Elsass, Alsace's bistronomic cuisine, far from preconceived ideas

The Elsass restaurant makes light of commonplaces and proves that Alsatian cuisine can (also) be bistronomic, built around the region's finest vintages.

If the only Alsatian dishes you can think of are sauerkraut, sauerkraut and... sauerkraut, then Elsass, freshly arrived on the Parisian scene just two blocks from the Canal Saint-Martin, is the perfect restaurant to put an end to those preconceived notions.

After all, there's a lot more to Alsatian cuisine than sauerkraut, as appetizing and comforting as that dish is, or flammekueche, baeckeoffe and knack. Under the guidance of Guillaume Keusch at the helm ofElsass, it can even take on a more bistronomic appearance.

This Alsatian by birth has built his address around wine, the heart of the restaurant, with the help of sommelier Caroline Furtoss. She has designed a wine list ranging from conventional to organic vintages, from biodynamic bottles to natural sparkling wines, with no domain or appellation left out.

Of course, the wine list focuses on dry and semi-dry white wines, such as the classics Riesling and Pinot Gris, but also on the sweet and syrupy wines for which the region is famous, led by Gewurztraminer. But it also offers the chance to discover lesser-known cuvées and delicate eaux-de-vie to round off the meal, like this pretty Framboise from Marcel Windholtz.

Each month, Elsass even invites a different Alsatian winemaker to its premises and creates a tailor-made menu to illustrate his or her cuvées - rather than the other way round, as with more traditional food and wine pairings. Here, the wine sets the tone, not the other way around. It's a contemporary vision that gives wine the place of king, and the place of queen to an equally modern cuisine, free from the sometimes corny clichés of the genre.

Chef Stéphane Capet, who worked for the Ducasse Group for many years, relies on the finest regional produce from small, trusted producers and artisans, magnifying it in recipes (very) loosely inspired by traditional Alsatian cuisine, with a bistronomic twist.

Pumpkin velouté with brown beer (13€) is adorned with a royal of munster cheese and gingerbread croutons; confit pork belly (25€) rests on a bed of red cabbage stewed in rice vinegar; filet of duckling (33€), with dolce sauce, is surrounded by the finest seasonal vegetables ; with occasional bistro incursions, such as this surprising (and very generous) marrow bone topped with a beef tartare (20€ with a good handful of pommes paille on top), or the masterful chocolate soufflé (15€).

But if there's one dessert you won't want to miss, it's the kouglof perdu (14€), with pear sorbet and mulled wine-style Riesling coulis. Devilish.

For traditional purists, the restaurant also offers a local dish one evening a month, starting with sauerkraut on February 29. From the amuse-bouche (a tarte flambée-style gougère) to the finishing touch (a bredele to munch on on the way home), Elsass sounds like a little piece of Alsace in Paris.

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please mention it in the comments.