Ondine

A plant-forward fine dining joint? If that’s what you’re craving, make your way down this discreet little alleyway in Strasbourg’s Petite France neighborhood, where Noémie D’hooge (founder of the now-shuttered restaurant Botaniste) and Marin Remy (her former sous-chef) are giving their beloved region a playful twist from inside their pocket-sized restaurant. In a space that channels classy speakeasy vibes, we floated through the evening like mythical creatures from modern-day Alsace, savoring all of the following: velvety potato velouté paired with a trout belly tartlet; two dumplings stuffed with white cabbage and homemade coppa, anointed in a mushroom broth; celeriac prepared three different ways – as linguine lightly braised and smoked over vine shoots, as a purée seasoned with vin jaune, and as a lacto-fermented jus with herb oil – all paired with a flaky brioche as dark as the depths of the Rhine River; a fillet of Sparsbach trout cooked at a (very) low temperature, topped with a fermented white cabbage sauce and crowned with choucroute; duck breast marinated in shio koji, paired with rutabaga purée and a tomato condiment; and to round it all out, a blood orange financier swimming in a syrup made from the same fruit. And for a final post-dessert treat? An adorable aniseed candy, molded with a traditional Alsatian motif. Ondine is nothing short of divine! // Pascal Diagonale

FEELING THIRSTY? In addition to non-alcoholic drink pairings built entirely around herbal infusions and fermented beverages (€45), sommelier Valeria Barrera lets natural bottles sing in harmony with the plates (food and wine pairings €62-82), highlighting vintages like Duttenberg, a pinot gris from Louis Maurer (€60 a bottle), Les Crêts, a 2020 Jura chardonnay produced by Michel Gahier (€85), and Bergweingarten, a syrupy-rich sylvaner from Jean-Pierre Frick (€77).
PRICE: : Tasting menus at lunch €62 (four courses) and dinner €96 (six courses).