The Best Restaurants in Tremblant, Quebec
When you visit Tremblant in the Laurentian Mountains north of Montreal, you’ll find yourself immersed in French Canada, with coq au vin, crepes, cassoulets and charcuterie appearing on the restaurants’ menus. Rest assured, however, that local chefs serve up other international cuisines, whether it’s for apres-ski dining in winter or for hungry travelers who arrive year-round to experience the traditional Quebecois villages and outdoor nature attractions for which the region is famous.
Restaurant La Quintessence
Restaurant, Hotel Restaurant, Diner, French, Fast Food
Restaurant La Quintessence is part of the five-star boutique hotel bearing the same name. Executive chef Geoffrey Barry, who completed his chef training in France, has conceived a menu that favors ingredients from local producers, such as cheddar cheese from nearby Isle-aux-Grues. Expect main courses such as rack of lamb with garlic-and-rosemary sauce (with date butter and coriander) or grilled duck breast with raspberry-and-pistachio sauce, layered with creamy cauliflower. If time and budget allow, book the Discovery Menu (CDN $140 for 6 courses; optional wine pairing is CDN $105).
sEb l'Artisan culinaire
Restaurant, French
SEb is short for the chef’s full name, Sebastien Houle. But there’s nothing diminutive about his commitment to local and seasonal ingredients. Wild game options include Quebec venison served with Yukon gold gnocchi, wild mushrooms, carrots and morel mushroom sauce. Seafood Soffocato is a mix of octopus, scallops, prawns, calamari, mussels and clams with herbed potatoes and cherry tomatoes. Leave room for a genuine French-Canadian dessert, My Granny’s Crepes – made with lip-smacking maple-syrup ice cream.
Restaurant La Savoie
Restaurant, Swiss
La Savoie is easy to find at the foot of the pedestrian village in Mont-Tremblant. Your dinner options are equally easy. One word: fondue. That’s the specialty of this charming Swiss-French restaurant that also serves charcuteries and raclette (an uber cheesy dish indigenous to Switzerland). For dessert, try the swiss chocolate fondue.
Des Petits Ventres
Restaurant, French
Yannick and Lucille Le Garrec purchased the abandoned 19th-century house, a 5-minute drive from the center of Tremblant, in 2014, intent on restoring the building’s rustic wood-and-stone charm. Their menu is similarly traditional, emphasizing time-honored meat, seafood and pasta dishes, with vegan and vegetarian options available. Des Petits Ventres is a must for travelers who want to taste signature French dishes such as boeuf bourguignon, salmon or beef tartare and fondues, of course. Two local favorites are the pink-peppercorn fondue and the light Dijon fondue.
Restaurant C'est La Vie
Restaurant, French
Chef-owner Fabien Gilissen has introduced patrons of his quaint restaurant to the wonders of hot-stone cooking. For Gilissen, that means cooking foods – such as wild boar, tuna, bison, crocodile, filet mignon and seafood – on a volcanic stone heated to 650F (340C). Gilissen, originally from Belgium, also impresses with his filet of salmon under a goat-cheese-and-pesto sauce. For dessert? It’s a toss-up between sugar tart and time-honored crème brulée.
La Petite Cachée Restaurant Bar
Brasserie, Restaurant, French
Guests feel transported back in time when they pull up a chair inside the rustic log cabin, complete with brick fireplace and wood furniture throughout. The menu at La Petite Cachée is Mediterranean-focused: grilled octopus on greek salad, mushroom potage, Basque-style cornish hen, seafood pasta, pan-seared sea bass, fennel salad, chorizo pizza, marinated grilled hanger beef steak and stuffed portobello mushrooms. For a dessert that’s a dual fix of sugar and caffeine, wrap up your meal with the Affogato: Baileys Irish Cream poured over homemade ice cream, with a splash of espresso. You’ll sleep well … eventually.
Choux Gras Brasserie Culinaire
Restaurant, Contemporary, Canadian, Vegetarian, French
Choux Gras is within the tony hotel Fairmont Tremblant but all dinner guests. The stylish brasserie, overseen by executive chef Jonathan Legris, who honed his culinary acumen in Montreal, incorporates local ingredients whenever possible. Onion soup, for instance, is a happy marriage of Saint-Arnould beer with Tomme de Grosse-Île cheese. Mains, depending on the season, can range from pan-seared salmon at $27, to a shareable grilled Tomahawk steak for $135. For dessert, don’t miss out on the namesake Choux Gras, puff pastry, garnished with chocolate mousse, apricot and cranberry compote.