Having been to Zermatt in Switzerland and Hallstatt in Austria, European snowy mountain towns really are pristine and beautiful. So on this France trip, we made a small detour and spent two days in Annecy.

It was only while putting together a detailed itinerary that we discovered this scenery-famous little town was also hiding quite a few good restaurants.

Annecy itself is tiny — if you’re not skiing, two days and two nights is more than enough to cover the whole town.

The whole town unfolds along Lake Annecy, a glacial lake carved by melting Alpine ice, fed directly by high-mountain snowmelt and underground springs. Its water clarity reaches 12 meters deep, earning it a reputation as one of “Europe’s clearest lakes.” For environmental reasons, only walking and cycling paths circle the lake — you can bike the full 30km loop and take in the entire view.

If there’s one thing that defines Annecy, it’s how romantic and full of everyday life it feels. 12th-century cobblestone streets, painted houses, the Lovers’ Bridge, and the Palais de l’Isle blend medieval and Renaissance styles. Where humanity and nature intertwine, it’s genuinely a town with a distinct landscape, well worth a visit.

As for Annecy’s restaurants — on a small-town getaway, chasing the Michelin halo really isn’t necessary, but the fact that even a resort town like this has a Michelin three-star does say something about its culinary strength.

Small places often have their own way of welcoming guests. This time we visited two very locally distinctive little restaurants — a warm, unhurried atmosphere, some rustic ingredients, and dishes that hit with real flavor. The surprises were every bit a match for the polished French restaurants of the big city.

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Brasserie Brunet

10 rue de la Poste, 74000 Annecy

A family-run neighborhood spot right in the center of Annecy, next to the train station. Run by chef Nicolas together with his family and team — a warm, easygoing little restaurant.

Though it’s a local neighborhood spot, the restaurant’s website makes their philosophy clear and sincere: making full use of every ingredient’s potential, down to a scrap of skin or a single bone, practicing sustainability to the fullest extent. The site also lists all their ingredient suppliers, all from Annecy and the surrounding region.

The restaurant has a set menu combo — starter + main + dessert for just €40 — plus daily specials chalked up on a small blackboard, mostly seasonal ingredients and game.

The wine list is also rich, especially the by-the-glass selection, which leans heavily on wines from central-eastern France and the Annecy area — a great place to explore some “small” producers.

While reading the menu, they brought out butter made with smoked hay — the little black specks scattered on top don’t look like much, but spread on bread it was genuinely delicious.

Poitrine de Cochon Mangalitza fumée par nos soins

Seeing house-smoked Mangalitza pork on the menu, we couldn’t resist adding a portion before the set menu even started.

It arrived in pale, marbled slices — unmistakably the texture only this Hungarian “wagyu of pork” can have. The pink lean part carried rich flavor that melted right into the fat. A completely different kind of richness from ham — boldly amplifying the aroma of air-dried pork. Genuinely sinful, and hard to stop thinking about.

🦌+🐓Duo de Pâtés Croûte : Cerf, Poire et Volaille au Vin Jaune, Caramel d’Estragon et Gel Poire

For the cold course, we chose the venison and chicken pâté for an interesting contrast.

The chicken pâté on the left got extra flavor from chicken liver and Jura vin jaune, with caramel bringing out the fibrous texture of the meat — balanced and refined.

The venison on the right leaned into firm texture, rich flavor and a spice-forward character, with pear adding some fruitiness and freshness that balanced the dish out.

A seemingly ordinary pâté, but the contrast in flavor and the balance of seasoning were genuinely surprising for a small restaurant’s output.

🐟Omble Chevalier Confit aux Baies de Verveine,

Servi Nacré, Sabayon aux Herbes

Risotto de Petit Épeautre à la Courge Butternut

For the main, we chose the Arctic char that Lake Annecy is known for.

Slow-cooked in herb oil at low temperature, the flesh still had a bit of translucency, and eating it was all about tenderness. Verbena sauce and an herb sabayon added freshness and a green, herbal quality.

There was also a pumpkin risotto made with small black rye, its plump, springy texture standing in sharp contrast to the richness of the fish.

Surprise Craquante au Sarrasin Torréfié

It’s a small restaurant where you can really see the chef has plenty of ideas of his own — warm and light on its feet. Exactly the kind of small, beautiful discovery you can only dig up in a smaller city.

If there were a place like this near home, I could eat there every day~

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L’Esquisse

21 Rue Royale, 74000 Annecy

€55/65/85/100

Compared to Brasserie Brunet, Michelin-starred L’Esquisse leans a bit more into Fine Dining territory, but thanks to Annecy’s overall resort-town atmosphere, this restaurant still keeps things relaxed.

Mushroom | Tourt | Fino Wffle

Jaune du Doubs

The restaurant offers a few different menus — one is a fixed menu with known ingredients listed, the other is the chef’s freeform blind-box menu, where you only choose five or six courses and the chef improvises based on the day’s ingredients. Naturally, I went for the five-course blind box.

Unexpectedly, the first course out was a vegetable dish made with yellow carrot. The yellow carrot slices played it straight — sweet and soft — while the tangy sauce at the bottom was a pleasant surprise, full of flavor.

Hake & Squash

Straight to business after the vegetable course. Out came a neatly plated, plump piece of hake — cutting in with a fork, the flesh naturally fell into two pieces, wonderfully tender. The skin on top was lightly charred, shrunk down to a thin, fragrant, crisp layer. This classic hake was paired, surprisingly, with a squash and wild mushroom sauce, bringing out a real sense of rustic terroir.

Next came a course called “QUIZ” — you’re only told what’s in it after finishing. The answer wasn’t hard though: potato, mushroom, spring onion and cheese was pretty obvious. This forced bit of interactivity felt slightly unnecessary in the flow of the meal.

The QUIZ

Veal | Leek

The absolute highlight of the whole meal was, without question, this incredible piece of veal!

Pink meat paired with a green spring-onion sauce — the color contrast alone caught the eye. Cutting into the veal, it was tender yet with a bit of bite; the exterior sealed in the juices and flavor perfectly, every bite delivering refined, medium-intensity meaty aroma.

The spring-onion sauce and grilled onion alongside made the perfect accompaniment. Truly a piece of red meat that looks understated yet hits your memory dead center.

No need for elaborate description — just tender, fragrant, balanced. The people of Annecy really do have their own brutalist aesthetic when it comes to food.

Goat Cheese

Chocolate Brownie

A simple meal with a touch of ceremony — the plating was simple yet considered, and the elements of the dishes carried a strong rustic character, but in terms of flavor and technique, it was every bit the equal of the glamorous restaurants inside Paris’s beautiful hotels.

By the register, we unexpectedly spotted a bilingual “Chinese menu” with illustrations. Some of the dishes on it have since changed, but little details like that still leave an impression.

Small and beautiful Annecy — hopefully next time we visit it’ll be sunny~