Restaurant in Talloires-Montmin, France
Two Michelin stars. One set menu. Book early.
Holding two Michelin stars at the Auberge du Père Bise on the shores of Lake Annecy, Jean Sulpice operates a single set menu built around the lake's fish, alpine herbs, and wild plants. The lakeside terrace and contemporary dining room together create a setting that earns the cooking's precision. Wine Director Maéva Rougeoreille oversees a 30,000-bottle cellar priced at the higher end of the regional scale.
A Google rating of 4.7 across 1,462 reviews is unusual for a restaurant at this price point, where opinions tend to polarise. At Jean Sulpice — operating from the historic Auberge du Père Bise in Talloires-Montmin , the consistency of that score signals something real: this is a kitchen that reliably delivers at the level its two Michelin stars (2025) promise.
The setting does a lot of work before the first course arrives. The lakeside terrace looks directly over Lake Annecy, and on a clear afternoon the water reads a shade of blue that feels slightly too vivid to be real. If you are choosing between lunch and dinner, lunch is the stronger call. The terrace is fully alive in daylight, the light off the lake adds a dimension that disappears after dusk, and the set menu format means you are getting the same kitchen either way. Dinner has atmosphere, but lunch has the view at its leading.
Chef Jean Sulpice runs a single set menu built around what the lake and surrounding mountains offer. The approach is technically refined but deliberately light , wild herbs, flowers, and lake fish recur throughout, served in ceramic tableware that treats presentation as part of the experience. For guests who have already visited once, the menu structure rewards a second booking: the kitchen shifts seasonally, and what you ate in spring will read differently in autumn. Return visitors should note that the vegetable-forward option is not listed as a standalone menu, but if you flag it at reservation, the kitchen will build around it , a meaningful detail for guests with dietary preferences.
The front-of-house is managed with the kind of ease that only comes from genuine professionalism. Coline Humbert sets a tone that is warm without being performative, and the wine programme, directed by Maéva Rougeoreille, runs to 4,500 selections across a 30,000-bottle inventory, with France as its clear strength. Wine pricing sits in the $$$ tier, meaning there are serious bottles here and the list assumes you are interested in them. Corkage is available at €100 if you want to bring something specific.
The Auberge du Père Bise itself has been through several iterations over the decades, but the current era under Jean Sulpice and his wife Magali represents the property's most coherent identity in recent memory. The dining room is contemporary, the lakeside terrace is the reason to come, and the whole operation now functions as a focused gastronomic destination rather than a legacy property coasting on history.
At €€€€ pricing with two Michelin stars, Jean Sulpice sits in the same bracket as Flocons de Sel in Megève and Mirazur in Menton in terms of Alpine and southern French fine dining at altitude. Against those benchmarks, the lakeside setting is a specific differentiator , neither of those restaurants offers this particular combination of water view and kitchen ambition. For comparison across the broader French creative dining tier, see also Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen, Bras in Laguiole, and Auberge de l'Ill in Illhaeusern.
Booking is categorised as near impossible. This is not hyperbole for a rural address , Talloires-Montmin draws serious diners specifically for this restaurant, and availability is tight well in advance, particularly for weekend lunch in summer. Book as early as the reservation window allows. If you cannot get Jean Sulpice, L'Auberge de Montmin is the most credible local alternative at the same price tier.
Reservations: Book as far in advance as possible; near-impossible difficulty, especially weekend lunch in summer. Dress: Smart; the room and price tier both expect it, though strict formality is not signalled. Budget: €€€€ cuisine pricing (two-course equivalent €66+); wine list at $$$ adds meaningfully to the total. Dietary needs: Flag at booking , the kitchen will accommodate vegetable-forward menus on request. Getting there: Talloires-Montmin is leading reached by car from Annecy (approximately 12km). Address: 303 Rte du Port, 74290 Talloires-Montmin, France.
For more dining options in the area, see our full Talloires-Montmin restaurants guide. If you are planning a stay, our Talloires-Montmin hotels guide covers the leading options near the lake. We also have guides to bars, wineries, and experiences in Talloires-Montmin.
Yes, at the two-Michelin-star level with this setting, the value equation holds. You are paying for technical precision, a lakeside terrace that is genuinely hard to match in the French Alps, and a kitchen that treats dietary requests seriously rather than grudgingly. Compare it to Flocons de Sel or Arpège in Paris , Jean Sulpice delivers comparable kitchen ambition with a setting advantage neither of those can offer.
The set menu is the only format here, so the question is whether the format suits you. If you want à la carte flexibility, this is not the right booking. But the menu is built for the season and the lake, and the kitchen adjusts for dietary preferences on request , which makes it more flexible in practice than the single-menu format suggests. For returning guests, seasonal variation gives the menu enough range to reward a second visit.
Yes, and more thoughtfully than most at this tier. The kitchen does not list a vegetable-forward menu by default, but if you flag it at the time of reservation, the chef will build a bespoke option. Mention any dietary requirements clearly when booking , do not leave it to the day.
Book lunch over dinner if you can. The lakeside terrace is the centrepiece of the experience and it reads leading in daylight. The set menu format means pacing is managed for you , plan for a full afternoon rather than a tight two-hour window. Parking is available at the property. Annecy is the logical base if you are not staying in Talloires-Montmin itself , see our Talloires-Montmin hotels guide for options closer to the lake.
Smart casual at minimum; the room, the price tier, and the Michelin two-star context all point toward dressing well. There is no published strict dress code, but arriving in casual holiday clothes at a €€€€ lakeside restaurant with this level of service will feel incongruous. Think of it as the same register as any serious city fine dining room.
L'Auberge de Montmin is the closest alternative at the same €€€€ tier and creative format. For a step down in formality and price, Le 1903 and Les Terrasses - Le Cottage Bise both operate at €€€ and offer modern cuisine with lake proximity. Auberge du Père Bise is the property Jean Sulpice operates within, so that link refers to the same destination.
It is one of the stronger special-occasion choices in the French Alps, full stop. The combination of two Michelin stars, the lakeside terrace, attentive front-of-house management, and the single-menu format (which removes decision fatigue and lets the kitchen control the pacing) makes it well-suited to anniversary dinners, significant birthday lunches, or any occasion where the meal is the entire point of the trip. Book lunch for the full visual impact of the setting.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Sulpice | €€€€ | Near Impossible | — |
| L'Auberge de Montmin | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Auberge du Père Bise | Unknown | — | |
| Le 1903 | €€€ | Unknown | — |
| Les Terrasses - Le Cottage Bise | €€€ | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Yes, and notably well. If you flag dietary requirements when booking, chef Jean Sulpice will build an adapted menu around them. Vegetarian requests are specifically called out as something the kitchen handles with full creative attention, not a simplified fallback. Mention your needs at reservation, not on arrival.
At €€€€ with 2 Michelin stars (2025) and a World of Fine Wine 2-star accreditation backing the cellar (4,500 selections, 30,000 bottles), the value case is solid if the format suits you. A single set menu means you are not choosing what you eat, so the spend makes sense for diners who trust the kitchen. If you want flexibility or an à la carte option, this is not the right venue at this price.
The restaurant operates as a single set menu only, served at lunch and dinner in the historic Auberge du Père Bise building at 303 Route du Port, Talloires-Montmin. The lakeside terrace overlooking Lake Annecy is a genuine draw, not window dressing. Booking difficulty is real at this level — secure your table well in advance, especially for terrace seating in summer.
Formal or polished dressy. This is a 2-Michelin-star restaurant with an elegantly managed dining room run by front-of-house director Coline Humbert. While there is no explicit dress code in the venue data, the setting and price point (€€€€) make jeans and trainers a poor call. Think dinner jacket for men, a dress or tailored outfit for women.
Yes, provided you are buying into Jean Sulpice's philosophy: light, health-conscious creative cuisine built around Lake Annecy fish, wild herbs, and mountain ingredients. The kitchen earns its 2 Michelin stars with precision and restraint rather than spectacle. If you want rich, butter-forward classical French cooking, this is not that — and you will know before you arrive.
Auberge du Père Bise is actually the same property (Jean Sulpice operates within it), so that is not a separate alternative. L'Auberge de Montmin and Le 1903 offer dining in the immediate area at lower price points, while Les Terrasses at Le Cottage Bise provides a lakeside setting with less formal commitment. None match Jean Sulpice's Michelin credential in the immediate Talloires vicinity.
It is one of the stronger cases for a special occasion restaurant in the French Alps: 2 Michelin stars, a lakeside terrace on Lake Annecy, a professionally managed front-of-house, and a kitchen that adapts for dietary needs when asked. The single set menu format also removes decision fatigue on the night. Book the terrace if your occasion is in spring or summer and specify it when reserving.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
