Le Saint Sauveur

The hotel was closed, and nobody had told us. We’d arrived by bicycle, so finding somewhere else to stay in the area became a bit of a problem.

We had really tasty burgers at this tiny takeaway spot. There’s a place to park motorbikes, too. A great stop if you’re riding along the Route Des Grandes Alpes!

I had dinner here with friends tonight and was surprised by the comments from those seven people. The welcome was really warm, and the meal was excellent, especially the chicken curry. The waiter did tell us they’d run out of pizza, but that was no problem. We still had two dishes to choose from, and this was the only restaurant open in the small village. Kudos to the team. Don’t let comments that only harm good businesses put you off. Come see for yourselves.

At least three of the four of us who asked were allowed to charge our phones inside, after getting permission. That was a small bright spot in an evening that left me sad this was the only restaurant in Saint-Saveur-sur-Tinée open for dinner. Beforehand, I asked the owner if a group of seven could eat there. She was friendly and gave an emphatic yes for 7 p.m. The menu board outside listed pizza too. But when we arrived, someone who later turned out to be the waiter impatiently and bossily pointed out where to park our bikes. We didn’t pay much attention, sat down, and even helped him arrange the table and chairs. Our beers came promptly, in dirty glasses, but no menu ever showed up. Instead, someone brusquely called from the doorway that the only choices were "Poulet curry coco" and "Tataki de boeuf." We’d expected pizza from the sign out front, which was disappointing, but ordered anyway. We were hungry, on a bike tour, and had no other dinner options that evening. One person in our group ordered chicken and found a fly on the plate. He tried to persuade the waiter that the plate didn’t need to be taken back. The owner came over angry, at first saying he’d have to pay for it. When we paid, she seemed to reconsider, and we weren’t charged for that plate. The food itself wasn’t much to talk about: the chicken was nothing special, and the tataki came with fries but no salt or sauce. The restrooms were unclean, too. It felt like a business being run reluctantly.