La meilleure neige d'Espagne, en haut du Val d'Aran.

A long-running favourite on Avenguda Garona in Vielha, now in the Michelin Guide — an unpretentious kitchen whose contemporary cooking blends into Aranese classics like olla aranesa (the valley's stew) and snails a la llauna. Choose the à la carte or the Garona set menu; a 4.7 rating from nearly 2,000 diners makes it one of the valley's most consistently loved tables. It sits at number 29 on that avenue, with two dining rooms and a separate private space for a group, and traditional Aranese cooking is what the kitchen puts front and centre.

A long-running traditional restaurant in the tiny stone village of Gessa, just below Salardú, open since 1986. The grill is the strong point — aged sirloin and entrecôte, braised oxtail, suckling pig and venison carpaccio — alongside seasonal Aranese cooking and game. Generous, honest mountain food at fair prices. It was founded by J. Antonio Rufaste, and the cooking has stayed traditional and home-style throughout, built on seasonal produce from the Val d'Aran — morels and ceps when the mushrooms are up, braises and game through the colder months.

A small, distinctive restaurant on the square in Garòs where chef César Mory blends the traditional cooking of the Val d'Aran with the flavours of his native Peru — ceviche and tiraditos alongside mountain produce and local meats. Listed in the Michelin Guide, it builds its menu around productos de proximidad (nearby, seasonal ingredients) and is one of the valley's most original kitchens. Mory is Peruvian and of Amazonian origin, and he opened the restaurant on the Plaça Major in December 2014. Unlike much of the valley it stays open all year rather than only through the ski season, which makes it one of the few serious tables to aim for outside winter.

A family restaurant by the Garona in Bossòst, at the western end of the valley — open since 1984 and reinvented as a creative kitchen built around seasonal mountain produce, offered à la carte or as tasting menus. Awarded a Repsol Sol and recommended in the Michelin Guide, it's one of the Val d'Aran's most refined tables away from the ski villages. Josep Gregorio runs the kitchen, and the house — on Carrèr Sant Jaume in the middle of the village — has passed from parents to children since it opened.

A relaxed, good-value spot on the main street of Arties, marked by its mountain-logo sign and a sunny terrace, known for generous grilled meats — entrecôte and chuletón over the coals — alongside carpaccio and hearty village cooking. A reliable, unfussy choice after a day on the slopes.