately it closes in the middle of October so if you have time and are around go there. Odile and Emmanuel Poidevin as they said need to change a bit their rhythm so from winter they will be running Restaurant des Dents-Vertes in Vounetse in Charmey. It will not be the same though since it’s a mountain restaurant for skiers, hikers etc.
Thank you Odile and Emmanuel for letting us discover your cuisine, your hospitality and also (for me) trying the dishes I never had before.
Practical information:
Address: Restaurant de la Tour
Châtel sur Montsalvens
Website: Restaurant de la Tour
Menu: click
Tips: It is not the cheapest restaurant ever so be prepared to pay a bit (totally worht spending a bit more though!). Whenever we went there we spent around 250 Swiss francs for 2 people including some aperitif, appetizers, bottle of wine, main dish, dessert, coffee with some Vieille Prune on the side. You can purchase the foie gras and smoked salmon. Do it.
Text: Agnieszka Wajs
