© Doumes
© Dianne Frazer
© Dianne Frazer
Chez Doumes Restaurant Review
Convivial Bar / Restaurant with Excellent Wine Cellar
If you ask for a local white wine to go with your fondue or raclette when on ski holiday in the Alps, then you'll probably be offered a Savoie region wine, like Apremont or Abymes. The white wines are highly prized but traditionally hard to come by outside France. They are typically priced very reasonably in relation to their quality. The only reason they are not famous is that production is so small, therefore you're not likely to find them in your local supermarket back home!
Most Jacquere grapes, the clean and fresh alpine grape variety, are grown in the actual villages of Apremont and Abymes, both of which are "cru"s of the Vin de Savoie appellation. I like these wines a lot. They have high acidity, characteristic of cool climate vines, are best consumed young and are often described as "mountain-fresh" or "alpine-clean".
But last night I got to try a really nice wine I haven’t seen before, a Coteaux-du-Grésivaudan. Now this one really was local to us here in L2A as it is an Isere region, rather than further north Savoie region, wine! No surprise that the person that introduced us to this was Doume…..
Dominic, known to everyone as Doume, is one of the friendliest locals I know. He is also a proper Foodie - as posts on the restaurants' Facebook page attest too, following the seasons with comments and pictures of foraged mushrooms, truffles, home pickled chills, home made jams, new wines that have tickled his fancy, and other yummy stuff :)
There’s often an event happening, like a hog roast (his own pigs of course) or a day long BBQ. The team is mostly made up of members of the family or those who have been there for years - like Emilie, who makes some of the very best pizza’s in town (try her famous Cholesterol Pizza!) and from the wood fired oven they also produce amazing Magret de Canard, Gratin Dauphinois and Pave de Boeuf dishes. Portions here are big, so come hungry!
Over the last few years Doume has built up an impressive wine cellar - passionate about wine he will be happy to talk you through some of the choices he has to offer - and not in a stiff, intimidating French sommeliere kind of way, but in the approachable, understandable fashion of someone who wants to share their enjoyment of good food and wine. The restaurant is medium sized, and traditionally and rustically alpine decorated (plus more than a few hanging hams for good measure!) and there are the local skier friendly Montagnard dishes like raclette on the menu too, again always generously doled out!
The place has a great atmosphere - there is a convivial bar as you arrive, often bustling, and it is the kind of place you could come for a drink as well as dinner, in fact there's a pool table and Doume’s is also a pub. Evenings here work equally well in a group - and they have some large dining tables, or a cosy dinner for two by the fire.
It is unpretentious above all but with the care and attention to fresh, home produced, 'cuisine du terroir' seasonal ingredients that might belie first impressions. Apperos at the bar are usually accompanied by something tasty that Doume has had a hand in making; saucission ‘a la mason’, walnuts from his garden, his own hams - you get the idea. Locals love it and eat here, which is always a good recommendation!
If you are visiting L2A, make sure you have a night out here, booking recommended, especially during French holidays. You can find Doumes at the Venosc end of town opposite the small Spa supermarket.
