Pizzeria des Moulins Review

We went to check it out last Sunday, having heard good things about it and wanting something to eat without all the fuss of “going for dinner”. Last winter, Pizzeria des Moulins was a tiny little takeaway with just one table and two chairs - if you wanted to eat in you would have to squeeze against the wall every time the door opened and duck every time a takeaway pizza box was passed over your head.

It has since expanded and has 10 small slightly wobbly tables in a narrow dining room that only one waiter at a time can dash around in. We arrived just in time to nab the last empty table at around 7pm, the young waiter was charming and friendly but clearly a bit frazzled. Within 5 minutes we could see why - as well as coping with a full dining room he was also dealing with a constant stream of takeaway orders as well as fending off even more people looking for a table! He managed to do it all with a smile though and we didn’t have to wait too long before he gave us a couple of menus and took our drinks order.

As well as a good choice of classic pizzas, “white” pizzas, calzones and salads there was also a specials board with the pizza of the day and a few Italian side dishes to choose from. We opted for a 4 Stagioni and a Formaggi, washed down with a glass of “Saint Joseph” red wine.

Our pizzas took about 15 minutes to arrive, which wasn’t bad at all considering the kitchen was a one woman show - a solitary whirlwind throwing pizzas together from scratch and launching them into the oven whilst whipping freshly baked ones out to be thrust at the harried waiter whenever he dashed past.

The tables are so close together that you get to see and smell exactly what your neighbours are eating, so we were drooling with hunger by the time our pizzas arrived. They were much bigger than expected (never a bad thing) and loaded with a generous portion of toppings - the Formaggi looked like they’d poured a fondue over it. Once it had cooled a little though it wasn’t as sloppy as it looked and the cheeses they had used were delicious - mozzarella, fontina and gorgonzola. The 4 Stagioni was also a big hit with lots of olives, artichoke and mushrooms (we asked for it without the usual ham). The base was thin enough to not be too heavy, but not so thin that you couldn’t pick up a slice without it falling apart while the edges had puffed up into great big crispy clouds that were good for scooping up excess cheese.

Even though our pizzas were lovely and we were stuffed by the time we finished, we still got major food envy on the way out when we saw the Aiguille du Midi pizza at the next table with a whole ball of buffalo mozzarella on top!

For two pizzas and two glasses of wine we paid just on 30€, which we thought was pretty good value for what we got. The food was great, service was friendly and the atmosphere was really cosy and informal - it looked they do very nice desserts as well but we were too full to try them. We’ll definitely be heading back soon to try out the Aiguille du Midi, so maybe we'll save room for a home made pannacotta or "sweet pizza" next time...

Pizzeria des Moulins is located on the Rue des Moulins in the centre of Chamonix and is open daily from 11:30am to 11pm for takeaway pizzas and eating in.