Fondue Savoyarde at Le Tonneau
Le Tonneau, tucked into a vaulted stone cellar on Rue Saint-Antoine in the old town, is the kind of place Chambériens have been bringing out-of-town guests for decades — unhurried, convivial and utterly serious about its cheese. The fondue savoyarde here blends Beaufort, Comté and Emmental de Savoie in a ratio the kitchen guards like a state secret, served bubbling in a traditional caquelon over a
The Fondue Ritual
The rules at Le Tonneau are gently enforced: white wine or local herbal tea to drink (cold water, the staff will tell you with a smile, makes the cheese ball in your stomach), bread cubes kept warm in a linen-lined basket and a small glass of Savoie white — Apremont or Chignin — to deglaze the caquelon at the end.
If you drop your bread in the pot, tradition demands a forfeit — usually buying the next round of wine. It is a rule observed with more enthusiasm than embarrassment, which tells you everything about the atmosphere of the place.
Beyond the Fondue
The menu also features tartiflette (Reblochon-baked potato gratin), raclette for two and the less-known croziflette — a tartiflette made with buckwheat crozets pasta instead of potatoes, a Savoyard twist that converts sceptics on first bite.
Dessert leans local: génépi-soaked tarte aux myrtilles (bilberry tart) or a scoop of génépi sorbet that tingles the tongue with alpine herbs. Book a table for Friday or Saturday evening at least a week ahead — the cellar fills fast.
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