The Montagne is Leh's first stand-alone high-end restaurant. Certainly, before the Montagne opened in June last year, there was no restaurant with any pretense at fine dining. The Montagne's design and interiors are like a 5-star restaurant. It's parquet floors, well-laid tables with fine, designer tableware, it's short menu(by Leh standards), with an eclectic selection of global dishes, and the presentation of the food, bespeaks class. Its ambience, to fit into the Indian milieu, remains casual and comfortable, and very inviting to walk-in diners. The seating is in three parts - a comfortable, indoor dining area with formally laid tables; an outdoor seating area on the covered patio with well-laid tables, and also high chairs, beside a narrow wooden counter, overlooking the street, that's great for people-watching; two wooden tables under a sun umbrella at street level, great for sunny days and great to have a street feel. I chose to sit on a large, oversized single sofa by a faux fireplace. A very pretty and comfortable choice indeed. The Montagne's menu is on the pricier side for backpackers and solo travellers. The breakfast menu lacks travel staples such as oats porridge and muesli. Never mind, remember that it's Leh's first attempt at a high-end restaurant. I ordered an English breakfast with a cheddar and spinach omelette, served with toast, french fries and baked beans. It was an absolute delight. The presentation was classy, the huge platter looked like a painted easel, with a beetroot and sesame sprinkled sauce coated artistically on one edge of the large, oval plate. The omelette was the best I've ever had, certainly better than 5-star buffet breakfasts. The baked beans were delicious, but came in a tiny saucer, and finished too quickly. The french fries were special too. The buttered brown bread toast looked artisanal, it's crust a bit difficult to work with a knife. The breakfast was amazing and it certainly looks like the Montagne has a fine, experienced crew in the kitchen. Befitting a high-end restaurant, there's a 8% service charge on the tab and a 5% GST. For the sake of Leh, and tourists in search of a fine restaurant and eclectic, global cuisine, I hope this venture succeeds wildly.