Where to eat in Val Thorens: restaurant guide & shortlists

Val Thorens sits at 2300 metres, the highest resort in Europe, and its food scene has grown up to match the ambition of the lifts below it. You get an American grill that has been going since 2004, an Italian-Savoyard-Japanese hybrid in a four-star residence, farm-to-table mountain cooking and one of the loudest slope-side bars in the Alps. Here is where to eat.

Quick picks: Val Thorens restaurants by category

American, steak and grills

Val Thorens draws a big, hungry international crowd, and two rooms handle the meat-and-fire end better than anyone.

John's American

Danish-owned and serving the resort since 2004, John's American is the burger, rib and steak institution. The menu runs through home-made burgers, BBQ spare ribs, steaks, fajitas and nachos, with a surprisingly good vegetarian list for such a meaty place. Takeaway and delivery are free.

The same team runs a second concept, a Scandinavian brasserie and wine bar with French and Danish roots, plus a daily American brunch. It is the easy answer when half the group cannot agree on dinner.

Club 72

Tucked inside the Village Montana complex near Rue du Soleil, Club 72 is the resort's steak specialist: generous, top-quality cuts cooked to order in a modern alpine room of dim lighting, leather chairs and dark wood. There are burgers, ribs and sides too.

It is more affordable than the fine-dining tables but still buzzy, a popular post-ski hangout that fills after 7pm, so book ahead if you want a proper night of it.

Italian and Savoyard on a terrace

At the entrance to the resort, one address covers a lot of ground at once.

Il Gusto

Il Gusto sits in the four-star Oxalys residence, and its kitchen is a genuine hybrid: a Japanese chef gives the menu Asian accents while the rest leans into generous Savoyard specialities and Italian pizzas. The south-facing panoramic terrace is reachable by the Cairn gondola or on skis via the Pluviomètre piste, with pedestrian access through the residence itself.

Here is the fun part of the address: the Oxalys residence once housed Jean Sulpice's two-Michelin-star restaurant, the kitchen that first put Val Thorens on the gastronomic map before he moved on. In the evening, Il Gusto turns to cocktails and tapas to share by the fire.

Mountain and farm-to-table

For something quieter and more rooted, head away from the resort centre.

Chez Pépé Nicolas

Chez Pépé Nicolas is the farm-to-table pick, cooking Savoyard dishes with produce from the family's own mountain farm: local charcuterie, cheeses and slow, warming plates. It is an antidote to the resort-centre bustle and worth the detour.

Go for a long lunch rather than a quick refuel, and let the mountain setting do half the work.

Chalet des 2 Ours

For a classic on-skis lunch, Chalet des 2 Ours is an altitude restaurant reached via the Boismint or Plan de l'eau chairlifts, with a sun terrace and a straightforward mountain menu.

It is an easy mid-ski stop that puts you back on the pistes without a fuss.

Apres-ski and the party

Val Thorens does not do quiet afternoons. Bar Le 360, on the slopes by Les Chalets du Thorens, is the resort's party and live-music spot, hosting big events like Festival'Tho and the JBL Snowparty. You can reach it on skis via the Cascades chairlift or on foot along the 2 Lakes path.

• Bar Le 360 for live music and events on the slopes
• La Folie Douce for the afternoon party lunch
• Resort-centre bars along the Rue de Gébroulaz for a slower drink

Order in with Mountly

You can browse the full restaurant catalogue on Mountly in Val Thorens and order meals and groceries straight to your chalet or apartment. We work with a number of local venues across the resort and would be glad to feed you.