Michelin-Starred Restaurant

L’Auberge de Montmin

Gourmet cuisine nestled in the mountains

Oct. 2025

3 min.

The Saga of Michelin-Starred Restaurants Around Lake Annecy continues with Chef Florian Favario, a two Michelin star Chef.

“Up here, just a twenty-minute drive from Annecy, is a whole other world. Leave the hustle and bustle of the lake behind. Located at 1147 meters elevation, we are truly in the middle of the mountains. Alpine pastures make up the surrounding landscape. At our restaurant, guests enjoy their meal as the local cows leisurely graze, their bells clanking like background music as the lush green pastures frame the incredibly scenic backdrop. The mountains are ever-present and I wanted to showcase the alpine environment from the very start.”

Florian Favario, Auberge de Montmin’s two-star Chef

A winding mountain road leads to this Maison de Cuisine gourmet kitchen located at Col de la Forclaz Pass, with its breathtaking views overlooking Lake Annecy’s turquoise-blue waters.

Once at the pass, always buzzing with energy in the summertime, drive a short distance down the other side to reach Auberge de Montmin. Florian Favario and his spouse Sandrine are the driving force behind this two-star restaurant, the former in the kitchen and the latter in the dining room.

In spite of its close proximity to the popular neighboring mountain pass, the restaurant’s location along the edge of an alpine pasture, surrounded by the mountains, gives guests the impression of being in the middle of nowhere. “People do not come to our restaurant by chance,” Florian explains, “You need a healthy dose of curiosity. And we consider returning guests to be a gift, the ultimate form of recognition.”

Instead of flashy pomp and circumstance, this restaurant offers a refreshing slice of tranquility and authenticity. “The idea is to treat guests as if we are welcoming friends into our home.”

Once inside, you feel right at home. While guests marvel at Florian’s cuisine, Sandrine’s warm welcome also makes a positive impression. The meal flows with simplicity in a warm and friendly atmosphere. The Chef cooks intuitively, using carefully selected local ingredients, including those from his vegetable garden.

Florian bases the day’s menu on seasonal produce and goods from the local farmers market.

Seasonal, plant-based, and intuitive cuisine

Florian Favario cut his teeth at some of the world’s most prestigious restaurants, including Le Bristol in Paris and The Lanesborough in London, where he earned one Michelin star during his tenure at the latter.

But with family roots in the alpine pastures high above Lake Annecy, Florian chose to return to the area with Sandrine. Serving deliciously scrumptious pies to guests as they sit at plastic tables with Coca-Cola parasols for decoration, the restaurant earned its first Michelin star shortly after the grand opening in 2020. Florian and Sandrine are still having just as much fun today.

Six years later, their talent continues to shine, earning them:

A second Michelin star and one green star for Chef Florian Favario,
The guest service award from Le Chef Magazine in 2023 and the Michelin Guide in 2024 for Sandrine.

Florian’s cooking focuses almost exclusively on plant-based dishes, heightening the taste of locally grown produce. “I like working with vegetables as much as I like working with meats,” he explains. His creative spirit shines through in every dish. Florian channels this cheerful creativity into taste and culinary delight: onion soup served in an edible bowl with a marrow-filled bone as garnish, candied or raw beets shaped like a rose, risotto-style endives, a tomato tart so meticulously crafted that it resembles a painting.

Each dish is created based on the season and local producers, with the goal of being as simple and as delicious as possible. However, when certain signature dishes disappear from the menu, regular guests practically threaten to start a rebellion.

According to Sandrine, Florian lives fully in the moment when cooking. She recalls the day in April when, with the exciting arrival of spring, he planned to make a strawberry dessert. And then it started snowing unexpectedly. Creative to the core, Florian turned the situation into an opportunity: he covered the strawberries with a pristine granita, like a mountain blanketed in snow, which a strawberry coulis topping slowly began to melt; a blend of poetry and culinary genius.

It takes two to succeed

While in the Chef’s shadow in the kitchen, Sandrine presence, essential, creates ray of shining sun in the dining room. In the kitchen she tastes everything, approves, and reassures. In the dining room, she greets every guest with the sincerest of smiles.

“Guests return for her hospitality, since she truly loves people and taking great care of them,” Florian proudly affirms.

Together, this inseparable couple makes Auberge de Montmin a magical place for an extraordinary dining experience. This is absolutely a gourmet restaurant, but also (and especially) a comfortably homey place, made even more special through creativity’s eternal flame.