With its multiple base areas and respectable amount of above-treeline terrain, Snowmass has a bit of the feel of a European Alps ski area—especially when it comes to on-mountain dining. For European skiers, sitting down for a multicourse lunch paired with beer and wine is essential to any ski day in the alpine. For Americans, lunch is something that happens as quickly as possible, if at all, which typically means cafeteria-style fare. On Snowmass Mountain, three table-service, fine-dining restaurants—all opened within the last six years—offer a European-style on-mountain dining experience. 

In addition to offering distinct menus crafted by dedicated chefs, Alpin Room, The Cabin, and Sam’s have also all won Wine Spectator awards—the only ski-in/ski-out restaurants in the country (along with Highlands’s Cloud 9 and Allred’s atop Telluride) to be recognized with that honor. Along with incredible views and inviting ambience, it all adds up to a distinct, memorable—and distinctly European—experience.

“If you’re going to invest in a true family vacation, those times you can get together and enjoy an amazing family meal, that opportunity to reconnect over great food is something you never forget—it makes the ski experience that much more special,” says Mitch Levy, executive chef of mountain dining for Aspen Skiing Company.

Practically speaking, adding dining variety and expanding seating is all part of elevating the guest experience on Snowmass, the largest of SkiCo’s four mountains and the one with the most traffic. (A rebuilt and expanded Ullrhof opens next winter, with a mountain-modern feel, market-style cafeteria dining, and seating for more than 500 hungry skiers.) Plus, every on-mountain eatery is encouraged to have its own style, menu, and personality. “There’s nothing cookie-cutter about what we do,” says Levy, who adds that “you literally could dine around the world on Snowmass.” 

Here’s what you need to know about Snowmass’s trio of European-style fine-dining on-mountain restaurants this winter.

Debuting in 2024, The Cabin is a renovated, renamed, and reimagined Lynn Britt Cabin that maintains its predecessor’s rustic, historic charm. Located midmountain at the new Coney Express chairlift’s midstation, it offers elegant indoor lunch service from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; outdoor après with a street taco theme, a full bar, and a DJ booth on its extensive decks from 2:30 to 4 p.m.; and a dinner series open to the public. An enclosable tent adds to the capacity in inclement weather. The cuisine—Western meets Old World—matches the setting. Think bison steak, short ribs, osso buco, king crab toast, pâté, and caviar. After a hearty, upscale lunch in this cozy Western cabin, Levy encourages staying for the après party vibe. Plus, nothing beats the sweeping views of the Roaring Fork Valley from The Cabin’s deck, especially as the sun starts to set with every vivid shade of color parading across the sky.

At the top of the Alpine Springs lift, sharing the building with the High Alpine restaurant, Alpin Room stylistically continues the tradition of Gwyn’s, the flagship Snowmass fine-dining restaurant that closed in 2020 after 40 years. Alpin Room, which opened immediately afterward in the 2020–21 season, offers guests the opportunity to take off their ski boots and don slippers for a European-inspired lunch (11 a.m.–2 p.m.). In this calm haven with large, frosted windows, the menu is purely the creation of chef Emily Oyer, who frequently appears on the Food Network and is a recent champion of its Beat Bobby Flay cooking competition show. This year’s menu, available from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., leans a bit more French than in seasons past (which drew on Alpine regions across Europe), offering refined yet approachable dishes such as fondue, duck sausage, French onion soup, beef bourguignon, rustic ratatouille, and Chilean sea bass. Linger over dessert and a warming winter cocktail, and you’ll feel transported to the slopes of Courchevel or Val d’Isère. 

Perched atop Sam’s Knob at the terminus of the Village Express chairlift, Sam’s channels the joy, conviviality, and gastronomic excellence of an Italian rifugio high in the Dolomites. All the pasta is made fresh in-house, and discriminating sourcing guarantees the best ingredients—such as exquisite, paper-thin prosciutto, an amazing buffalo mozzarella that’s served with pomodoro jam and balsamic glaze in a divine combination of flavors, and ground beef for a Bolognese sauce from the Nieslanik family ranch in nearby Carbondale. In addition to table-service lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (also with slipper-room benefits), Sam’s offers skiers who don’t want to linger grab-and-go options from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.—or belly up to the spacious marble bar for a cocktail or the Italian-style coffee bar for an espresso. Large parties and special events can also be accommodated in this airy, light-filled dining room and lounge area. Reopened in 2019 after a multimillion-dollar renovation, Sam’s also boasts million-dollar views of the surrounding Elk Mountains—whether through huge windows or from its stylish deck, it’s the ideal backdrop for a most satisfying meal.