Conveniently located within a stone's throw of the Cathedral, this establishment offers locals and tourists alike a representative feel of Alsatian cuisine. Onwards!
Location: 5 out of 5
I could find this place again even if I didn't have a map. Once you pop out of the front (west) entrance of the cathedral, walk straight on Mercier until it basically dead ends. Take a left, and when you get to the river, you'll see the restaurant on the right hand side. Incidentally, the restaurant is also on Rue de la Douane.
Décor and Ambiance: 4 out of 5
Ever wanted to eat in one of those rustic looking farmhouses with checkered tablecloths on wooden tables? Well - Douane is sort of like that, but you're not in a farmhouse. It's a large space, and they didn't really spend many resources into "decorations", per se, but the overall feel is pretty rustic. Wooden old timey chairs that your grandpa may have, the red and white tablecloths, it's all there.
Selection of Alsatian Foods: 5 out of 5
Granted, this is what I was told by our tour guide, but we were informed that when in Strasbourg, we needed to see if we could obtain the following foodstuffs: onion tart, pig knuckle, tarte flambé, and the Alsatian version of sauerkraut. In addition to finding those foods, I also decided to really go for the gusto and get headcheese. Of course they call it something much more delightful and romantic, and borrowing from their long lineage of dual ownership, they went with the German "Presskopf." Call it what you want, but it comes down to headcheese, which for those of you keeping track at home is technically a cold cut that's a meat jelly made with the head flesh of a pig set in aspic. I think this version even had the tongue. You all are saying, "ewww, gross, that's nasty" and yes, it was. But these foods often were borne out of necessity, and I thought that I should try it since I was there.
Taste and Quality of Foods: 4 out of 5
You know...everything was actually decent. I thought that the onion tart was the most pedestrian of all the foods I had, and while I've had pig knuckle elsewhere, I thought that this version came out very tender, almost like a briney pulled pork with a layer of fat that you could easily scrape off. The tarte flambé was not the best that I had while in Europe, but I've gotta say that at least it was classic with crème fraiche, onions, and lardons (almost like bacon, but fattier). Now...it's not so much the taste of the headcheese that got to me as it was the texture. It tasted like a cold cut almost like ham (duh). But it was the cold jelly texture mixed with the taste of ham that made me say, "errr....." I mean...it didn't prevent me from trying more when I was in Cologne, but that's a different review. (Sion Brauhaus, Koln)
Price: 3 out of 5
Tourist prices. Half liter beers were 7 euro. Entrees were around 12 euro, and I think the total including the service charge came out to be 60 USD. Not exactly cheap for a lunch, but we were on vacation so what the hey. They do accept American style credit cards without the chip and PIN systems, but be aware that your bank will likely charge a 3% foreign exchange rate.
Customer Service: 3.5 out of 5
Waiters were nice enough, and probably nicer to us since I speak succinct and manageable French. They were probably a little more quick and less chatty out of necessity, but by no means rude.
Overall: 4 out of 5
Nice place to go if you want to try a variety of Alsatian foods. It looked like they were capable of handling large groups as well.
Other notes not having an effect on my rating: They recycle uneaten bread in baskets, and do so unabashedly. Our leftover rolls and slices of rye? Right into a basket that was about half full, making that basket full and transported off to the next guests' table. Some of you out there may have an issue with this, but it has no effect on me. read more