Ironically, we may miss our bus back to Chamonix
Apprehensively, we decided to try a new restaurant on the mountain.(Bad idea!) We searched and decided on Chateau Branlant after reading the good reviews. I don't know if they're paid for posts or what. We are drafting this as we wait for our bill.
I called and made a reservation for lunch for two. They suggested 12:30, which is earlier than I would have chosen, but accepted nonetheless. We arrived at 12:24 and were seated right away. So far so good. I wanted to start out our Italian lunch with the national cocktail, and then peruse our way through the food and wine menu. Our only time constraint was our bus leaves at 4:15. Plenty of time to do a big dent in our wallets and their menu.
Much to my dismay we were completely discouraged from ordering a cocktail. Our waitress informed us that we would have to leave our table at 1:30. Mind you #1) this was only one hour from now. Mind you #2) this was never mentioned when we booked the reservation. Mind you #3) we ordered quickly, rushed through our lunch and 59 minutes later we were ready for the bill. Mind you #4) we then proceeded to wait 65 more minutes without anyone checking on us, kicking us out of our table or giving us our bill.
I finally wandered down to the bathroom and ordered two glasses of dessert wine since the table was obviously not needed.
I know this is a first world problem. Trust me... I get it. But when you come to Italy to ski and enjoy a lovely lunch on the mountain, this is not the experience consistent with that desire. At first we were rushed... and then we were held captive.
We will never be back to this place. There are way too many restaurants on this hill. read more