Last weekend family and I met up in Colmar, FR to catch up and spend half a day and the evening together. With only 1.5 hrs from Zurich by car it is a great escape for a weekend (the Alsace actually as a whole… rich in culture, fantastic food with an interesting combo of French and German cuisine). They picked the hotel, the Best Western Grand Hotel Bristol next to the train station. Nice and tidy rooms, great location and they have some parking spots, couldn’t ask for more.
View of the restaurant
It was up to me to pick the restaurant and after having visited L’Atelier du Peintre and L’Auberge de l’Ill in Jan16, 2-starred JY’s of chef Jean-Yves Schillinger was still on top of my list, so no hesitation:) The day before they asked if we would like to sit outside and with 30+ degrees during the day, that was an excellent idea (with their terrace next to the water). So off we went!
Reception was very warm and welcoming, the place was packed, but not noisy at all. A good promise for a good evening:) Apero with Louis Roederer Brut and a little bonsai-ish tree with olives draped on it. After the amuse-bouches I went for the 7 course tasting menu, but included the foie gras starter as well and that was a delicious! Seemingly sober presentation of that dish, but fitting and shouldn’t have been any different. Liked it:) Sturgeon, scallops, langoustine, pigeon, it all passed by. The dishes seemed to keep the number of ingredients and ‘spielerei’ limited (not complaining here;)) while keeping some refreshing combinations: the asparagus in a parmesan coat and satay sauce were a first for me. Another one was a scallop on top of sarassin noodles, I remember closing my eyes to savour every bit of flavour…
One of us took the dessert tapas which is a beautifully presented tree with small desserts (tarte tatin, baba rum, millefeuille, oeuf à la neige, Paris-Brest, pêche Melba and creme caramel) The others, including me, took the rhubarb bavarois: deliciously refreshing after such a meal and such a day. Copious as well… After the friandises it was unfortunately time to go… We did have the pleasure to talk to the chef himself for a bit, très gentil.
Dishes that will stick with me:
- Langoustine with green asparagus (covered in a parmesan coating) and satay sauce
- Scallops with sarassin noodles and wakame
- Rhubarb bavarois
- (that tree I do have to try next time…)
In the first place, when you can, do visit Colmar and surroundings for a weekend. When you’re there, try not to limit yourself to one restaurant (I know, easier said than done…) as the choice truely is tempting. From my little experience there, I do would recommend to definitely keep JY’s near the very top of the list when you want to enjoy a few hours of fine dining and being pampered in a warm setting (not talking temperature here:)). I keep fond memories of the visit and that’s not only because it was in great company. Hope to be back soon…
food for travelers 