Affordable Michelin star restaurants that you can go to everyday
On one of our most recent trips to France, we tried the Strasbourg area (strictly for the food). This area has the most Michelin star restaurants and chefs in an accessible area for significantly reduced prices.
“Where should I go for Michelin restaurants, but not pay Michelin star pricing?”
Alsace region, France
On one of the most recent trips we took to Europe, we wanted a few specific things. Well not a few, one...Michelin star restaurants. Prior to this trip we've been to a few Michelin starred restaurants, some in Las Vegas, Napa, Paris, etc. but something that all Michelin restaurants have in common are the price. Prices range from "OMG" to "Just take my wallet".
This trip we made a plan.
Step 1
Find the Restaurants.
This was a littler harder than anticipated.
With so many restaurants earning the Michelin stars in the area we needed to find which ones we needed to go to. After looking at what was available (even 4 months in advance) we came to the decision of two that we needed to experience:
Restaurant Villa Rene Lalique- in Wingen-sur-Moder
Jy's - in Colmar
In addition we made a last minute reservation at:
La Fourchette des Ducs-in Obernai.
Table du 5- in Barr
L'Alchémille- in Kayserberg
Ok, so we got our two for sure places that we needed to experience, now where to stay to make them accessible.
Barr, FR
To make both locations feasible (without changing hotels, although we would have loved to stay at Villa Rene Lalique, but those reservations were way sold out by the time we were looking), we needed to find some place that was in the middle of both Colmar and Wingen-sur-Moder. We also wanted to be close to Strasbourg for easier travel by train, and try some of the excellent restaurants in the area(we didn't make any unfortunately due to too many options in other villages). We found a great hotel in Barr, FR 5 Terres Hotel et Spa Barr MGallery by Sofitel. The restaurant Table du 5 inside the restaurant is also on the Michelin guide (just going to show how many of these amazing restaurants are on the "Alsace Wine Route, and how close they can be for a trip").
-"Ok, for sure we want to go to Restaurant Villa Rene Lalique"
"Sounds good, that is an hour and a half away from the hotel."
-"Lets go for lunch" *Driving in France on country roads at night are for the brave: single lanes, few lights, roundabouts galore, spotty internet for GPS.
-"Day 1 is complete where should we go for the next day?"
"Obernai is close by,La Fourchette des Ducs it is"
-"Jy's has a reservation available for our third day"
"Colmar is about another hour away(opposite of Wingen-sur-Moder), lets do another lunch"
-"Ok let's follow this up at L'Alchémille"
"Kayserberg it is!"
Step 2
Travel to the restaurants
Going to the restaurants was some of the fun during this food excursion. The Alsatian wine trail is very picturesque and there is a ton of villages to stop and see. When you are going make sure to wear nice clothing when you want to stop and take photos. The best places for photos were
Colmar
Obernai
Riquewirh
I will go further into each restaurant in seperate posts. But I'll leave you with a highlight of the area.