L'Epicerie - Courchevel

We ate here as a party of four - two couples. When we turned up the owner didn't recognise our booking and the two of us in a very pleasant dining room. We were given menus to read and left alone for 10 minutes. After ten minutes we wondered what happened to the other couple - were they late? No. They had been sat in another part of the restaurant wondering where we were - despite them arriving after us and quoting the same booking name to the owner.Safely reunited as a party of four in the pleasant dining room ( I've referred to it in these terms twice as its the one redeeming feature of the place) we were asked for our drinks order. These turned up ( although the first wine selected was not available).Menus studied we gave our orders for starters to the waitress. Two choices were unavailable so alternatives were ordered.Starters arrived and were consumed - well 5 of the 6 snails were consumed as one pesky fellow had decided to vacate his shell before it reached the table leaving nothing but an empty house.Starters finished we waited for the main courses to arrive. And waited. And waited. And waited. The party of French children arrived, ate their dinner, said goodnight to their parents at another table and went home to bed. Still we waited.To pass the time we chased the waitress for a drink that had been ordered but hadn't reached us. Still we waited. Others that had come in after us were being served and gradually the restaurant was emptying.After two hours our resolve cracked and one of our party sought out the owner - who wisely ducked out of sight and let a waitress take the flak. "its on the way" was the reply - which is familiar to anyone who has ever chased up an errant mini cab booking.....More time passed and we chased the order again.A few minutes later - hurrah the food arrived and with it the excuse that "the restaurant Is busier than it looks as we have another room downstairs full of people..."The food was underwhelming to say the least. Beef Bourgignon that was no better than an M&S ready meal. Tagliattelle that tough and bland ( showing signs of having been left under a heat lamp) and duck that was cold. The duck was sent back and returned a while later with some complimentary foie gras slapped on top. "A while later" meant the rest of us had all but finished our meals by the time it returned. The complimentary foie gras was a nice touch but an even nicer gesture would have been providing a knife and fork to eat the meal with.With the waitress too busy chatting to the table next to us - actually it turned out she wasn't chatting but was hearing some other chaps complaint about his food - cutlery was self selected from another table.By now it was getting late. We were offered another bottle of wine for the inconvenience but as that would have meant staying in the place to consume it we opted to get the bill. Which was wrong and included items we hadn't had. The waitress who took payment at the table said that the chef was off and that she had been doing the cooking....or was it the other room full of mystery diners who caused the chaos and confusion? Who knows and to be honest who really cares.The price of the bottle of wine we had consumed was deducted as a gesture but even so the cost was still 200 Euros.On our way out the most junior waitress offered her apologies and to be honest I felt sorry for her being left to deal with the guests while the owner hid away.This place is shambolic, the food and wine over priced. The quality no better than a cheap bistro. There are far better places to eat in 1550. Do yourself a favour and seek them out. Shockingly bad.

If you like overpriced wine, poor service and limited choice through none availability this is the place for you .A 2 hour wait for main courses one of which arrived after the others and was cold. By the time it returned from the kitchen the rest of the party had finished eating. So hungry would have eaten anything which was lucky as duck had the consistency of shoe leather. Had to get cutlery from another table. No apology from the patron who gave no support to the very apologetic waitress. Best avoided , Caveau or L'oil de Boeuf offer better

We went on New Year's Eve, a limited but delicious menu. We decided to go to the restaurant opposite tonight, but they couldn't fit us in, RESULT! Ended back here and welcomed with open arms. Two boiled eggs, ham & toast-FORMIDABLE, as the French would say. Obviously more than simple ham & egg....2 boiled eggs served with Bellota ham, truffle and a soupçon of garlic on toast, very simple but effective, as well as tasty.On the 2 occasions that we have eaten here, now, the main courses have been of a high quality, with bags of flavour and character. Be warned though; Michelin starred presentation has by-passed here, thank god. No micro edible flowers to be seen anywhere. Just good simple(!) French cuisine as 'maman' used to make. The music left my wife and I playing pop master, guessing what year it is. Inevitably we were both wrong. But don't worry, the music is soulful, but it is certainly not intrusive.The staff were attentive and very patient with my school boy French, which at the best of times was poor. They made us feel very welcome, and were extremely surprised, as well as happy when my 13 yr old daughter asked for her fillet to be cooked 'bleu'. This brought smiles all round. The restaurant feels very homely, full of personal knick knacks, from a radiogram in the corner to bone patterned china plates.Would I recommend them?........Without a doubt as the locals also eat here.