Where to eat and drink in Les Arcs: village by village
Lunch on the mountain and dinner mostly in your own village, with a good reason to go down the hill. Le Sanglier qui fume above Arc 1600 is the lunch to book, Chez Léontine at Arc 1950 the fondue, Le Cœur de Vall' the room in Vallandry, La Ruelle in Bourg-Saint-Maurice the change of pace, and Chez Boubou in Arc 1800 the bar.
Les Arcs eats village by village. Lunch is on the mountain and it is long, and Le Sanglier qui fume, off the piste above Arc 1600, is the one to book: waiters rather than a tray and a queue, smoked wild boar as the thing to order, and a fire to sit beside. Dinner is mostly where you are staying, and each village has its own mood. Arc 1800 has the widest choice, Arc 1950 is a little smarter, and Vallandry and Peisey are more traditional.
Start with cheese, done two different ways. Chez Léontine at Arc 1950 is the fondue to book, in several versions and finished at the table, and its raclette is cooked over embers, not under a grill. In Vallandry, Le Cœur de Vall' keeps the raclette and puts properly experimental cooking beside it, white fish with chorizo and a parsnip dessert, and it will improvise for vegans.
The change of pace is down the funicular in Bourg-Saint-Maurice. La Ruelle cooks Savoyard and Senegalese side by side, lamb mafe on the same card as a Senegalese take on tartiflette, and it works as well for one person as for a table. It does lunch too, which makes it a good stop on a day off the skis. Up at Arc 2000, Bois de l'Ours puts reblochon in its signature burger, though the fries are what people single out, and there is a sunny deck to eat it on.
Apres here is easy going rather than wild, and strongest in Arc 1800, where Chez Boubou is the place to start: burgers, the veggie one included, a happy hour to plan the afternoon around, and a crowd of locals by the evening. Book dinner ahead in a busy week, and if you are eating in Bourg, check the last funicular back up before you sit down.
Mountain lunch
Table service all the way through, a fire in the middle of the room and smoked wild boar to order, just off the piste above Arc 1600.
Le Sanglier qui fume
Just off the piste above Arc 1600, table service throughout with no self service counter, which up here is worth knowing. Smoked wild boar is the house dish. A fireplace in the middle of a bright wooden room, and it works as well for a tarte tatin and a generously poured Irish coffee as it does for lunch. Reserve in season.
Dinner
Fondue finished at the table in Arc 1950, raclette beside experimental cooking in Vallandry, and Senegalese food down the funicular in Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
Chez Léontine
Ski in off the piste at Arc 1950, and fondue is the reason to book. There are several versions and it is finished at the table, and the raclette comes over embers rather than under a grill, which is not how most places do it. Iberico pork is the pick for anybody who would rather not have cheese.
Le Cœur de Vall'
The menu splits between traditional Savoyard and things that are genuinely experimental, so white fish with chorizo and a parsnip dessert sit alongside the raclette. They will improvise for vegans, including a chocolate cake made to order. Small and cosy, and the service keeps an evening moving.
La Ruelle
Savoyard classics next to Senegalese cooking, so lamb mafe and a Senegalese take on tartiflette on the same card, and a millet rice pudding with fromage blanc and coconut to finish. Generous plates at reasonable money. It works for one person eating alone as well as a table, and it does lunch too.
Bars
Sport on the screens, a DJ some nights and a room that fills with locals by the evening.
Chez Boubou
A brasserie bar with sport on the screens and a DJ some nights, and a happy hour worth timing your afternoon around. The kitchen's strength is burgers, the veggie one included, plus a snack platter to share. Fills with locals in the evening and the service is deliberately unhurried.
Cafes and quick bites
A reblochon burger at Arc 2000, a plat du jour worth asking for and desserts made in house.
Bois de l'Ours
In Arc 2000 village, and the burger built round reblochon is the signature, though it is the fries that people agree on. Ask for the plat du jour and know the desserts are made in house. A sunny deck outside and a room inside decorated with old ski gear, and it is cheap for where it stands.
These are our own picks, not paid placements. Opening times and ownership change, so it is always worth checking before you set off.