La Cave

The unicorn may feature on the town of Saverne’s coat of arms, but you’ll find plenty of other magical offerings in Christian Matt and Sébastien Schmitt’s wine shop! In addition to the local beer named after the mythical creature, the owners of the restaurant La Garenne also enjoy serving up legendary natural wines, sourced both locally and from faraway lands. Featured on the shelves of their cozy spot that feels like a cross between an Alsatian winstub and a mountain chalet, we’d happily take home a blend of chenin and grolleau gris varietals produced by the Ferme du Mont Benault (€14.50 a bottle), a pinot noir from the Domaine Stoeffler in Barr (€40) or even a riesling from Les Vins Pirouettes served on tap (€3.80 for 100 ml). And a touch of magic never hurts, especially in the form of a glass of the crisp and refreshing Licorne lager (€2.80 for 250 ml) that you can sip in house (as with all the other bottles, for an additional €15 corkage fee) while seated on the buzzing terrace along the Marne River or around one of the big tables inside, nibbling on generous homemade snacks – flammekueche topped with bacon and munster (€4), Alsatian bread stuffed with cervelas sausage, bacon, mustard and sauerkraut (€10) and a blackberry and almond tart for something sweet (€5). // Angela Dolu

THE BULLET-PROOF BOTTLE: Infrarouge, a magnetic Alsatian pinot noir from the Kumpf & Meyer winery (€22).