restaurant

L'Esperluette

©Marie Gourpry

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L’Esperluette? Tables strewn across the grass, knockout food, natural wine and – and that’s all folks! In this postcard-perfect setting, gazing out over grassy slopes and ski lifts idling through their summer siesta, Justin Losserand (DJ and co-founder of cult radio station Radio Meuh) and Margaux Cohendet (formerly of three-Michelin-starred Flocons de Sel in Megève) launched a breezy summer pop-up ginguette – a self-styled “Alpicurien refuge” which occasionally welcomes guest chefs. The night we visited, simple yet delicious dishes fired out in succession, landing on the little round tables like edible frisbees: crisp caraway sausage blistered in the wood-fired oven, dunked in thick, garlicky ketchup; pizzetta slicked with onions, cream and bacon – a sort of Savoyard-style flammekueche; handsome caponata crowned with roasted feta and anchovy pesto; and beer-braised Bornes pork, fork tender and thyme-scented, served with corn glossed in brown butter. And to finish? A silken crème caramel infused with sweet vernal grass – technically a weed, but one with a whisper of meadow sweetness. · Omar Ciiboulette

FEELING THIRSTY? Cocktails such as the Mountain Spritz (Chambéry white vermouth, Crémant de Savoie, elderflower syrup and fresh mint, €9.50), a handful of craft beers from Jean-Louis in Valence (€8-9 a pint) or vibrant natural wines, largely from Savoie and Jura: the exquisite Une Hirondelle from Domaine des Treize Lunes (€7 a glass) and Mon Blanc, a chasselas from Bastian Goddard (€39 a bottle).

PRICE: Plates €9-16, desserts €8-11, kids’ menu €10.

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