Annecy is in Savoie, and Savoie eats heavy and well. The local trinity is tartiflette (potatoes, lardons, onion and a whole Reblochon), raclette (melted cheese scraped onto potatoes and charcuterie) and fondue savoyarde — all three best in winter, slightly absurd in July. Lake fish — omble chevalier (Arctic char) and féra (a whitefish) — are the local summer specialty and worth ordering wherever they appear.
The old town is wall-to-wall restaurants, many of them tourist traps. Step a block or two off the main canals — towards the Place Sainte-Claire, into the streets behind the cathedral, or up the slope towards the château — and the quality improves rapidly.