“How did we forget about this place for so many years? Why did we take so long to come back.”

Those were the very last words I published about a San Miguel restaurant called Chamonix back on May 6, 2018. It had been eleven years between visits when I wrote it. It took us seven more years before our next visit there. The strange thing is, we really, really like this place.

Chamonix. Call it the neglected. Like the model child who gets ignored while their rowdy siblings get all of the attention.

It was an email from Marco Massarotti that spurred our most recent visit.

It’s my favorite date night place and they are struggling. I send a lot of my customers to them. The food is good, old-fashioned. The place is charming and the servers have been there for 15 to 20 years and are very nice. If you feel like we can have dinner on a Tuesday evening, please let me know. It’s a place that deserves to be around and I would hate to see it disappear.

We set a date and time and I said I’d make a reservation. After five pages of Google Search trying to find any contact info for Chamonix and make that reservation, I gave up. Is it any surprise that they might be struggling?

We arrived and walked up the wide corridor that opens to the stone-walled courtyard, I was reminded of just how classically beautiful Chamonix is and, as the sun lowered and the lights were raised, how even more attractive it becomes.

Marco and his partner Marianna were there when Don Day’s Wife and I arrived. They’d nabbed the cozy corner table that’s perfect for waiter watching.

I consider Marco Massarotti to be certainly one of if not the finest restauranteur in San Miguel de Allende. Casa Nostra, his pride and joy, has been perched in the number one (of 647) position on Trip Advisor’s list of best restaurants for years now and continues to receive raves from both those who live here permanently and those who are only experiencing life in San Miguel for a few days. I respect his opinions enormously; if Marco says a restaurant is good, it’s very good.

20 years ago when we first went to Chamonix having their menus on fancy but clumsy boards rather than on paper was a novelty. Nowadays it just seems different and awkward.

On the board that holds their beverage list, I remember Chamonix being one of the first San Miguel restaurants to have a good portion of the list dedicated to Mexican wines with now classic names like Chateau Domecq, Monte Xanic and LA. Cetto. They still do.

Still on the list, as well, is the wine I think I ordered the very first time I was there. It’s a French called Perrin Reserve. I asked the others if it worked for them.

“A Côtes-de-Rhone and it fits under your one thousand max rule. Let’s do it”, said Marco.

There are two boards with food on them. I’ve never understood why. There are two soups on one board; there are two different soups on the other. It’s the same with pastas. Two on one; two on the other. And, almost always, it’s tough getting a good look at both boards.

I do like what’s on the food boards. Mainly because the dishes are different. And viva the difference. It’s hard to put a handle on the cuisine. French? Yes. Continental? Sure. Italian? Definitely some. Plus a little Asian. A hint of Mexican. And classic steaks, chops and fish.

I mentioned that Chamonix’ dishes are different. The pastas are a good example. Five very good new Italian restaurants have opened in San Miguel in the last year: Florios, Fari, Da Carmela, Ziracco and Serrano 82. And if you want Pomodoro, Puttanesca, Parmagiano or Pappardelle, you’re sure to find it at least one of them. But if you want your pasta with lemon and prawns; or mussels and baby scallops; or shrimp, pine nuts and raisins; or, what I had, the farfalle with figs and roquefort sauce, Chamonix might be the only place you’ll ever find them in this town.

I could go on and on about each and all of the courses but Marco Massarotti summed up what’s so good about Chamonix much better than I could.

“You really feel like you’re walking into a different country. It reminds me of Provence where I was lucky enough to eat in some lovely bistros.”

“It’s the combination of coziness, grace and talent that makes Chamonix special to us. Many traditional places are underestimated nowadays as people are looking for the new, the different, the exciting but my favorite food is still the traditional, where well-executed dishes are prepared with skill, a pinch of passion and love and make you feel like you’re eating again with your family when you were young.”

“We have been there about 20 times and the consistency is amazing.”

Marco and I finished our dinner with snifters of Amaretto. I think the last time I had Amaretto was seven years ago. I think it might have been at Chamonix.

I solemnly promised I wouldn’t wait as long the next time.

Chamonix is located at Sollano 17 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1:30 to 9:00 pm.