Bistro Sauvage

Nestled in the ground floor of a typical city house, the grapevine lined patio, the bar, and the cozy tables at Bistro Sauvage figure among those unique places where we all like to sit shoulder to shoulder, raise a glass, and enjoy a good meal.

The warm and friendly atmosphere, high-quality local ingredients, and refined cuisine are all part of the wonderfully gourmet bistro mindset. The endearing hosts cultivate the restaurant’s incredibly authentic identity. Aurore and Olivier are in love, live life to its fullest, and thoroughly enjoy sharing a good time with others. And it shows. The restaurant radiates positive energy, through their warm and welcoming smiles (but of course), as well as through their own unique style of cooking that explodes with flavor.

A limited menu, fresh produce and ingredients from local sources, in sync with the seasons, the vibrant and colorful cooking at this bistro goes all out on taste.

Variety aptly describes the menu: the lunch specials change every week, and include an appetizer, main course, and dessert at set prices. While the proof may be in the pudding, here the surprise is in the meal itself, conceived as an ephemeral work of art, and made with local ingredients sourced with care. Three starters, three main dishes (meat, fish, or vegetarian), and a few desserts to choose from, the menu twists and turns in every direction. 

Nevertheless, to stay grounded, the bistro offers a few well-known, popular eats prepared in their own unique way: oeuf mayonnaise for example, a bistro mainstay, or chocolate ganache in every one of its many forms. In the evening, the bistro pulls out all the stops, making several dishes to be shared with others, all full of surprises, and placed in the middle of the table for everyone to nibble. One experience to enjoy to its fullest: Saturday brunch, where sweet and sour are mixed together, freestyle, to tantalize your taste buds.

Bistro Sauvage is also a story about love and family. Aurore and Olivier both had flourishing careers, the former in natural cosmetics, and the latter in communications and fashion, yet yearned a change of pace, to get back to their roots. With her mixed origins and yoga background, and his appetite for cooking, both wanted to combine their core values to create something real, something tangible. 

From there the stars aligned and opening a bistro proved to be the obvious choice. The location’s soul, fed by those who ran the place for decades, called to them like a long lost friend. The couple started writing the first chapter of their new story in November 2022. Since then, they have added seven new characters. The bistro opens early enough in the morning for to savor your first cup of eye-opening coffee, and closes late enough for patrons to enjoy the gourmet-inspired cuisine well into the night. The family-like atmosphere makes everyone feel right at home.

At Bistro Sauvage, people not only share meals, but a common mindset. The owners have developed solid, long-term relationships with their handpicked network of partners. Among them, a group of local growers and producers named “Au rendez-vous du terroir,” GAEC Vers le Champs, a local urban farm called “Ceux qui sèment,” the urban dairy Les Frox, and Clavisy Farm to name a few who figure among the bistro’s suppliers. For their amazing beer, several breweries also enter the mix, including Mont Salève, Le Giffre, Le Galiber, and La Montagnarde.

An entire ecosystem of committed, responsible growers, producers, and livestock farmers work with this small yet big-hearted Annecy restaurant.