Restaurant L’Alsace Paris is situated on the world famous Champs Elysées (Paris, France). Generously portioned seafood and Bavairan-style dishes are served as well as a good selection of beef, chicken, lamb and fish. A restaurant chain, L’Alsace provides a relatively casual dining experience without sacrificing quality.
Food
One of many restaurants on the Champs Elysées with large open air dining spaces, L’Alsace draws in strolling passers-by with its impressive seafood platter; a massive, tiered arrangements of crab legs, lobster tails, scampi, and all manner of “cockles and mussels”. Though we didn’t sample this, our meals were equally mammoth in scale.
As the restaurant’s name implies, Alsace offers several Bavarian-inspired dishes along with its seafood and more traditionally French offerings (lamb, fish etc.). Its signature dish is “Choucroutte With Ham Knucklebone” (about 17 Euros), a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs affair. There is nothing subtle at all about it – piles of sauerkraut, large, tasty morsels of ham ready to fall off the bone, and boiled, peeled potatoes. Simple and delicious. The sauerkraut was notably tasty, not at all too powerful or vinegary, but rather almost sweet – a perfect blend with the smokey flavor of the ham. We also tried the deluxe chourcroutte dish that came with all of the above-mentioned components plus sausage and thick slabs of bacon. Suffice it to say that one choucroutte dish would have been enough to feed the two of us to satiation – this is a lot of food. Somehow we managed to eat Hagen Daas later, but we were in no shape to have dessert right away.
Wine
We shared a bottle of Gewurtstraminer at the suggestion of our waiter who felt it would be the perfect match with the choucroutte. We enjoyed its fresh, citrusy flavor and found that its crispness did indeed pair well with the sweet and salty flavors of the choucroutte.
Exceptional Features
The spectacle of piles of food, whether it be mounds of seafood or heaps of sauerkraut, was a sight to behold.
Service
The service was friendly – even jovial – and very attentive. We especially appreciated the wine suggestion. Our server spoke English very well and was very patient with our French.
Decor
We dined outside at canopied, paper-covered tables under the warm, gradually darkening Paris sky. Like most open-air restaurants on the Champs Elysées, tables are placed rather close together; you feel as though you are dining with far more friends than you came with.
The interior of the restaurant looked dark and crowded and particularly unappealing given the gorgeous weather. We would recommend securing an outdoor table here if the weather is fair.
Dress Code
Whatever you wear for Paris sightseeing will be fine.
Price
Meals are in the moderately expensive range, starting at about 15 Euros for a main course.
Reservations
N/A. In busy summer months, do expect to wait for your table. We waited about 15 or twenty minutes for our table and were given a seat in the adjacent outdoor “lounge” area, where drinks are served.The earlier you go, the better chance you will have at being seated quickly as the dinner crowd tends to pick up around 8pm.
Overall Dining Experience
We give L’Alsace Three Barrels – Very Good!
Restaurant L’Alsace is located at 39 av. des Champs Elysées, Paris, France.
