LE SWALLOW — Restaurant in Briançon

Le Swallow was our favorite place to eat and drink during our skiing holiday. My partner and I drank there 6 nights in a row and ate dinner there twice. Natacha (I think the manager?) has to be one of the nicest people I've met and she treated everyone who came in with genuine warmth and patience (for those who don't speak French). Even though the restaurant was consistently busy and tables were limited, she went out of her way to accommodate us when we were just drinking and also when we changed our minds and ordered food. The bartender, Armand, was equally friendly and patient and he was always smiling. He and Natacha worked really well together and it just made us happy to walk in every evening and to be recognized and welcomed by such lovely people.

The drinks were great--nice mix of "basic" beers (Jupiler) and fancier stuff (La Chouffe). We also were given free shots of local liquors every night which were also great. The food here was the biggest surprise. The place looked more like a bar to me, but everything we ate was fantastic. Even the breads and spreads we got while we were drinking tasted great (that fish salad!!!). We tried some other more traditional restaurants in the area that had all the usual stuff on offer (raclette, tartiflette, etc) but Le Swallow's food was actually the best we had during our trip. The menu was unpretentious with some unusual options and everything just tasted really good (the ceviche was...

I visited The Swallow after seeing its good reviews, but I was disappointed. I had the fondue savoyarde with the supplement charcuterie (so molten cheese with wine and bread, with various pork cuts). It was quite expensive (28€), though it is not entirely surprising since it is the high season. What was more surprising was the waiting time (10-15 minutes even though this is an easy dish and the restaurant was far from full at the time), the meagre portion of charcuterie, and the poor quality: the wine and the cheese were not properly incorporated. I'm French and I've had many fondues before: this is not normal.

The service was not particularly good: besides the longer than expected waiting time, I accidentally dropped my fondue fork in the middle of the dish, and I had to finish with my regular fork. This is not overly dramatic, but neither is it the mark of an exceptional service.

Overall, my sister and I were...

Paid £50 deposit booked via email a month in advance, showed up for our booking and was told no such reservation existed and they tried to turn our party away. After showing email and deposit proof and seeing the proof on the managers phone, no fault was admitted or appropriate apology given. Disappointing as there is nowhere else available late notice and had to go to the...