Restaurants in Alsace and Lorraine

[milkman]

For those who enjoy an exhilarating walk before and/or after dining, the Auberge Saint Alexis, Lieu-dit Saint-Alexis, 68240 Kaysersberg, Tel : 03 89 73 90 38 is very popular. It is situated in an opening in the forest about 6 km to the north west and about 350m higher than Riquewihr, the nearest town (it is possible to drive as it is situated on the mountain road from Freland to Riquewihr),. There is a marked footpath from Riquewihr which starts in vineyards and soon disappears into forest; it takes over an hour up and 30 minutes down. There are other longer walks (e.g. 2hr45min from Kientzheim). Although there is seating for 40 or so inside and a similar number on the shaded terrace in summer, it is wise to book. It is open every day except Friday from 12.00-23.00 with last serving at 20.00.

The family run Saint Alexis serves a set of very simple local menus (12-20€) based around tasty soup, meat pie, omelette and ham and crudites, coq fermier, choucroute garnie, collet fumé and potatoes, local cheeses, and fruit tarts and pain perdu.

A small chapel dedicated to Saint Alexis is adjacent to the auberge, from where it is possible to get a key.

For those who enjoy a hearty meal we all found it an experience not to be missed (and will be back for more)! To enter into the experience you really need your walking boots, jackets, and backpacks (and possibly a small dog to sit under your table).

Edited November 23, 2007 by milkman (log)

[milkman]

The Auberge du Haut Meix, 327 chemin Haut Meix, 88100 Taintrux, Tel: 0329566512 is situated in the hamlet of Rougiville on a small road near to the N420 and is a few km from Saint Die des Vosges.

This small family run auberge is only open Friday evenings, and weekends. The dining area is well-lit and attractively decorated. The auberge has a limited but ambitious-sounding menu (approx 25€) but the quality and presentation fails to meet expectations.

Edited November 23, 2007 by milkman (log)

[milkman]

The Hotel de l'Europe et Restaurant du Commerce, 4 Route de Bruyères, 88600 Grandvillers, Tel : 03 29 65 71 17 is situated on the main N420 between Bruyères and Epinal (restaurant closed Friday and Sunday evenings).

The hotel (which presumably has a small dining area) and the restaurant are on separate sides of the road. We saw various attractive-looking tray of cold buffet being carried across to the hotel which was presumably being used business meetings/small conferences which raised our hopes of a reasonable meal at a reasonable price. The recently refurbished restaurant dining room was divided into smoking and non-smoking areas. There was also an large outside terrace. The smoking area occupied by locals who were consuming the menu du jour, moules mariniere.

We chose one of the a regional set menus (18€): quiche Lorraine, jambon cooked in crust (to draw out the salt), local cheese, and fruit tart. The jambon arrived in a hollowed-out crust with just enough pre-cut slices for the servings – whether it had really been cooked in a pastry crust was questionable.

The locals probably made the right choice this lunchtime and they probably also enjoy the cooking when having family celebrations.

But we all agreed we would not be returning.

[milkman]

The Restaurant Les Terrasses, Hotel Domaine du Lac, 244, rue de la République - 68500 Guebwiller, tel. 03 89 76 15 76 is a contemporary brasserie, open daily for lunch and dinner except for Saturday lunchtime. The dining room has warm contemporary decoration; there is also an extensive shaded terrace on the side of the lake for summer dining.

The restaurant has an extensive a la carte menu and several quick menus. The Formule du Marché menu, served on Monday-Friday lunchtime at 17€ for two or 20€ for three courses, has two choices for each course. On this particular visit we chose the 20€ menu. There is a good selection of Alsace and other wines.

gazpacho (amuse buche)

magret fumé par nos soins sur une salade de radis blancs et noir (the alternative was soupe de poissons)

mignon de porc, chausson de chou braisé au lard confit

or

pavé d’escolier grillé, purée de rutabaga et olivade (escolier=escolar, but described as a type of bar=bass)

carpaccio de figues fraîches, jus de vin chaud et glace de saison

We find this restaurant provides tasty food, served well, at a reasonable price. It is somewhere we go to, if we are in the area, as we know we will be able to get a quick, enjoyable lunch.

[milkman]

The GaultMillau 2008 publicity includes a list of Jeunes talents GaultMillau. We happened to be near Remiremont last week so decided to seek out the nominee for Lorraine. We’d not really planned to eat there that day so didn’t have the name of the restaurant with us. However the tourist office was very helpful and gave us a booklet of all restaurants in the area and then marked their location on a town map. Fortunately we vaguely remembered how the restaurant looked, having checked the web site a week or so before. None in the booklet looked quite right but we set out for the mostly likely. And we knew we’d made the right choice when we saw a cutting from the local newspaper displayed in the entrance and the new GM on the shelf by the desk.

Ludovic Léné has only been at Le Clos Heurtebise, 13 chemin des Capucins, 88200 Remiremont, tel: 03 29 62 08 04 for a few years and had not appeared in many recent guides (14 in GM 2006 but not in GM 2007). The restaurant is closed Sunday evening and all of Monday.

We were there Tuesday lunchtime and the dining room was empty. Later another couple arrived. The entrance and dining room have some interesting old wood panelling and cupboards and the dining room is decorated with warm furnishings. Talking later it seemed that business was always slow at the beginning of the week at this time of year but the restaurant was full at weekends.

We chose the menu La Coquette at 27.50€

amuse bouche - potiron soup with girolles

.

starter: Assiette Ter Mer: mignon de porc et thon fumee, mesclun a l'huile olive des baux de Provence

(two other choices

- fois gras de canard mi-cuit, compotee de figues et oignons blanc (sup 2.50€)

- aile de raie poelee aux supremes de pamplemousse, quelques feuilles en vinaigrette de capres)

.

main: magret de canard de Landes cuisiné au chocolate, tartine de moutarde au cacao et spazle fraiche et tour de moulin au grué

(two other choices

-cabillaud poche au pistou, pomme de terre Ratte a la fleur de sel de Maldon, puree de tomates sechees

- supreme de volaille fermiere roti et copeaux de fois gras cru, jus monte a l'huile de noisette, poelee de champignons de saison)

.

chariot de fromages

.

dessert: feuillantine noisette, mouse caramel et sauce pralinee

(two other choices

- pomme poelee caramelisee, biscuits au beurre demi-sel, sorbet granny-smith au cidre

- poire au vin chaud, sorbet griotte, croustillant a la cannelle)

.

coffee 2.50-2.75€ Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Italian, Zimbabwe....

The service was very good and unobtrusive. The courses were tasty although we were doubtful the mustard and cocoa tartine or the ground roast cocoa bean really added anything to the duck given the delightful chocolate sauce. The menu was good value, especially given the inclusion of a cheese course. Perhaps, given the GM nomination, we were hoping for slightly more adventurous food and, rather annoyingly, we made the same choices.

We'll have to visit again soon to explore this restaurant further!

Edited December 5, 2007 by milkman (log)

[milkman]

We have been visiting the Restaurant-hôtel La Belle Vue, 36 rue Principale, 67420 Saulxures, tel : 03 88 97 60 23 for many years (GM 2008 13). We have always found it to be a reliable restaurant to go to with visitors who are cautious in their eating choices as it always has a wide selection at reasonable prices.

We visited again last week having not been since last autumn and it seems there have been some changes in the kitchen staff as the menus now have more Asian influences than we'd noted previously.

The menus include the Autour du terroir (three courses and cheese) with two choices for each course for 19.50€, the Autour du marché, which has a 2-4 options for each course, with 2 courses 23€, 3 courses, 31€, 4 courses, 38€ or 5 courses 41€ with the option of wine with each course for another 3€/course and a seven course menu of the month at 65€ (80€ with wine).

The restaurant is light and airy with an enclosed wood fire. Outside in the summer there are tables on a large shaded terrace. It is usually necessary to book for Sunday lunch, even with the extra spaces on the terrace in summer, but otherwise we have never found the dining room to be full.

On this visit we chose the 19.50€ Autour du terroir - which was good value. There is a reasonable selection of wines by the glass (if not included in the meal price) as well as half bottles. We had a fruity pinot gris from David Ermel in Hunawihr.

Amuse bouche

-Jerusalem artichoke soup

Starter

-Les petites crevettes en vinaigrette de concombre relevées d’une pointe de cayenne, emulsion de betterave. This reinterpretation of a prawn cocktail was full of flavour

or

-Les châtaignes en fin velouté, compoté de volaille aux amandes torréfiées

Main course

-Le filet de truite au four, gâteau de potiron et rougail de pomme fruit

or

-La tête de veau en pastillas, Légumes croquants et jus acidulé à la graine de coriandre

Cheese

-Munster fumé, chutney de coing

Dessert

-Tout sur le pain, perdu puis retrouvé, grillé en crème glacée.

Coffee

-always two cups per person, one pure arabica and the other an arabica/robusta blend

Our only disappointment with this restaurant over the years has always been with the service, which although always efficient, has not always felt as welcoming as other restaurants.

[milkman]

Yesterday we visited Le Grenier à Sel, rue Gustave-Simon 28, 54000 Nancy tel: +33 (0)3 833 231 98 (Michelin one star; GM 2008 16) which is in the very centre of Nancy only a couple of hundred yards from Place Stanislas. Possibly it was not the best day as it followed a long French weekend of holidays although the restaurant was closed Sunday and Monday. We were the only four lunchtime diners in the first floor dining room which only has eight tables and probably seats no more than 30. But it was for a birthday celebration. One side of the room is dominated by an Art Nouveau wood buffet apparently by Majorelle but, to our eyes, definitely not one of his better works. There doesn't seem to be any air-conditioning apart from opening the windows. It was hot when we were there and with thw windows open there was constant noise from the busy street below. Several of the tables are close to the kitchen doors and any diners seated at them would probably be disturbed by the staff passing by.

One couple arrived early, some twenty minutes before the others (who got stuck in traffic) but, after they had been welcomed and ordering apéritifs, the staff disappeared. The staff reappeared when the second couple arrived and something similar occurred. The apéritifs finally appearing after about thirty minutes after the first couple had arrived. Not a good start!

The set menu had little choice: a menu "de bouche à oreilles…" at 32 euros or a 65 euro Menu Dégustation (only for all the table). A 45 euro Menu Plaisir is served only in the evenings and Saturday lunchtime. Otherwise it was a la carte. And the females in our party received unpriced menus. There was an extensive wine list but nothing under 40 euro for a bottle and most at least 50 euro – nothing particularly special at the lower end.

As the Menu Dégustation contained several courses which one of did not like we opted for the menu of the day once we'd managed to negotiate one change of dessert. As that menu was not printed, the following descriptions are from memory:

Amuse bouche of vegetables – nothing distinctive - just a few vegetable shavings and an odd sauce

Crab, langoustine sauce, and avocado cream under foam – no distinct flavours apart from the crab; it might have been better if the components had been in different (not nose-height) glasses where they could have be tasted separately

Duck breast and déclinaison des légumes – the duck had a slight coating but had not been marinaded; it was rather raw, fairly tough to cut with the knives provided (unfortunately I’d cooked a much more tasty duck breast the day before). The déclinaison might better have been described as a disparition given the quantity - hardly worth the effort

Roast bananas, chocolate mousse, coconut cream and mango coulis separated by honey/sugar - a rather peculiar combination but there were some different flavours

alternative dessert: (Irish whiskey) coffee cream – although the alcohol seemed to be missing and was very bland - just like a packet whip

We decided not to have coffee but these still appeared

The bread rolls were nothing special, although they seem to pride themselves on the choice of fillings lardon, lardon and chevre, olive, dried tomato, etc., not too fresh and with no butter.

We were all very disappointed with our first (and quite probably last) visit to this restaurant, especially given the Michelin and GM ratings - we'd expected a much more interesting eating experience. We found the service cold and unwelcoming and the food had no particularly interesting or challenging flavours with just about everything seeming bland in flavour.

A simple coffee in Place Stanislas afterwards, watching the world go by, was a much greater pleasure!

(If you decide to go, check your bill carefully; ours had two figures (128 euro and 30 euro (for aperitifs) which were totalled to 168 euro. And I've now checked various French customer reviews on the internet and opinions seem to vary from the very positive to the very negative in nearly equal proportions with little in-between)

Edited May 14, 2008 by milkman (log)

[milkman]

Chez Michele, 57 rue Principale, 57810 Languimberg tel: 03 87 03 92 25 http://www.chezmichele.fr/ was awarded one star for the first time in the 2009 Michelin Guide (14 in GM 2008). The chef Bruno Poiré was the jeune talent de Lorraine 2007. By chance we’d booked to go there for lunch on the day the 2009 Michelin Guide was published.

The restaurant is in a small village and is installed in an old house; it has two areas, two adjoining rooms in the front in the old building and a tent-like permanent conservatory at the back.

Mirabelle and champagne aperitif

We all chose the menu Plaisir at 27€ (or 35€ with a glass of wine with the starter and with the main course and with coffee). A set menu with no choices. There were three other set menus at two with two starters at 46€ and 50€ (each 6€ less with one starter) and the grand menu de saison 68€

Menu Plaisir

L'éveil du palais

***

Filet de porc au épices

***

Moelleux de Brochet et Tube de pomme de terre truffées

***

Pomme meringuée et mousse au caramel

L'éveil du palais - A warmish potiron soup and cold lamb tagine on bread with parmesan and wasabi cream. An mildly interesting amuse bouche which had some flavour and we hoped the awakening would be carried through to the following courses.

Filet de porc au épices - Bland cold slices of flavourless pork with a mild chutney-style sauce and a tiny salad. This was disappointing with very little flavour in any component except the salad dressing.

Moelleux de Brochet et Tube de pomme de terre truffées – Extruded pike quenelles and potatoes with a mild fish sauce. No hint of a truffle in the potatoes. Again very bland, too much with too little flavour. This course became an endurance test.

Pomme meringuée et mousse au caramel – Cold caramelised crushed apple, apple mousse and extruded meringues – again no special flavours (and some of us had had an as tasty home-made apple puree with our muesli that morning!)

Barbe à papa to finish seems to be fairly ubiquitous in Alsace at present.

Coffee and petits fours – rather tired and wilting rather than freshly baked.

We were all disappointed with our food at this visit. None of the courses excited the taste buds and the small salad and lack of main course vegetables to provide more flavours was disappointing. It was obvious everything had been pre-prepared and hardly any cooking (or even just warming) had taken place for this menu. We hopefully thought perhaps the lack of vegetables was because it was a Monday?

A Michelin star for ambience and service (although we found the service possibly a bit over-bearing) but the food was nothing. We had expected more, especially as it turned out to be their first official day with the star.

We will possibly return sometime in the future (but not on a Monday) and will hope for something much better.

And, after barbe à papa, is extruded food going to be the next fad?

[42390]

I had barbe à papa flavored with lychee and mint at l'Arnsbourg in December 2006.