After-ski: tea time or happy hour?

Team Mousse

After a day of downhill skiing, not everyone dreams of the same pick-me-up.

In the Valley, beer is local, craft-brewed, and as refreshing as your frosty cheeks at the end of the day.

First stop: Big Mountain. Yet another story that began in a garage and turned into a success story… That’s right! Today, Big Mountain is a large, ultra-modern, eco-friendly brewery in Cluses, housed in the former Le Vagabond guesthouse. It supplies its brand-new Basecamp Bar, just 10 minutes from the base of the Aiguille du Midi cable car: 20 beer varieties (house and guest brews), a casual menu for snacks, and great music. No pressure when it comes to alcohol—their Nano IPA contains almost no alcohol at all (0.5%) and is also gluten-free. And for those who really want to unwind without a care in the world, the team has launched Houbl’Eau, three hop-infused sparkling waters.

Second spot, around since 2002: the Micro Brasserie de Chamonix. The what? The MBC, of course! An institution that brews a core lineup of six masterfully crafted, award-winning beers and regularly releases limited editions. If you’re new to this, some of the servers behind the bar are also the brewers. Otherwise, if nothing else, just for the name alone, give the Jean-Claude Van Cham a try! You can drink right next to the fermentation tanks and grab a burger or some poutine (the crew is Canadian, after all) while listening to live music or watching a hockey game on the giant screen. Usually packed, often noisy. Lively!

Last stop: head to one of the oldest chalets in the center of Les Houches, now transformed into a classic North American-style brewpub: Le Solerey. They’ve been brewing three solid beers on-site for nearly 10 years now. But the team wasn’t new to brewing when they set up shop in 2018—they got their start in the ’90s in Vancouver. In fact, here they don’t just brew beer—they also smoke whole pork ribs or Black Angus beef brisket Canadian-style. The meat comes out irresistibly caramelized and melt-in-your-mouth tender, served with a warming BBQ sauce. Add sweet potato fries, a sun-drenched patio, and live music almost every day. The perfect way to end the day—that’s it, that’s all, folks.

Basecamp Bar Big Mountain - 365 Ravanel le Rouge Avenue - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
MBC Micro Brasserie de Chamonix - 350 Route du Bouchet - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Le Solerey Brewpub - 81 Avenue des Alpages - Les Houches

Excessive alcohol consumption is dangerous to your health; please drink responsibly.

Team Mousse de Lait

A few tumbles today, snow up to your neck, and skis that flew off—along with your dignity? Come end your day on a gentle note…

Tête-à-Thé is a cozy, quiet little hideaway nestled in Argentière, as warm and welcoming as its owner, who hails from Spain. For lunch, Inès Lopez offers homemade vegetarian cuisine that takes you on a culinary journey, and for afternoon tea, she serves decadent pastries made from recipes passed down from her grandfather. If you hesitated to join the “foam team” from our article, then try her Guinness cake: a dark chocolate and beer cake topped with a snow-white cream cheese frosting. In your cup, choose from one of the hundred organic teas in Inès’s selection or a fine coffee lovingly roasted by Mokxa.

On your way back down, a stop at Les Gaufres de Chamonix is a must. This little wooden cabin is a master of maximum pleasure and its specialty: artisanal waffles, soft on the inside, crispy on the outside. They’re served piping hot, with a dusting of powdered sugar or a generous dollop of whipped cream. Eat them on the go—with your fingers. Simple, perfect, unbeatable.

Prefer to sit down? Head to Rose du Pont, impossible to miss with its praline-pink facade. The best of fine French pastries—Saint-Honoré, Paris-Brest, Merveilleux, Profiteroles…—is served on English-style porcelain. Spectacular, just like the decor.

Just 100 meters away, Joséphine plays the same Belle Époque tune. And since it’s far too hard to choose between artisanal ice cream from the Alps, golden crêpes, or one of the homemade pastries waiting for you in the display case—why not go for a café gourmand?

Take a slight detour as you head up to Servoz. La Maison du Lieutenant hides a restaurant-café within its historic building: Le Franc. Before they met, Jen already ran a restaurant in London, and Louise ran a shop selling dried flowers for pastry-making in Liverpool. At their bohemian table, the cuisine (served at lunch) is inevitably creative—and deeply rooted in the local community. The pastries are as comforting as candles lit at the end of the day: an ultra-generous carrot cake, outrageously delicious cinnamon rolls, and rustic cookies. Authentic and sincere. Truly “franc.”

To round off this sweet tour in style, head to Rue Vallot, right in the heart of Chamonix. Behind its unassuming window, a former mineral shop has been transformed into a delightfully cozy tea room. Here, everything evokes the mountains in a different way: crystals inspire the decor, right down to the design of the benches, whose lines are carved like Mont Blanc quartz. A cozy, almost mineral-like setting where you’ll want to linger as night falls.

On the menu, the great classics of French pastry are surefire hits, alongside more daring creations. Special mention goes to the 4810 chocolate—a gourmet tribute to the mountain peaks, awarded at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris—and to the extra-fine chocolate bonbons, delicately decorated with the valley’s legendary names: Mont Blanc, Drus, Aiguille Verte… Not to mention the iconic “crystals”—pink fluorite or quartz, in a cocoa version. A final sweet, sparkling, and perfectly crafted treat to end the day.

Tête-à-Thé - 120, route du Village - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Gaufres de Chamonix - 65, rue Whymper - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Rose du Pont - 43, Place Balmat - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Joséphine - 76, avenue Michel Croz - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
Franc - 2231 Mont - Servoz
Chalet 4810 - 191 Rue Joseph Vallot - Chamonix-Mont-Blanc