Phone: +33562924922
Address: Le Village, 65120 Gavarnie, France, Gavarnie-Gèdre
City: Gavarnie-Gèdre
Menu Dishes: 15
Reviews: 229
Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Claire-Montagne-A-Gavarnie/246966028672517
"I see that a number of people have given this restaurant less than complimentary reviews and I have to disagree with them, vehemently. Consider how you approach Gavarnie before coming here as this will I'm sure impact upon your judgement too. This is a pretty...little village without doubt but is in the back of beyond. If you come here on a day trip from Lourdes in your air-conditioned coach or car, you are probably going to have unrealistic expectations of Claire Montagne. I though took a different approach, I had spent the previous night in the Refuge La Breche de Roland. This bijou mountain hut, sleeps in small rooms, has no hot water, shower facilities and only one inside WC. It is also several hours away from Gavarnie over some pretty tough terrain. Imagine therefore arriving at Claire Montagne, tired, a bit smelly, exhausted and hungry and be greeted with a big smile from an effusive proprietoress( We were offered the choice of sitting inside or outside on the terrace. As it was such a glorious day, we chose the latter and Madame then set about adjusting the awnings to suit our party's shade preferences! It really is a lovely spot, perfect to relax in and listen to the river passing by just below the restaurant. We ordered our food from our waitress whose English was significantly better than my French and was happy to chat and talk us through the menu. I went for the omelette as well as a coffee and given the previous day’s rudimentary approach to catering, had low expectations. It came very quickly and was so much more than I had anticipated. It was omelette, yes but there was delicious local cured ham there as well, together with potatoes and salad. The coffee was most enjoyable too. I could not have asked for more…but I did. I decided to round it off with a blueberry pancake. These too came very quickly and once more I eagerly cleared the plate and would gladly have had some more if time had permitted. This is of course not haute cuisine but that is not what I was looking for nor expected. This is good, well cooked and generous helpings of food and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who approaches it in the manner that I did. I would however not advocate jumping in the river afterwards as it is unimaginably cold!"
All prices are estimates on menu.