La Maison de Marc Veyrat
13 vieille rte. des Pensières
Cuisines: French
About
Famous throughout France for owner Marc Veyrat-Durebex's excellent and unusual cuisine, this world-class and horrendously priced restaurant occupies a romanticized version of a Savoyard château at the edge of a lake in the village of Veyrier-du-Lac, 1.5km (1 mile) south of Annecy. Guests dine in a posh room with ceiling frescoes. The chef has been dubbed l'enfant terrible of upscale Alpine cuisine. He offers a unique dining experience, marked by an almost ritualistic etiquette. Fortunately, the waitstaff advises you on the order in which the meal and its components are designed to be eaten. For example, a "declination of local cheeses," consisting of three large ravioli, each stuffed with a different cheese -- a mild cow cheese, a pungent goat cheese, and a very strong blue -- is eaten in ascending order of strength. Other choices include ravioli of vegetables, flavored with rare mountain herbs gathered by M. Veyrat-Durebex and his team; pikeperch sausage; crayfish poached with bitter almonds; and poached sea bass with caviar. Desserts include a miniature chestnut cake served with essence of truffles. The wine list is excellent. The auberge rents 11 expensive and beautifully furnished rooms. Rates are 300€ to 670€ ($435-$972) for a double; a suite costs from 695€ to 880€ ($1,008-$1,276).
