France’s Alsace region is well known for its gastronomic achievements. This region of France has the highest concentration of Michelin Starred restaurants in the world. When I learned of this fun fact, I just had to schedule a Michelin dining excursion into our itinerary! A top destination for foodies in the Alsace region is JY’s, a 2-Michelin Star restaurant in Colmar.
JY’S
JY’s, short for Jean-Yves Schillinger, is a 2-Michelin starred restaurant housed in a beautiful 17th-century building with a trompe l’oeil façade. The restaurant is in the romantic quarter of Petite Venise in Colmar, France on the banks of river La Lauch.
The contemporary style of JY’s is in stark contrast to the rest of Colmar, which is a small picturesque town in northeastern France that seems to send you back to a fairytale time.
We visited JY’s in the summer and the major highlight for me was sitting on the terrace. Having lunch under the pergola next to the scenic little river, surrounded by picture-perfect colorful houses was pure joie de vivre! Even the dress code seemed more casual in the summertime and the dining experience was definitely more relaxed than having lunch at a high-powered New York City Michelin Starred restaurant.
Food
What I remember most about lunch at JY’s was how successfully Chef Jean-Yves Schillinger married elements of whimsy and aesthetic into each dish. For the first amuse bouche, we were presented with juicy olives dangling off S-hooks from a potted olive branch!
At lunch, there are 3 different menus to choose from: a 3-course menu (46€), a 4-course menu (74€), and a 7-course menu (107€). For lunch, the 3-course menu is more than enough, considering all the extras that are included. We had this with a glass of Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir – popular wines from the Alsace region.
Here are the highlights from our 3-course lunch menu: (Of course, I jumped right into my food and totally forgot to take a picture of the menu! Since they change their menus every few weeks, I can’t even look up the names of what we had!)
Colmar, France
Colmar is located near the border of Germany. As with many Alsatian towns, Colmar is characterized by its colorful half-timbered medieval buildings evoking pages from a fairytale storybook. The old town, known as Petite Venise, has cobblestone streets running parallel to the river. Colmar is a 30-minute train ride from the larger city of Strasbourg. If you’re driving along the famed Alsace Wine Route, Colmar makes a nice little detour. The local wineries specialize in Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Gewürztraminer.
JY’s
Location: 17 Rue de la Poissonnerie, 68000 Colmar, France
Rating: 2-Michelin Stars
Lunch for Two: €147 (service included)
Reservations: Make reservations by phone Tel. 03 89 215 360 or through La Fourchette
Planning Tip: We asked our hotel concierge to confirm our reservation by phone. By booking ahead, they reserved a cozy corner table for us by the river
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