The food is as good as it gets in Verbier, not pretentious but interesting and very nicely prepared. There is the usual cheese stuff and steaks and lamb etc according to the season and it is very family friendly.
What sets this place apart is its location. And what I like about it is that it is literally as far as you can get from the nouveau riche wannabe celebrity culture of Verbier.It is not a 'mountain' restaurant up on the ski slopes and therefore filled with skiers, but instead it is way out of the way, halfway up the mountain on a dead end dirt road in the forest.
In summer you can drive to the door on a winding one track dirt road over the cow pastures. Americans worry about falling off the mountain and drive about five miles an hour, the locals play rally driver and go about 55.
In winter, during the day, you have to walk this road. Count on half an hour from where the bus stops. The roadway is groomed by a snowcat and is fairly flat. It is a favorite with people with dogs or those who just want a hike. At night they have a tracked vehicle which will take you up but you have to walk, or sledge back down.
This used to be a ramshackle hut roofed with tin and only open in high summer. Now it is much expanded and modernised, with big terrace and outdoor garden but still with several small rooms of wood inside. It is built right into the rock and you feel like a hobbit visiting it.
In season you will see the cows trooping past. You can ski here but not on groomed and marked trails and not without venturing into off piste terrain, with possible avalanche risk. The owner used to be the 'guardian' of the Mont Fort Swiss Alpine Club refuge up on the pistes of Verbier and he has managed to keep the atmosphere rustic at Marlenaz, though everything is fully modernised.
I like to see that the people who work there are for the most part local boys and girls, young and if I may say so generally very attractive and friendly. In Verbier itself restaurants are generally staffed by guest workers brought in from France, Quebec or Portugal, and you miss the local flavour or at least I do.
The menu is varied and there is always whatever is local and in season like mountain berries or game. The cheese dishes are of high quality and genuine, unlike in some Verbier restaurants where the fondues are made from instant mix bought at the local supermarket!
The Russians don't come up this far and neither do the low budget Brits on chalet company holidays. A lot of Geneva people do, and locals. If you don't like dogs, stay away, as walking the dog up here is very popular and they are allowed inside. read more
