La Petite Ferme — Restaurant in Albertville

Having previously visited 3 times in 12 months and being familiar with the menus for adults and children, we were disappointed with how the latest visit went and how we were treated.

The menu for children is very straightforward in that you pick a main, a side, a dessert and drink….

Except if you order the bambino pizza and want a pasta side - this apparently attracts a surcharge labelled “3 sauces” of €5.

We clarified the order with our waiter Ulan and we were told about this when the side never arrived. The time to state this was at the time of ordering and not the rudeness afterwards.

Ironically, we’ve done this combination on two out of three visits without drama.

The manager dismissed it as perhaps a different manager let it go last time but it was the same lady on all occasions. The menu doesn’t illustrate the restaurant’s arbitrary rules - beware.

As adults, we ordered a garlic bread starter and fondue - we had to ask about the fondue because all the food was served but there was no sign of the fondue.

Overall, it’s a shame that arbitrary rules are made and staff feel the need to be dismissive about what is on their own literature. The amount was small and irrelevant - the treatment with respect to it was the reason I decided to take the stand over it.

Having been a repeat visitor, I doubt we will now return - there are lots of good family run restaurants in this part of Val Thorens, they provide excellent service and they honour the order taken...

Having dined at Petite Ferme twice before and come away with fond memories, we returned with high expectations but unfortunately, our third visit was a significant letdown.

From the outset, the service was markedly off-key. The waiters were clearly under pressure and this was reflected in their general demeanour, not ideal when dining with young children. A warm welcome and attentive service can make all the difference in a family-friendly resort, but sadly, that was lacking.

The food was ok but my wife’s French onion soup was overwhelmed by a significant quantity of rosemary and was virtually inedible.

Our children had the set kids’ meal, which included dessert, but the service was so painfully slow despite several acknowledgements from staff that they would "be right over" that we eventually gave up, paid via the QR code and left without dessert. We weren’t alone: several other tables were visibly frustrated, waving to get the staff’s attention in vain. Another couple gave up and walked out at the same time as us, having waited fruitlessly for service.

The root of the problem appears to be chronic understaffing. A couple of waiters were trying, with limited success, to serve what must have been around 60 customers.

We won’t be returning, which is a genuine shame. This was once a charming and reliable spot in Val Thorens, but the current state of affairs makes for a stressful and...

Lovely ambience and steak. We first came in for our table and were simply told wait with no explanation and she walked off for 5 minutes. We ordered our food and the waitress was blunt and hostile, simply no customer service skills. Our food arrived, my family got the cheese fondue, we were given no instructions on how to use it and ended up burning the cheese and nearly setting on fire, luckily a table behind us helped. The smoke from the fondue made all our eyes water and smell of smoke after our food. I tried asking for help from the waiter but he looked at me, blanked me and eventually came back when i asked him again. We told him our fondue was broken because one of the flaps wasn't staying up and he said it wasn't his problem. I ordered the pasta alla carbonara and it was so bland, barely any sauce and only thing that gave it flavour was the bacon. The steak was the only thing that saved our meal from...