L'Auberge de l'ill has garnered 3 Michelin stars since 1967 and has one of the longest streak of three stars, only second to Paul Bocuse. It has been run by the Haeberlin family since 1878, almost 150 years and counting. That was an amazing history on its own.
The restaurants are divided into three separate dining rooms with three different themes. You won't find any innovative French dishes around here, only classic French cuisine.
Amuse bouche of the day was an Asian style shrimp tempura served in a light curry sauce. A little bit boring. Is that a sign of things to come?
My starter was a lobster served in a minestrone soup. The broth was surprisingly light and that was a great complement to the fresh lobster.
The other starter was one of the restaurant's specialities, a goose foie gras terrine. Our server took two large slabs or scoops of freshly made foie gras pate from a pint and put them alongside a sweet fig puree. That was a lovely dish. The foie gras was silky smooth and had a great balance of liquor to add to the flavour.
Salmon soufflé, another house specialty was picked as my fish course. Fresh salmon fillet topped with a thick layer of cheese soufflé, then served with a beurre blanc, tomato puree and puff pastry. This was brilliant and from someone who rarely eats fish, that speaks volume.
Paled in comparison was the other fish course, a baked st-pierre fillet on a bed of green peas and tomato.
The meat courses arrived and I had the roasted veal served with a toast of tomato and mozzarella and its own juice. Another disappointing dish.
We had the pigeon stuffed with black truffle and foie gras as the other meat course. That was another very nice dish. The combination of several flavourful ingredients posed a sharp contrast to our palates.
Dessert and petit four wrapped up a wonderful culinary journey. We also took the opportunity to have a warm coffee at the outdoor terrace overlooking River L’ill. That was priceless. (Actually there was a price. €121 per head to be exact.)
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| This dining room is more of a contemporary feel. |
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| Some nibbles to start things off for us. |
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| Amuse bouche - shrimp tempura in a light curry sauce (4/10). |
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| That's how a foie gras terrine is supposed to be done. Textbook material! (10/10) |
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| Okay but did not like the rice in the milestrone soup. (5/10) |
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| Salmon soufflé, another house specialty, was brilliant (9/10). |
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| Baked st-pierre fillet on a bed of green peas and tomato (5/10). |
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| The roasted veal was a little bit disappointing (5/10). |
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| Roasted pigeon stuffed with black truffle and foie gras (9/10). |
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| Cheese cart |
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| Various types of chocolate |
Food Rating: 8.9/10
Price: €€€
Address: 2 Rue de Collonges au Mont d'Or, 68970 Illhaeusern, France
Tel: +33 3 8971-8900
Tel: +33 3 8971-8900
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