The outdoor patio section provided a very nice ambience for us. It happened to be the hottest day of this summer (for us), but the large umbrellas kept it cool enough when we started our lunch at noon. However, it got warm by the time we finished our coffee and dessert just before 14:00 (all the shops in town closes from noon to 1400, so we had to spend as much time as we possibly could in this restaurant, so we made our lunch reservation at 1230).
Service was very nice by a couple of young ladies. They were very courteous and prompt. In fact we couldn't order our food fast enough for our server when she returned with our drinks. She was very patient with us, though.
Food was good, but not that great IMHO. We enjoyed them nonetheless. My traditional Alsatian dish and house specialty, Bouchée a la Rein, tasted just fine. According to the write-up, it included lots of fine wine and cream, but it lacked some flavor IMHO. Puff pastry tower gave a different texture, but it really didn't do anything for me. My wife enjoyed her marinated chicken with mushroom sauce. It looked good, and a piece I tried tasted very good. Her potato au gratin served in a traditional Alsatian baking pot (all the pottery shops sell those clay baking pots in Soufflenheim, and they are the regional specialty) was good, but it needed some salt or something (inevitably there were no salt and pepper on the table). I opted for just espresso for after lunch. My wife enjoyed her fresh fruit plate with lemon sorbet.
We noticed a handful of folks were having beef tartar. Watching the gentleman mix all kinds of condiments and sauces with beef and shaping it in to a nice mound before serving it to a customer was visually very interesting and entertaining. It must've been a workout since he was sweating after preparing a couple of those dishes. I would've come here just to watch that process--something like standing in front of a noodle shop watching noodles made from scratch, or going to a hibachi grill to watch a chef come up with some tricks and cooking in front of you.
Overall very nice dining experience at this very traditional Alsatian restaurant. read more