La Reine des Prés (‘the countryside queen’) is a trendy salon de thé/ restaurant belonging to Carine Veyrat, the daughter of… The architecture and soft colors of the house built onto the mountain. The wild flowers, the bicycle parked just outside, the simple stairs, the olive tree at right with its large pot. It looks like a dream countryside house. You want to come in, don’t you?

Chris and I went for tea time 2 weeks ago. The large and quiet terrasse, overlooking the stunning Annecy Lake, invited us to take seat on a comfortable sofa. It was 72°F (22°C) outdoors, uncommonly warm for a fall beginning in the Alps. The deco was elegant and eclectic. Wooden and fabric sofas and their matching coffee tables met white metallic chairs and purple metallic glass-topped tables.

Annecy Lake is the second biggest lake in Europe and probably one the cleanest. Anneciens drink their own lake water. Can you believe that? Those swans are so voracious. They’re like a mafia band with mom, dad and kids. When a tourist comes to feed them, they chase away every single duck and other birds and manage to eat everything.

By the way, Annecy has just been appointed official French candidate for the Winter Olympic Games 2018. The water is clear like that everywhere.

We ordered a chocolate tart, herbal tea, chocolate drink and Jambon de Bayonne. Liked the napkin’s wooden clothespins. It was cute.

The chocolate tart was made of pastry topped with a very dark chocolate ganache. I’m a huge fan of dark chocolate. The darker it is, the more I like it. This tart is a hit. The pastry was thin and soft and leave room to the bittersweet for fulling my mouth and bitting my tongue. The chocolate is so dark that it was difficult to finish the tart. We share it. The herbal tea softened it appropriately.

All plates and bowls were from different ensembles. The chocolate tart plate was of modern glass design, while the herbal tea drink bowl was of southern french traditional earthenware.

I guess the chocolate was swiss made. Thick, foamy, too sweet – I like it darker -, soft when passing your throat. Delicious.

The jambon de Bayonne was good. Dry and tender. Character and smoothness. It was served with a quarter of butter, whole almonds, cornichons (kind of very acidic pickles), a rustic bread (leavened I guess) and a bread shoved with a very spicy mashed tomato. The tomato bread was delicious. I never ate that anywhere and it was for me the true surprise. The marriage with almonds was brilliant. Jambon de bayonne is one of the lowest fat piece of charcuterie. Proteins from jambon + almonds and good fat from almonds fitted perfectly my diet.

Here is my boy. It’s the owner’s dog. The jambon de Bayonne smell attracted him, I guess.

My first surprise was about the prices. They were comparable to Paris’ while it’s la province. Yet (2nd surprise), at least for what I ate, it was deliciously better than scandalously pricey crap I had eaten in Paris or Geneva at 20 minutes driving away. Third surprise, the service were efficient. The reason why I noted that is restaurant service in France is hell. I often feel I disturb the waiters or waitresses. They are always in a hurry for doing something else than waiting on me. Or worse. They are catatonic. Obviously, there are exceptions. But they should be part of a secret confession, which leaks them sparsely. Before living in California, having a bad service was normal. It’s France, dude. But after one year over there, I can’t stand that any longer. At La Reine des Prés, the waitress was part of the secret society. She was nice. As we didn’t make our choice, we asked her to come back. She took time (not too much). Carine Veyrat came diligently take our order herself, and forwarded it to the waitress. Her father, Marc Veyrat, the grand chef etoilé is rude like that with his waiters. He shut down his restaurant etoilé by Jan 09, and opened an organic fast food last summer beside his daughter’s restaurant. But Marc Veyrat is a grand chef. So it’s kinda common that his restaurant works like a military camp. Carine Veyrat’s not a chef, yet she took reference. I swear such efficiency in France stunned me.

Hey, Wait! You might also like

• A breakfast at Plaza Athénée, Paris
• La galette des rois
• Pierre Herme, chef patissier

Author: Gaelle