Maison Benoît Vidal - Sur les Bois — Restaurant in Annecy

Astonishing that, whilst L'Atelier is a good restaurant perhaps worthy of recommendation or a one Michelin star on a good day, that L'Atelier has been awarded two. To imagine L'Atelier is in the same league as an establishment such as seasoned campaigners such as Le Manoir aux Quatre Saisons is laughable and reflects an utter inconsistency in the awarding of Michelin stars across national boundaries. In terms of taste and inventiveness, surely key markers at two star, it struggles to lay a marker to the likes of Simon Rogan's 2* l'Enclume.

Upon entry. There is a lift and a spiral staircase, the lift seems somewhat unnecessary and the spiral staircase hidden in the dusk of eve. So even finding your way to the entrance is not the simplest of tasks to what is a relatively modest establishment for a two star restaurant. The interior and reception areas are adequate for a luxury alpine chalet without being extrovert or overwhelmingly sophisticated in design. Modest, comfortable and pleasant but not inspirational or "worth a journey".

Staff amenable, courteous, professional and happily not intrusive. There's not many tables and the evening we are there it was perhaps half full and the ambiance is warm with no stuffiness. Sadly there didn't seem an area to enjoy an aperitif pre dinner so we went straight to a large table. The table was so large, we were ten guests, as to prevent conversation with half the table, space is required for a tasting menu with several platters of amuse bouche, wine etc.

Breads, butters and amuse Boucher were well presented and if a good standard. Frustratingly it's now a couple of weeks since we are there and I no longer have a menu at hand. The initial platters of amuse bouche were well presented, the explanations of each dish a little limited and would benefit from further explanation as to ingredients and perhaps what each plate was attempting to achieve. Although pleasant and of an expected level for a one star, esp. in terms of presentation the flavours were underwhelming and certainly not memorable. At 135€ per person plus wine one would expect to be able to remember aspects of the dinner, certainly some fruits de mer at London's venerable Scott's restaurant is infinitely more memorable with flavours and service far beyond what was on offer here.

A snail entree was perhaps the most flavoursome plate and whilst all of the courses were fine none was outstanding. The staff continued to be professional, polite and the sommelier chose excellent wines at competitive prices (for a two star Michelin), a local Chegnin white was particularly good.

Puddings and chocolate were good, again worthy of a one star yet no one discussed the meal as one would expect of a two star but preferred alternative conversation once past the initial entrees and amuse bouche.

A pleasant night, not astounding. Price point not outrageous for France where chefs are on occasion laughably over-priced and over-rated. The French palate is occasionally a fragile beast prone to bland fayre presented as a Grand Canyon landscape upon one's plate only to find they're more akin to local dunes upon one's palate. L'Atelier is a v good restaurant and as mentioned to be highly recommended or as a one star. On our tastings two star territory requires internisty of flavours, inventiveness, textures, humour, gastronomical intellect and a broad aperture for the diner to explore. The chef should be commended for the "weighting" of his food, at no point does one feel overawed yet I believe he needs to be bolder and more dedicated to...

We visited the Atelier d'Edmond yesterday on New Year's Eve. We were simply seated at a table and were then informed that it is only possible to get the New Years menu. This had not been apparent at the time of our reservation (some months before). So far so good. But when the first 2 courses arrived, we were surprised that they were only tiny artistic bites. Since we, in a time when people are still starving around the world, vehemently reject the fact that food is abused artificially for artistic purposes and we were not willing to pay 250€ per person for such a menu, we asked the waiter to offer us an alternative. No flexibility was shown here. I asked for a steak, a fish or something else. However, the most that was offered was a shortened menu at a lower price (150€ p.p.). The other alternative was to leave the restaurant and pay 125€ p.p., which had to be deposited as security in the form of my credit card details when making the reservation. As it was finally a misunderstanding, as we did not know until the time of the second course that this was such a kitchen, such a behaviour on the part of the restaurant made me extremely dissatisfied. The highlight was the reasoning that they were only open a few months a year and "had to make money". I asked the waiter, who acted as an intermediary between us and the management of the restaurant, to be allowed to speak briefly with the management of the restaurant in order to find a solution that would be pleasant for everyone. When I asked the waiter to speak to the management, I was told "they are too busy at this time (9pm)". In the end, we paid 250€ for a total of 2 courses in the size of a rice cracker with some colourful foam hoods and were allowed to leave the restaurant afterwards. It was by far the worst restaurant visit of my life and I will never set foot in this restaurant again. Those who like artificial cuisine are right here, those who do not and want to eat decently will not. Thanks for the almost ruined...

Exceptional food and service! This restaurant offers an amazing experience in terms of dining and feeling at home. They use high quality natural products for each dish. Personnel is very nice and professional (they explained the menu and the story behind it in English). I had the “Graines d’eau” menu, with the Omble chevalier and the sauce being the best dish that I’ve ever had. I would definitely try it again; I might give a try to the vegetarian version, because it looked equally good. Presentation of food is superb! The chef came at the end and we had a nice chat about his concept. I totally...