by RMC
(London, UK)
La Poya, 196 Route de Vonnes 74390 Châtel, France
When you go skiing, usually your main lunch of the day is the dinner. That means you have to find a place to have dinner that is satisfying (both in terms of filling you up and in terms of the quality of the food being served), that is close to the place you are staying in (as usually the road conditions are not so good as to take the car to go for dinner) and that is kind to your wallet (that being quite important because skiing is not the cheapest of the sports).
So this restaurant, within walking distance of the village church, seems to fulfill all the requirements. Also, La Poya is a quite needed break from fast food chains and pizzerias for the hungry skier.
We found a warm and natural atmosphere. The atmosphere we immediately liked for its character because it was different from the decorative "pretty cottage" found everywhere.
The menu offers French cuisine "revisited" by the chef, and regional specialties. We tested the formula daily "market menu", with fresh products, excellent value for money. The food is well presented and varied. Among the dishes available, the red meat (the cote de beouf) was excellent, tender and cooked perfectly to the point.
It is quite a small restaurant, so that guarantees you are not going to suffer the usual deafening noise you must cope with in the more popular places.
The service was excellent and the staff welcoming and friendly. The night we visited the restaurant it was quite empty, so we received what I considered to be a perfect attention.
Booking is definitely recommended, as being quite a small place it usually runs out of space. And, of course, if you do like we did, and try to have dinner on New Year´s Eve, you will have to book well in advance to avoid disappointment.
Prices are in the range of being reasonable, especially taking into account that you usually pay a lot more for other, worse places.