Restaurant in Le Bourget-du-Lac, France
Sixty years, one star, book ahead.
Lamartine has held a Michelin star and a 4.9 Google rating (1,791 reviews) since anchoring fine dining on the shores of Lac du Bourget since 1964. Chef Valentin Marin's lake fish and Savoie lamb dishes are technically precise and genuinely rooted in the terrain. At €€€€, with attentive service and a romantic lakeside setting, it earns its price — book well ahead.
Lamartine has held a Michelin star and a reputation for quiet precision since long before Savoie became a recognisable name on France's fine dining circuit. If you're weighing whether to make the drive to Le Bourget-du-Lac for a serious meal, the answer is yes — provided you want cooking that is genuinely rooted in its terrain rather than performing at it. The service here is attentive without being theatrical, the setting is romantic without being fussy, and the food is technically grounded in Alpine and lake ingredients that few kitchens in the region handle with comparable care. At €€€€ pricing with a Michelin star earned in 2024, Lamartine sits in a tier where the experience has to justify the spend. It does.
Sixty years of continuous operation is not a marketing line , it is a structural fact that shapes how this restaurant feels. Lamartine opened in 1964, and that longevity means the team knows the rhythm of the lake, the seasons, and the expectations of guests who return year after year. If you've been once, the question on your next visit isn't whether the quality will hold; it's where to direct your attention more carefully.
The address faces Lac du Bourget, the lake immortalised by the French Romantic poet Alphonse de Lamartine , the restaurant's namesake. The view from the dining room is part of the case for booking. But the more durable reason to come is chef Valentin Marin's approach to the ingredients that surround him. Lake fish anchors the menu. Arctic char is prepared with celery and a beurre blanc built around pike eggs , a combination that brings together the clean mineral flavour of the lake with a sauce that adds richness without obscuring the fish. Savoie lamb arrives with artichoke flowers. A strawberry croustillant closes with tarragon. These are dishes that read as confident rather than decorative: the herb and ingredient pairings are purposeful, and the technique behind them is steady.
The kitchen draws from mountain and lake terrain in a way that feels considered rather than convenient. That specificity is one of Lamartine's clearest differentiators in the region. Among the Michelin-recognised addresses in the broader Savoie and Haute-Savoie area , including Flocons de Sel in Megève , Lamartine makes the strongest case for lake-driven cooking as its own discipline. Where Flocons de Sel leans into altitude and mountain produce, Lamartine commits to the water.
Service philosophy here is worth addressing directly, because at this price point it is part of what you are paying for. Michelin's own assessment flags attentive service as a defining feature of the experience. The room's contemporary decor and the romantic atmosphere it supports are maintained by a team that appears to understand the difference between attentiveness and intrusion. For guests returning a second time, this matters: the service calibration tends to be consistent, which means the experience is repeatable rather than dependent on catching the kitchen on a good night. That consistency is a significant factor in assessing whether Lamartine earns its price tier.
Closed Monday and Tuesday, Lamartine operates Wednesday through Saturday from 9 AM to midnight, and Sunday from 9 AM to 4 PM. The Sunday lunch window is the most accessible entry point if you want the full experience without committing to a late evening. Booking is hard , plan well ahead, particularly for weekend evenings and the summer months when the lakeside setting draws stronger demand. There is no booking method confirmed in available data, so contact via the venue directly or check current availability through relevant reservation platforms.
For context in the broader French fine dining picture, Lamartine belongs to a category of regionally embedded, ingredient-specific restaurants that includes Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern, Bras in Laguiole, and Troisgros - Le Bois sans Feuilles in Ouches , restaurants where the cooking makes sense only because of where they are. That sense of place is not decorative at Lamartine; it's structural to what Valentin Marin is doing. It also distinguishes the restaurant clearly from more urban €€€€ addresses like AM par Alexandre Mazzia in Marseille or Assiette Champenoise in Reims, where the kitchen's relationship to local geography is less central to the identity.
Google reviewers rate Lamartine at 4.9 across 1,791 reviews , a volume and score that signals consistent execution over a long period rather than a spike driven by recent press. For a returning guest, that number confirms what one visit already suggested: the restaurant is reliable in a way that many one-star addresses are not.
If you are planning a trip to the Savoie for food specifically, Lamartine should anchor the itinerary. Pair it with a browse through our full Le Bourget-du-Lac restaurants guide and consider the creative cooking at Atmosphères for a second evening. For accommodation, our Le Bourget-du-Lac hotels guide covers the options near the lake. The bars, wineries, and experiences guides round out a fuller picture of the area.
Reservations: Hard to book , secure your table well in advance, especially for Friday and Saturday evenings and summer weekends. Hours: Wednesday–Saturday 9 AM–midnight; Sunday 9 AM–4 PM; closed Monday and Tuesday. Budget: €€€€ , allow for a full fine dining spend including wine. Leading timing: Sunday lunch is the most relaxed entry point. Location: Rte du Tunnel, 73370 Bourdeau, Le Bourget-du-Lac, France. Getting there: The address is on the Route du Tunnel at the southern edge of Lac du Bourget , a car is the practical choice from Chambéry or Aix-les-Bains.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamartine | Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Hard |
| Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen | Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Kei | Contemporary French, Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
| L'Ambroisie | French, Classic Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Le Cinq - Four Seasons Hôtel George V | French, Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Mirazur | Modern French, Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Yes — it is one of the strongest cases for a special-occasion booking in the Savoie. The lakeside setting, Michelin-starred cooking, and attentive service create a genuinely romantic atmosphere, and the restaurant has been operating at this level since 1964, which shows in the polish. Book a Friday or Saturday evening well in advance; summer weekends fill quickly.
The kitchen's clearest strengths are the lake fish dishes, where chef Valentin Marin shows particular precision — Arctic char with celery and beurre blanc with pike eggs is the kind of dish that defines why you make the trip. Savoie lamb with artichoke flowers and strawberry croustillant with tarragon round out a menu rooted firmly in local mountain and lake terrain. Order whatever reflects the season and the region.
For the full picture of Marin's cooking — especially the lake fish preparations — the tasting menu format makes sense here. The venue's Michelin recognition and sixty-year track record indicate that the kitchen has the consistency to justify the format. At €€€€ pricing, this is a commitment, but it is the right one if you want to experience what distinguishes Lamartine from regional competitors.
At €€€€, Lamartine sits at the top of the regional price tier, but a 2024 Michelin star and six decades of continuous operation provide clear validation. Compared to multi-star Paris addresses like L'Ambroisie or Le Cinq, the price point is considerably lower for food at a credible one-star level in a setting — lakeside in the Alps — that most Paris restaurants cannot match. For Savoie fine dining, this is the benchmark.
No specific dietary policy is documented for Lamartine. For a kitchen operating at Michelin level with a set menu structure, the standard approach is to check the venue's official channels when booking and flag requirements in advance. Given the fish and meat focus of the documented menu, vegetarians should confirm options before committing to the tasting menu format.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
